Human Rights in Mass Atrocity Prevention: Making the Connection

This panel event aims to explore the use of human rights in mass atrocity prevention. As put by the UN Secretary General: “We spend far more time and resources responding to crisis rather than preventing them... We need a whole new approach… prevention is not merely a priority, but the priority.”

However, early intervention and building resilience in fragile States is not just about saving money: intervening early provides the highest chance of success in preventing the conditions that make mass atrocity crimes possible. Whist activists galvanise governments to prevent mass atrocities as part of their responsibility to protect, and local peace builders drive impacts on the ground – what can human rights tools and interventions contribute? Can we break down silos and bring legal advocacy and strategies to counter divisions together? There is a presumption that human rights and justice de facto contribute to peace, but evidence shows that justice and human rights interventions need to adopt a prevention lens to be effective.

Donate to Rights for Peace and help pursue justice and prevent mass atrocities in some of the world's most fragile states.

• Rights for Peace: https://www.rightsforpeace.org/
• SOAS Centre for Human Rights Law: https://www.soas.ac.uk/human-rights-law/