Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect: R2P in Focus: R2P in United Nations Resolutions

R2P in Focus, No. 4

R2P in Focus

R2P in Focus is a monthly publication from the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect designed to highlight recent events and political developments concerning the Responsibility to Protect (R2P).

R2P in UN Resolutions 

UN Photo/JC McIlwaine

Following the adoption of R2P at the UN World Summit in 2005, the inclusion of R2P and mass atrocity prevention language in UN Security Council and Human Rights Council resolutions represents the consensus among members of both Councils that indifference to mass atrocities is unacceptable.

To date 50 UN Security Council resolutions and 17 Human Rights Council resolutions have included direct references the responsibility of states to protect civilians from mass atrocity crimes and the responsibility of the international community to assist them in doing so. UN Security Council resolutions that reference R2P have addressed 11 country situations, including 10 resolutions on the crisis in South Sudan and 8 resolutions on the situation in the Central African Republic. Additionally, references to R2P can be found in resolutions on thematic issues, including the Protection of Civilians, Small Arms and Light Weapons and the Prevention of Genocide. UN Human Rights Council references include 13 resolutions on the situation in Syria as well as 2 thematic resolutions on the Prevention of Genocide.

Despite this progress, the international community still struggles to match words with deeds. While Security Council resolutions are binding under international law, state forces and some non-state actors in Syria, South Sudan, Yemen and elsewhere continue to commit atrocities and ignore international humanitarian and human rights law.

With the recent election of new non-permanent members to the UN Security Council for the 2017-2018 term and the anticipated selection of a new UN Secretary-General, member states must ensure that mass atrocity prevention remains a core priority of the UN. The UN must ensure the international community consistently upholds its collective responsibilities wherever and whenever populations are threatened by mass atrocity crimes.

UN General Assembly Informal Interactive Dialogue on R2P

On 17 August the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, released his annual report on the Responsibility to Protect, entitled: Mobilizing collective action: The next decade of the responsibility to protect. The report highlights the progress made by the international community in upholding R2P, but argues that consistently protecting populations remains dependent upon the willingness of member states to live up to the commitment made at the UN World Summit in 2005.

The annual Informal Interactive Dialogue on R2P will be held in the UN General Assembly on 6 September, focusing on the recent report of the UN Secretary-General.  The Global Centre strongly encourages member states to reiterate their support for R2P and the prevention of mass atrocities at this important event, including through signing on to important initiatives such as the ACT Group’s “Code of Conduct” for Security Council members, as well as the Kigali Principles for Protection of Civilians.

Any Other Business

  • Straw poll for the next UN Secretary-General. On 5 August the UN Security Council held the second round of “straw polls” to signal their level of support for candidates to become the next UN Secretary-General. For the results, see thisgraphic by the World Federation of United Nations Associations. The next straw poll is scheduled to take place on 29 August.
  • Opening of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.  On 13 September the 71st session of the UN General Assembly will commence. UN High-Level week will take place during 20-26 September. The Global Centre will be co-hosting and participating in many events throughout this important time.

Calendar Highlights

6 September 2016

UN General Assembly Informal Interactive Dialogue on R2P

13-30 September 2016

Human Rights Council 33rd Session

20-26 September 2016

UN High-Level Week

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War Crimes Prosecution Watch Volume 11, Issue 12 – August 22, 2016

Case School of Law Logo
FREDERICK K. COX
INTERNATIONAL LAW CENTERFounder/Advisor
Michael P. Scharf		 War Crimes Prosecution Watch

Volume 11 – Issue 12
August 22, 2016

 PILPG Logo

Editor-in-Chief
Kevin J. Vogel

Technical Editor-in-Chief
Jeradon Z. Mura

Managing Editors
Dustin Narcisse
Victoria Sarant

War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world. To subscribe, please email warcrimeswatch@pilpg.org and type “subscribe” in the subject line.

Opinions expressed in the articles herein represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the War Crimes Prosecution Watch staff, the Case Western Reserve University School of Law or Public International Law & Policy Group.

Contents

CENTRAL AFRICA

Central African Republic

Sudan & South Sudan

Democratic Republic of the Congo

WEST AFRICA

C�te d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Lake Chad Region � Chad, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon

Mali

EAST AFRICA

Uganda

Kenya

Rwanda (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda)

Somalia

NORTH AFRICA

Libya

MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Iraq

Syria

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Special Tribunal for Lebanon

Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal

War Crimes Investigations in Burma

TOPICS

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Terrorism

Piracy

Gender-Based Violence

Commentary and Perspectives

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Black Lives Matter Protest Shuts Down London City Airport Runway

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

 

LONDON, England — Nine activists of Black Lives Matter UK (BLMUK) staged a protest on a runway of London City Airport in London last Tuesday.  Protestors reportedly swam or traveled via a dinghy across the Thames River from a dock across from the airport in order to reach the runway.  Once on the runway, the protestors constructed themselves into an interlocked tripod formation.

Law enforcement officers work to remove protesters from the London City Airport Runway (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

Flights at the airport were suspended until the protesters were arrested and removed from the runway.  According to local police, the seven of the nine protestors were arrested on charges of aggravated trespass, being unlawfully airside, and for breaching the bylaws of the London City Airport.  The remaining two protestors remained interlocked on the runway and continued to engage in negotiations with police officers.

BLMUK stated that London City Airport is planning to expand, which would likely impact the surrounding neighborhoods which are located in a highly deprived part of London.  One reason given by BLMUK for the protest was to highlight the economic disparity between airport travelers and the people who live in the neighborhoods surrounding the airport.  The activist group claims that the airport was “designed for the wealthy,” and compares the salaries of the average London City Airport user (€136,000) to the average population in the surrounding town of Newham (£20,000 or less).

In this same sense, BLMUK provides that the reason for the protest was to “highlight the environmental impact of air travel on the lives of black people locally and globally.”  The group estimates that by 2020, there will be 200 million climate refuges across the world.  They claim that in 2016, 3,176 migrants either died or went missing in the Mediterranean as a result of fleeing conditions they did not create because cheaper, easier, and safer avenues of travel have been blocked or ignored by the UK.

The protest aggravated many affected travelers at London City Airport.  One traveler whose flight was delayed said she understood the purpose of the protest and the concerns surrounding it, but highlighted that there are other ways the group can get their point across without impacting “young families.”  Another set of African American travelers recognizes that “many issues always affect the poorest in society…but it has stopped these two black lives from going on holiday.”

 

For more information, please see:

BBC — Black Lives Matter Protestors Close London City Airport Runway — 6 September 2016

CNN — Black Lives Matter Protesters Removed from London Airport Runway, Police Say — 6 September 2016

The Guardian — Black Lives Matter Protest Stops Flight at London City Airport — 6 September 2016

The Independent — Seven Arrested as Black Lives Matter Protest Hits Flights at London City Airport — 6 September 2016

Dozens Injured by Chlorine Bomb Attack in Syria

by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria — Dozens were injured in a suspected chlorine bomb attack by Syrian government forces in the city of Aleppo on Tuesday, September 6th.

Many children were treated for breathing difficulties (Photo courtesy of New York Post)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights indicated that barrel bombs were allegedly dropped from helicopters by Syrian government forces on a crowded neighborhood. Use of chlorine in weapons is banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention. Chlorine gas can be fatal in high concentrations. In lower doses, it can damage lungs or cause severe breathing difficulties, vomiting and nausea, among other symptoms.

Syrian activists and volunteer emergency rescue workers stated that the attack caused dozens of cases of suffocation and at least one death. The volunteer rescuers noted that individuals in the area were rushed to hospitals due to severe breathing difficulties following the bombing. The victims’ clothing was reported to smell of chlorine and their symptoms were allegedly the same as those experienced in former attacks. These observations led to the suspicions of a chlorine gas attack. According to reports from the affected area, a majority of the injured individuals were women and children, with a pregnant woman being one of the patients in critical care.

Accusations involving use of chlorine and other poisonous gases are not uncommon in Syria’s civil war. An inquiry conducted in August 2016 by the U.N. and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons found that the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad had used toxic chlorine gas in at least two attacks in 2014 and 2015. The U.N. is further investigating an allegation by the Syrian Civil Defense which accused the government of another chlorine attack in August 2016.

The Syrian government is maintaining its position that it has never used chemical weapons. In August 2013, President Assad agreed to surrender and destroy all chemical weapons and facilities. This resolution authorizes militarily enforceable sanctions for use of any chemical weapons in Syria.

For more information, please see:

New York Post — Dozens recovering after suspected chlorine bomb attack in Syria — 7 September 2016

AlJazeera — Aleppo: Syrian forces blamed for ‘chlorine gas attack’ — 7 September 2016

BBC — Syria conflict: Government helicopters ‘drop chlorine’ on Aleppo — 7 September 2016

USA Today — 2 dead, scores wounded in alleged Syrian gas attack — 7 September 2016

Indigenous Community Fights Against Fracking in Argentina

By Cintia Garcia

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Buenos Aires, Argentina—Large oil companies are facing resistance against fracking from the Mapuche indigenous community located in the northern Patagonia region of Argentina. The Mapuche are claiming that their natural resources are being polluted as a result of gas extraction techniques.

Evidence of a water pipe with grease. (Picture courtesy of BBC)

The region targeted by the oil companies is known as Vaca Muerte in the northern province of Neuqen. It is the second largest hydrocarbon reserve in the world following the United States according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. But the region is also home to various indigenous families who claim that the pollution is contaminating their drinking and farming water. Albino Campo, the leader of a Mapuche community, Lof Campo Maripe, told BBC that, “The Mapuche people are angry. We feel like they have enslaved our land. It’s as if someone came into your house without asking. They have contaminated everything.” Campo also stated that their pipes and water used to be clear, but now the pipes are covered with black grease. In addition to black pipes, the water deposited from the pipes contains murky residue. The Mapuche also claim that the contaminated water is causing birth defects among their farm animals. According to BBC, Conservationist groups are also joining the movement demanding an end to fracking in indigenous territory, farming land, nature reserves, urban areas, and sites near water resources such as rivers, lakes, and lagoons.

The Vaca Muerte region is enticing for oil companies because it is an opportunity for Argentina to become self sufficient for many years to come. Fracking in the area could extract enough oil to cover the demands in Argentina providing cheap energy. Pro-government Congressman Eduardo Amadeo stated that, “Argentina needs oil and gas. You cannot stop production for 45 million people because one or two thousand people feel that their rights are affected.” The YPF and Chevron have the strongest partnership in the region. Chevron has agreed to invest 16 billion in the development through its partnership. YPF and Chevron have drilled 420 wells and are expected to drill 200 more. The companies have denied the allegations of contamination.

For more information, please see:

BBC—Mapuche Community in Argentina Fights Fracking Site—5 September 2016

Humanosphere—Argentina’s Indigenous Communities Unite to Stop Fracking—7 September 2016

Telesur—Mapuches Fight Back Agaisnt Fracking in Argentine Patagonia—7 September 2016