Title: United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect
Headings: Prevention
Prevention
Reports by the Special Advisers
Relevant thematic UN Resolutions

Content: Preventing atrocity crimes means being aware of these risks and taking action to address and reduce them, or ideally, eradicate them. Preventing genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity is an ongoing process that requires sustained effort over time to build the resilience of societies to atrocity crimes by ensuring that the rule of law is respected and that all human rights are protected, without discrimination; by establishing legitimate and accountable national institutions; by eliminating corruption; by managing diversity constructively; and by supporting a strong and diverse civil society and a pluralistic media. According to international law, the primary obligation to prevent atrocity crimes lies with individual States. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the 1949 Geneva Conventions and overall international human rights law treaties contain provisions that oblige Member States to prevent those crimes or violations, including by ensuring the respect for the norms in them contained. In the 2005 World Summit, Member States adopted the principle of the Responsibility to Protect, which reaffirms the primary responsibility of the State to protect its population from atrocity crimes, as well as their incitement. However, that principle also underlines the responsibility of the international community to prevent atrocity crimes by helping States to build capacity to protect their populations and assisting States under stress “before crises and conflicts break out”.