
Today, 3 June 2025, the UN General Assembly elected Bahrain, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Latvia and Liberia to the UN Security Council for the 2026-2027 term.
The Security Council bears the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are among the most serious violations of international law and constitute a direct threat to international peace and security. The international community looks to the Security Council not only to respond to crises, but to prevent them. Upholding this responsibility is not optional – it is an obligation under the UN Charter and a moral imperative. This responsibility was further emphasized in the Pact for the Future, which called on states to “Support credible, timely and decisive action by the Security Council, in exercise of its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, to prevent or end the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.”
Since 2005 the Security Council has adopted 97 resolutions and 17 presidential statements that refer to the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), including with regard to situations in the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syria and eight other country situations, as well as several thematic issue areas. However, words must be matched by consistent action. Despite its mandate, all too often the Security Council has been unable or unwilling to take timely action on mass atrocity situations due to deep political divisions and/or the veto prerogative of the permanent members. This has had a debilitating effect on the Council’s ability to respond in a comprehensive and consistent manner to atrocities in Myanmar (Burma), Gaza, Sudan, Syria and elsewhere – making ineffective the very body charged with preventing and addressing mass atrocities.
This failure to act consistently and impartially not only undermines international law and the UN Charter but erodes trust among the wider UN membership and the public, including affected communities. To restore its credibility and fulfill its mandate, the Council must overcome double standards and apply a consistent, principled approach to all atrocity situations, ensuring that responses are guided by the gravity of the situation rather than political considerations.
It is therefore more important than ever for Council members to work cooperatively and creatively to ensure that the international community takes timely, decisive, practical action to prevent atrocities and protect vulnerable populations wherever and whenever they are threatened. The composition of the new Council offers opportunities to advance this goal, particularly as several members have already demonstrated strong commitments to atrocity prevention. With their election, 7 of the 15 members of the Council in 2026 will be “Friends of the R2P” – having appointed an R2P Focal Point and/or joined the Group of Friends of R2P in New York and Geneva.
All newly elected members of the Security Council have demonstrated some level of commitment to the core instruments of international human rights and humanitarian law relevant to R2P and the prevention of mass atrocities. These include the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols I and II, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Arms Trade Treaty – with each member having either signed, ratified or acceded to these key instruments. In addition to treaty engagement, all five newly elected members are signatories to the ACT Code of Conduct, while Colombia, DRC and Latvia also support the France/Mexico Veto Restraint Declaration, reinforcing their commitment to atrocity prevention at the multilateral level.
Following these ‘clean slate’ elections, it is imperative that all newly elected members uphold the principles enshrined in the UN Charter, including by prioritizing the protection of civilians, ensuring accountability for perpetrators of atrocities and supporting efforts to address the root causes of conflict. Notably, as the DRC prepares to assume its seat on the Security Council, it must reaffirm this core responsibility. For nearly three decades, several UN investigative mechanisms, experts and entities have documented violations and abuses by Congolese government forces, police and affiliated armed groups, particularly in the conflict-affected eastern regions, that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect encourages all newly elected and existing Security Council members to utilize the broad array of tools for prevention and response:
Early Warning, Monitoring and Preventive Measures
Protective Measures
Accountability, Transparency and Leadership on Atrocity Situations
Normative Commitment
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