This afternoon at the UN Headquarters in New York, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, H.E. Mr. Bert Koenders, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Botswana, H.E. Ms. Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Liberia, H.E. Mr. Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, in association with the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, co-hosted a Ministerial Roundtable on: The Responsibility to Protect at 10: Linking Crosscutting Agendas for Prevention and Protection.

A cross-regional group of ministers representing twelve governments contributed to the discussion while more than twenty-five other governments attended as observers. The United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Mr. Adama Dieng, and the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Mogens Lykketoft, contributed opening remarks to the discussion while Ms. Lyse Doucet, Chief International Correspondent of the BBC, moderated the interactive discussion.

The eighth annual Ministerial Roundtable on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) marked the tenth anniversary of the adoption of R2P at the 2005 World Summit. The anniversary provides an important opportunity to take stock of national, regional and global efforts to prevent mass atrocity crimes and set out a vision for the decade ahead.

The aim of this year’s R2P Ministerial Roundtable was to focus on the core issues of civilian protection and atrocity prevention that lie at the heart of R2P. A range of other related policy agendas were also discussed, including Early Warning, Mediation, Peacekeeping, Protection of Civilians, Children and Armed Conflict, Women, Peace and Security, Countering Violent Extremism, Transitional Justice and Accountability for mass atrocities. The discussion highlighted the linkages between these agendas and addressed the various ways in which atrocity prevention and civilian protection can be put into practice by States and other international actors.

The Ministerial Roundtable discussion on the Responsibility to Protect is an established feature of the UN General Assembly leaders’ week, where Ministers and other high-level participants and speakers explore different aspects of R2P. The advocacy of Ministers from all regions of the world has been vital in shifting the debate on R2P from a question of principle to meaningful implementation.