On 20 May the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect’s Executive Director, Savita Pawnday, delivered the Eminent Person Lecture as part of the Inter University Centre (IUC) Dubrovnik’s course on Atrocity Crimes Prevention and Human Rights. The school is led by Ambassador Ivan Šimonović, former UN Special Adviser on R2P and current member of the Global Centre’s International Advisory Board.

In her address, titled “Holding the Line: International Law, Atrocity Prevention and the Future of Global Protection,” Savita highlighted the growing challenges facing international norms, atrocity prevention and civilian protection in an increasingly volatile global landscape. The lecture examined the evolution of the international protection framework, including international humanitarian and human rights law and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and highlighted their role in safeguarding populations from the gravest crimes. While noting the significant normative progress achieved in recent decades, Savita warned that these protections are increasingly under strain as civilians continue to bear the costs of conflict in places such as Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and Myanmar.

A central theme of the lecture was the importance of the consistent and universal application of international law. Savita argued that selective enforcement and political double standards undermine the legitimacy of the international legal system, weaken deterrence and increase the vulnerability of populations at risk.

Concluding with a call to action for students, scholars and practitioners, Savita challenged the audience to consider whether the international community will allow the norms that protect humanity to erode, or whether it will hold the line.