The following statement as delivered by Sierra Leone on behalf of members of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect during the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide during the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Mr. President, 

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect. We thank the Special Adviser for her intervention and ongoing policy advice to the Secretary-General. 

The core purpose of the UN is to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” and to “reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights”. In order to do this the UN must be equipped for effective prevention and response to atrocity crimes.

Previous UN internal reviews led to renewed calls for stronger leadership, improved coordination, and the integration of human rights and atrocity prevention across all areas of UN engagement. In the context of the ongoing UN80 process, we wish to reiterate the importance of the UN’s role in preventing atrocity crimes, and any institutional changes should be made with this in mind. The Responsibility to Protect is an essential part of the UN’s broader protection framework. The UN’s work to strengthening coordination and collaboration around early warning and risk analysis across the UN system is vital to prevention efforts in all phases of a conflict cycle and especially in early action to prevent mass atrocities.  

We believe the current reform process offers a valuable opportunity to reinforce the importance of atrocity prevention, as well as the promotion and protection of human rights within the UN system. In doing so, we encourage timely, informed, and principled action in the face of atrocity risks, which will help the UN fulfil its core mission of protecting the most vulnerable.

Thank you.