On 31 March the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) passed Resolution 49/9 on the Prevention of Genocide. The resolution reaffirms the Council’s support for the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide and encouraged member states to consider the appointment of focal points on the prevention of genocide, who could cooperate and exchange information and best practices among themselves and with the Special Adviser, relevant United Nations bodies, and with regional and sub-regional mechanisms. Resolution 49/9 also urges all states to implement accepted Universal Periodic Review recommendations related to the prevention of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity and invites the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide to an interactive dialogue with the HRC at its fifty-third session on the progress made in discharging her/his duties.

The resolution “reiterates the responsibility of each individual State to protect its population from genocide, which entails the prevention of such a crime, including incitement to it, through appropriate and necessary means.”