The UN General Assembly held a plenary meeting on the “Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity” on 25 June and 1 and 25 July as part of the formal agenda of its 79th session.

The meeting opened with introductory remarks by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. During his remarks the Secretary-General introduced this year’s report on R2P, “Responsibility to Protect: 20 years of commitment to principled and collective action.”

During the debate 58 member states and one regional organization (the European Union) spoke on behalf of 99 countries and one observer mission. During the debate the Permanent Representative of Morocco spoke on behalf of the Group of Friends of R2P. Joint statements were also delivered on behalf of the Nordic and Baltic States, CANZ countries, the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations and by France on behalf of itself and Mexico.

The text of the statements delivered during the debate is available via the UN Journal for 25 June, 1 July and 25 July.

Full video of the debate is available below:

25 June:

1 July:

25 July: