Central European University – Budapest
Concept
Research makes evident that, even if escalation to mass violence often happens swiftly, the progression of events toward genocide is gradual, and there is ample time for the international community to warn, alert and build up the necessary capabilities to prevent the tragedy. It means genocide is preventable!The relatively long period of the development of extremely fragile situations enables and commits the world of academia to contributing through in-depth researches to the assessments of situations and the exploration and identification of both the long-term threatening tendencies and the development and expansion of theoretical frameworks for effectively and timely addressing the challenges.
The Budapest Centre for the International Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities has declared as one of its main objectives to narrow the gap between early warning and early action and to facilitate the cooperation among the stakeholders including the representatives of academia committed to the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities.
The tragic historical events in the last century have clearly proven that one of the most volatile regions of the world from the angle of genocide and mass atrocities is the Great Lakes, therefore, the Centre decided to give priority to that region in its activities.
In that spirit, the Budapest Centre, in cooperation with one of its founders, the Central European University, initiated a roundtable where the representatives of academia and policy makers discussed and explored the best ways and possibilities of cooperation to prevent genocide and mass atrocities in the Great Lakes Region.
The hosts of the event believe that the roundtable has helped launch a series of dialogue which pooled the world of academia and provided possibilities for regular exchange of information, sharing lessons learned and best practices with a view to help avoiding duplications and improving the division of labour in addressing the threats of genocide and mass atrocities.
This roundtable was the Pre-event of the 4th Budapest Human Rights Forum that took place on the 26th and 27th of October at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary.
Programme
9.00Registration
09.30
Welcome Addresses
John Shattuck, President and Rector – Central European University
Gyorgy Tatar, Chair of the Board of Trustees – Foundation for the International Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities
Istvan Lakatos, Human Rights Ambassador – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary
10.00
Lessons learned of cooperation in the Great Lakes Region
Chair: Enzo Maria Le Fevre Cervini, Foundation for the International Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities
Introductory remarks: Ashad Sentongo, Genocide Prevention Program Officer – International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)
Co-referral: Marialaura Marinozzi, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Pisa – Italy)
Structured Dialogue
11.00
Coffee Break
11.30
From research to practice: studying, experimenting and acting in the field of genocide and mass atrocities prevention
Chair: Karoly Bard, Professor, Chair of the Human Rights Program – CEU
Introductory remarks: Ekkehard Strauss – Foundation for the International Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities
Co-referral: Renata Uitz, Professor, Chair of the Comparative Constitutional Law program – CEU
Structured Dialogue
