“THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT, THE DUTY TO PREVENT”
A CYCLE OF SEMINARS TO SPREAD KNOWLEDGE ON THE PREVENTION OF MASS ATROCITIES
The Budapest Centre for the International Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, together with the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Roma Tre, launched of the cycle of seminars The Responsibility to Protect, the Duty to Prevent, offered to the students regularly enrolled in the graduate-level curse in “International law and peace processes” at Roma Tre.
The first cycle took place between April and May 2014, with weekly sessions at the Department of Political Science of the University of Roma Tre.
The seminars focused on the main issues that constitute the normative principles at European and international level for the prevention and punishment of international crimes and on the concept of the Responsibility to Protect. Particular attention has been devoted to the instruments available at the United Nations, the European Union and the African Union levels. The seminars touched upon the multifaceted aspects of particular interest and relevance to the topic, spanning from the link between development strategies and prevention policies to the role of preventive diplomacy, analysing the role of the European Union External Action Service and the UN Human Rights Council, while also dedicating attention to the concept of dialogue and the role of military trainings.
Lead by Dr Enzo M. Le Fevre Cervini, Director of Research and Cooperation of the Budapest Centre and Prof Cristiana Carletti, Chair of International Law at the Department of Political Science of the University of Roma Tre, the cycle of seminars hosted several distinguished speakers: Prof Jennifer Welsh, Special Adviser of the UN Secretary General on the Responsibility to Protect; H.E. Istvan Lakatos, Human Rights Ambassador of Hungary; Ms Ellen Van Thiel, Senior Advisor for the Hungarian Mission to the UN in Geneva; Lt.C. Massimo Contri, Centre of Excellence for Stability Police Units (CoESPU); Minister Pasquale Ferrara, Secretary General of the European University Institute; Adviser Jessica Laganà, Focal Point on the Responsibility to Protect of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and by distinguished members of the staff of the Budapest Centre.
The cycle of seminars also hosted the Italian premiere of the movie “Watchers Of The Sky”. “The movie interweaves four stories of remarkable courage, compassion, and determination, while setting out to uncover the forgotten life of Raphael Lemkin – the man who created the word “genocide,” and believed the law could protect the world from mass atrocities. Inspired by Samantha Power’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, A Problem From Hell, WATCHERS OF THE SKY takes you on a provocative journey from Nuremberg to The Hague, from Bosnia to Darfur, from criminality to justice, and from apathy to action.”
For more information: Read the Cycle of seminars_R2P_Roma3_Report or visit http://scienzepolitiche.uniroma3.it/ccarletti/?page_id=403
