RES/22/22 Prevention of genocide

GE.E/CN.General Assembly resolution 60/1. /2006/91, A/HRC/5/7, A/HRC/12/19 and A/HRC/15/33. 3-12981

Human Rights Council Twenty-second session

Agenda item 3

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council

22/22.

Prevention of genocide

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as

well as other relevant international instruments,

Recalling Human Rights Council resolution 7/25 on the prevention of genocide,

adopted on 28 March 2008,

Considering that the sixty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and

Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted on 9 December 1948 and succeeded by the

adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the next day, provides an

important opportunity for the international community to draw the attention of all States to

the significance of the Convention and to invite them to redouble their efforts in the

prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide,

Emphasizing that the crime of genocide is recognized in the Convention as an

odious scourge that has inflicted great losses on humanity, and that further international

cooperation is required to facilitate the timely prevention and punishment of the crime of

genocide,

Deeply concerned about the occurrence in recent history of genocide, recognized as

such by the international community, on the basis of and as defined in the Convention, and

bearing in mind that massive, serious and systematic violations of human rights and

international humanitarian law might result in genocide,

Taking into consideration that States parties to the Convention on the Non-

Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity of 26

 The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of the Council on its twenty-second session (A/HRC/22/2), chap. I.

United Nations A/HRC/RES/22/22

General Assembly Distr.: General 12 April 2013

Original: English

November 1968 have agreed that no statutory limitation shall apply to such crimes,

including the crime of genocide, irrespective of the date of their commission,

Affirming that impunity for such crimes encourages their occurrence and is a

fundamental obstacle to the furtherance of cooperation among peoples and the promotion of

international peace and security, and that fighting impunity for such crimes is an important

factor in their prevention,

Acknowledging the significant progress made by the international community in the

past sixty five years, including within the United Nations system, in developing relevant

mechanisms and practices to prevent and punish the crime of genocide, thereby

contributing to the effective implementation of the Convention on the Prevention and

Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 96 (I) of 11 December 1946, in which the

Assembly declared genocide a crime under international law, and all subsequent resolutions

within the United Nations system that have contributed to the establishment and

development of the process of prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide,

including Assembly resolution 60/1 of 16 September 2005,

Acknowledging with appreciation that genocide is defined among the most serious

crimes of concern to the international community as a whole in the Rome Statute of the

International Criminal Court, and also acknowledging the role of the Court and other

relevant international criminal tribunals in helping to increase accountability for the crime

of genocide,

Stressing the importance of the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees

of non-recurrence to the prevention of genocide, and also stressing that perpetrators of this

crime should be held criminally accountable on the national or international level,

Acknowledging the reports of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights on the right to the truth,1 and encouraging States to cooperate with the

Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-

recurrence,

Encouraging States to promote the ascertainment of the truth by appropriate means

as an important element in combating impunity, promoting accountability as part of the

prevention of genocide and comprehensive reconciliation,

Recognizing that an important factor for the prevention of genocide is the

identification of the root causes of genocide, as well as early warning signs,

Recalling that the Human Rights Council was mandated by the General Assembly to

address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations,

and to make recommendations thereon, and that it should also promote the effective

coordination and mainstreaming of human rights in the United Nations system,

Recognizing the important contribution of the United Nations human rights system

to efforts to prevent situations in which the crime of genocide could be committed,

Reaffirming its full support for the mandate of the Special Adviser of the Secretary-

General on the Prevention of Genocide, who acts as, inter alia, an early warning mechanism

to prevent potential situations that could result in genocide,

Taking note of the analysis framework developed by the Office of the Special

Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide as one of the tools to assess the risk of genocide in

any situation, and encouraging Member States and regional and subregional organizations

to use relevant frameworks, as appropriate, for guidance in their prevention work,

Taking note with appreciation of the presentation of the reports of the Secretary-

General submitted to the Human Rights Council on the implementation of the Five-Point

Action Plan2 and on the activities of the Special Adviser,A/HRC/7/37 and A/HRC/10/30. as well as of the convening of

three interactive dialogues with the Special Adviser at the third, seventh and tenth sessions

of the Council,

Recalling the 2005 World Summit Outcome,4

Welcoming the seminar organized in January 2009, pursuant to Human Rights

Council resolution 7/25, commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the Convention on the

Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and bringing together States, relevant

United Nations entities and other international and regional organizations, civil society and

academic and research bodies to discuss existing preventive strategies, initiatives and

mechanisms within the United Nations human rights system, and the role of Member

States, regional bodies and other entities in the prevention of genocide,

Acknowledging the important role played by regional and subregional arrangements

in the prevention of genocide and response to situations that may lead to genocide, and

taking note in this respect of the establishment of the Regional Committee for the

Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, War Crimes, Crimes against

Humanity and All Forms of Discrimination by the International Conference on the Great

Lakes Region, and of the establishment of respective national committees by the member

States of the Conference, the Latin American Network for Genocide and Mass Atrocity

Prevention, the Genocide Network of the European Union and other national, regional and

international initiatives,

Acknowledging the successful outcomes of the Regional Forums on the Prevention

of Genocide, the fourth of which was held in Phnom Penh, from 28 February to 1 March

2013,

1. Reaffirms the significance of the Convention on the Prevention and

Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as an effective international instrument for the

prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide;

2. 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;

3. Encourages Member States to build their capacity to prevent genocide

through the development of individual expertise and the creation of appropriate offices

within Governments to strengthen the work on prevention;

4. Encourages 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 on the Prevention of Genocide, relevant

United Nations bodies and with regional and subregional mechanisms;

5. Expresses its appreciation to all States that have ratified or acceded to the

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and in particular

2 E/CN.4/2006/84.

to the States that have done so since the adoption by the Human Rights Council of its

resolution 7/25 on 28 March 2008;

6. Calls upon States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Convention to

consider doing so as a matter of high priority and, where necessary, to enact national

legislation in conformity with the provisions of the Convention;

7. Stresses the importance of enhanced international cooperation, including

through the United Nations system and through regional organizations, aimed at fostering

the principles enshrined in the Convention;

8. Calls upon all States, in order to deter future occurrences of genocide, to

cooperate, including through the United Nations system, in strengthening appropriate

collaboration among existing mechanisms that contribute to the early detection and

prevention of massive, serious and systematic violations of human rights that, if not halted,

could lead to genocide;

9. Recognizes the important role of the Secretary-General in contributing to

prompt consideration of cases of early warning or prevention, as mandated by the Security

Council in its resolution 1366 (2001) of 30 August 2001, and the functions of the Special

Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide who, in accordance with his mandate, collects

existing information, in particular from within the United Nations system, liaises with the

United Nations system on activities for the prevention of genocide and works to enhance

the capacity of the United Nations to analyse and manage information relating to genocide

or related crimes;

10. Requests all Governments to cooperate fully with the Special Adviser on the

Prevention of Genocide in the performance of his work, to furnish all relevant information

requested and to react promptly to his urgent appeals;

11. Underlines the important role of the United Nations human rights system,

including that of the Human Rights Council, the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant special procedures and treaty bodies in

addressing the challenge of collating information on massive, serious and systematic

violations of human rights, thereby contributing to a better understanding and early warning

of complex situations that might lead to genocide;

12. Reiterates the importance of the universal periodic review mechanism of the

Human Rights Council, which is an important instrument for advancing human rights, and

invites States to include, where appropriate, the information on the prevention of genocide,

war crimes and crimes against humanity in their national reports;

13. Encourages the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the High

Commissioner to further enhance the systematic exchange of information between their

offices and between the Special Adviser and all relevant special procedures, including those

concerned with the promotion and protection of human rights of persons belonging to

national, ethnic, racial or religious groups, as outlined in article II of the Convention on the

Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as well as to continue collaboration

with relevant international, regional and subregional organizations, national human rights

institutions and civil society;

14. Reiterates the importance, when addressing complex situations that might

lead to genocide as defined in the Convention, of a prompt and comprehensive examination

of a set of multiple factors, including legal factors and possible warning signs as identified

in, inter alia, the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Five-Point

Action Plan2 and the analysis framework of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of

Genocide, such as the existence of groups at risk, the massive, serious and systematic

violation of human rights, the resurgence of systematic discrimination and the prevalence of

expressions of hate speech targeting persons belonging to national, ethnic, racial or

religious groups, especially if they are uttered in the context of an actual or potential

outbreak of violence;

15. Encourages States to make use of appropriate international and regional

forums to address the issue of prevention of genocide, including, inter alia, the annual

meetings of regional and thematic organizations and their related human rights machinery

dedicated to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the

Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;

16. Invites Member States and regional and subregional organizations to look at

the examples of best practices of prevention of genocide developed in other regions, as

appropriate, taking into account their specific regional and national circumstances, with the

aim of exchanging experiences and good practices in order to strengthen prevention

measures, including early warning mechanisms and forms of cooperation;

17. Encourages Governments, in cooperation with international and regional

organizations and civil society, while promoting human rights education activities, to

continue to disseminate knowledge of the principles of the Convention, paying particular

attention to the principles of prevention;

18. Emphasizes the important role that education, including human rights

education, can play in genocide prevention, and further encourages Governments to

promote, as appropriate, educational programmes and projects that contribute to the

prevention of genocide;

19. Takes note of the provision of training and technical assistance to Member

States by the United Nations to strengthen early warning mechanisms for the prevention of

genocide, as well as other prevention capacities, and encourages Member States to consider

requesting such assistance, if required;

20. Invites States as a preventive measure to provide appropriate ways, which

may include the establishment of national days of remembrance of victims of genocide, war

crimes and crimes against humanity, which will ensure that such horrendous crimes are

never forgotten and provide an opportunity for everyone to learn lessons from the past and

create a safer future;

21. Requests the High Commissioner to organize, from within existing resources,

a high-level panel discussion dedicated to the sixty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on

the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide during its twenty-fifth session,

with the participation of Member States, relevant United Nations bodies, agencies and other

relevant stakeholders, and also requests the Office of High Commissioner to prepare and

submit a summary report on the panel discussion;

22. Invites the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of

Genocide to an interactive dialogue dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the creation of the

mandate of the Special Adviser at its twenty-fifth session;

23. Decides to continue its consideration of this issue in accordance with its

programme of work.

49th meeting

22 March 2013

[Adopted without a vote.]