A/76/PV.86 General Assembly

In accordance with rule 70 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, I now give the floor to Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, to make a statement on behalf of the Secretary-General. Ms. Nderitu: It is a great pleasure and honour to present the fourteenth annual report of the Secretary- General on the responsibility to protect (A/76/844) to this formal debate of the General Assembly. Since the first report was published in 2009, the reports have provided a basis for the ongoing consideration by the General Assembly of the concept of the responsibility to protect, as was called for by Heads of State and Government when they affirmed that responsibility at the 2005 World Summit. Since then, Member States, the Secretariat and the General Assembly have made progress in further elaborating and operationalizing the responsibility to protect and have elaborated, inter alia, frameworks for identifying risks, early-warning models and institutional mechanisms to implement it. The report for this year, entitled “Responsibility to protect: prioritizing children and young people”, is dedicated to highlighting the special situation and needs of children and youth in contexts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report highlights the ways, reasons and extent to which children and youth are targeted and impacted by those crimes in both armed conflict and non-armed conflict situations. It calls for concerted action by multiple actors. More specifically, it calls on Governments to protect children and youth from atrocity crimes as a priority. The report underlines that protecting children and populations at large from those crimes means building societies in which atrocity crimes are unlikely to occur. It then continues to call on national Governments and those supporting them to identify and respond to early warnings; honour legal commitments relevant to the protection of children and youth; promote socioeconomic inclusion and equality; address hate speech; leverage the education sector to promote respect for diversity and social cohesion; pursue accountability for atrocities committed against children and youth; and put children and youth at the centre of atrocity- protection efforts, including by respecting principles relating to child rights and leveraging the capacities of children and youth. The report underlines that, in implementing those priorities, Governments will require the support and engagement of multiple stakeholders, including civil society organizations and multilateral and bilateral State and institutional partners, international financial institutions and the private sector. I look forward to members’ strong consideration of the findings and recommendations contained in the report. Among them, I would like to reiterate the ownership and commitment of Member States to protect their populations from atrocity crimes as the keystones for making the responsibility to protect a living reality, not only for children and youth but for all segments of the population at large. In considering the recommendations outlined in the report, priority should be given to how to advance their implementation in concrete and accountable terms so as to yield real, measurable outcomes for both children and youth and broader population groups. Finally, inasmuch as both the Secretary- General’s report and my remarks today have stressed the fundamental role and importance of national responsibility, I must of course reiterate the crucial role of intergovernmental actors in the battle to curb atrocity crimes and ensure the safety, protection and progressive development of populations. I wish to recall that, as affirmed at the World Summit in 2005, the responsibility to protect includes the responsibility of the Organization to consider the options set out in the Charter of the United Nations regarding situations of concern and to recommend measures that could be taken to protect populations. It is vital that those dimensions continue to be an integral part of our continued consideration and actions on the responsibility to protect.

I thank the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide for her statement on behalf of the Secretary-General.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of France and my own country, Mexico. States have the primary responsibility to protect (R2P) their populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. That is not a matter of political will but rather an inherent obligation of sovereign States under international law. We welcome the report of the Secretary-General (A/76/844) and renew our support for his two Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and on the Responsibility to Protect, respectively. Our collective priority remains the operationalization of the political commitments upon which the responsibility to protect is based, in full respect for international law, in particular the Charter of the United Nations. In that endeavour, France and Mexico — as the initiators of a joint initiative on the framing of the use of the veto by the five permanent members of the Security Council in cases of mass atrocities  — take this opportunity to highlight four key points. First, prevention must remain the utmost priority of the United Nations system. There are certain conditions, such as hate speech, systemic discrimination, structural inequalities and serious violations of human rights, that increase the likelihood of atrocity crimes being committed. Those are notorious signs of alarm that make all mass atrocities avoidable. Prevention entails addressing the root causes of armed conflict through the promotion, protection and fulfilment of human rights. It goes hand in hand with the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. In conflict settings, it is furthered through the effective protection of civilians, including children and youth, and the strengthening of peacekeeping through the Action for Peacekeeping initiative. Secondly, early warnings are of little use if we do not respond with appropriate and timely action. The use of the veto cannot be aimed at paralysing the Security Council in the fulfilment of its mandate to maintain international peace and security. It is in that spirit that the French-Mexican initiative was launched in 2015 to voluntarily and collectively suspend the use of the veto in the Security Council in the event of mass atrocities being committed. The initiative is now supported by 106 States. It strikes at the core of inaction. We seek that the five permanent members of the Security Council pledge not to use the veto in cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in order to allow the Council to take effective action. It is high time to raise our voices, given the current challenging times in which multilateralism and international law are being put to the test. That voluntary approach, which strictly respects the prerogatives of the Security Council and its members, does not require a revision of the Charter but rather a political commitment. We therefore take this opportunity to call on all States that have not yet done so, in particular the other permanent members of the Security Council, to join the initiative. France and Mexico are planning to organize an Arria Formula meeting during the seventy-seventh session of the General Assembly in order to propose ways in which the Security Council can take swift and effective action both to prevent and put an end to situations of mass atrocities when crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are committed on a large scale. We also welcome the adoption of resolution 76/262, which was recently adopted by consensus and contributes to the promotion of the responsible use of the veto. Thirdly, we welcome the focus on children and youth in the report of the Secretary-General. In order for them to be fully effective, prevention and accountability measures must be age-sensitive and gender-responsive. We call on all States that have not yet done so to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. As we commemorate 15 years since the adoption of the Paris Principles and Commitments on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups this year, we take this opportunity to call for their universal endorsement, as well as that of the Safe Schools Declaration and the Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers. The evidence is clear — for lasting peace, we must redouble efforts to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and ensure the participation of women and young persons in atrocity-prevention measures and peace processes. Fourthly, impunity must end. Ending impunity is essential not only in providing a measure of justice to victims, but also as a credible deterrent against future atrocities. In order to strengthen accountability mechanisms and exchange best practices, we renew our call on States to support and cooperate with the International Criminal Court, as well as with fact- finding missions and commissions of inquiry. We also call on States that have not yet done so to join key international instruments, including human rights instruments, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Mexico and France recognize the efforts undertaken to operationalize the R2P concept over the past 16 years in order to protect people from atrocity crimes. However, such crimes are not on the decline, and civilians, including women and children, continue to suffer from violence, whether deliberate or as a result of indiscriminate attacks. Today’s formal debate is more critical than ever to strengthen our prevention and response capacities and renew our collective commitment to easing the suffering of civilian populations and ending violence. We take this opportunity to reiterate our concern regarding the deteriorating humanitarian situation in many parts of the world, including Ukraine, Syria and Myanmar, and in particular at the high number of civilian casualties, including children. Let me conclude by reiterating the full and unwavering support of our two countries, including as responsible members of the Security Council.

I have the honour of delivering this long statement on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect, which comprises 55 Member States and the European Union and is co-chaired this year by Botswana, Costa Rica and Croatia. We would like to thank the President of the General Assembly for having convened this meeting, and the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, for her statement. Today marks the thirteenth year that the General Assembly is gathering to discuss how to implement the responsibility to protect (R2P), and the fifth time in the format of a formal debate. We would like to express our gratitude to all Member States who supported last year’s resolution on the responsibility to protect (resolution 75/277), which formally mandated the Secretary- General to issue a report annually on R2P and decided that it be permanently included as an item on the Assembly’s formal agenda. The adoption of resolution 75/277 reflects the strong interest of members in sharing ideas and best practices regarding the ways in which we might individually and collectively improve our ability to prevent and respond to genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. We would like to thank the Secretary-General for his important thematic report entitled “Responsibility to protect: prioritizing children and young people” (A/76/844). We encourage the Secretary-General to also include in his future reports assessments of atrocity risks and recommendations for responses at the national, regional and global levels. Children and youth are uniquely and often disproportionately affected by conflict and atrocities. Millions of children around the world today face the risk of mass atrocity crimes, and their safety, protection, dignity and welfare are fundamental to the objectives of R2P. There are six types of violation against children during situations of armed conflict, as originally identified in Security Council resolution 1261 (1999), including recruitment and use; abduction; killing and maiming; and rape or other forms of sexual violence. Depending on the circumstances, those violations may either amount to atrocity crimes in themselves or give an indication that an atrocity crime may be committed. In 2021, the United Nations reported 266,000 verified cases of such grave violations against children in more than 30 conflict situations over the past 16 years. Moreover, in non-conflict settings, we have witnessed children forcibly separated from their parents and deprived of their human rights on the basis of their identity. Youth-led movements are demanding change in order to shape the world that they will soon inherit. In recent years, we have witnessed young activists protesting across the world with a view to mobilizing change. Young people are powerful agents of peace and security, and their perspectives, expertise and voices must be heard and harnessed in order to inform any atrocity-prevention efforts. The world is currently facing alarming levels of violence, atrocities and displacement. R2P remains the key principle around which the international community can coalesce when vulnerable populations face the threat of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. In that context, we would like to reaffirm our full support for the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect. Given that this is the first debate on the subject since Mr. George Okoth-Obbo was appointed Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect, we would especially like to welcome him in that role. We encourage the Secretary-General’s two Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and on the Responsibility to Protect, respectively, to use their leadership roles to advance atrocity prevention and highlight the risks in ongoing crises around the world. We welcome the Office’s statements on specific situations, thematic briefings and country analyses at various meetings, as well as the support that the Office provides to Member States and regional organizations. We urge the Special Advisers to strengthen those efforts and share their analysis with the wider United Nations membership and regularly provide the necessary early-warning assessments and recommendations on how to prevent atrocities, including to the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. We also encourage the two Special Advisers to work with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and to cooperate closely with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, including with respect to its field presences and the human rights components of peacekeeping and special political missions, as well as with the relevant special rapporteurs and other specific United Nations human rights mandate holders and treaty bodies. We welcome the Office’s plan to update the Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes, including by developing additional technical guidance on the unique atrocity risks faced by women and girls and youth, and to promote its dissemination. As recommended in several of the Secretary-General’s reports, the Office should also produce atrocity crimes prevention guidance for practitioners, based on the Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes. The Secretary-General may also consider following up more systematically on the implementation of recommendations contained in his previous reports, possibly in the form of an annex to his yearly reports. The United Nations, its Member States and other stakeholders, including civil society, continue to achieve important progress in advancing atrocity prevention at the local, national, regional and international levels. We also commend the initiatives of Member States to bring the perpetrators of atrocity crimes to justice, including, where appropriate and in accordance with the applicable international law, through the exercise of universal jurisdiction. Domestic accountability measures for atrocities are among the most effective ways to prevent their recurrence. Fact-finding missions, investigative mechanisms, commissions of inquiry and hybrid and international courts and tribunals, including the International Criminal Court, provide complementary avenues to enable accountability in instances when and where options under domestic law prove to be insufficient. The frameworks created to identify upstream drivers, triggers and risks, the institutionalization of early-warning and prevention mechanisms and the initiatives established by networks of committed States, such as the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect in New York and Geneva and the Global Network of R2P Focal Points, continue to contribute significantly to the prevention of atrocities. In confronting the challenge of a divided Security Council that is not always able to take timely and decisive action in the face of atrocities, Member States have given increased attention to the important role that the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council can play in preventing and responding to atrocity crimes. Human Rights Council-mandated mechanisms, such as the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, have utilized the United Nations Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes to identify the significant structural risk factors and potential triggers of atrocities, thereby contributing to the development of strategies to prevent their recurrence or further escalation. Despite the national and global efforts to prevent the escalation of conflicts and protect populations, there are currently more than 100 million people displaced as a result of conflict, persecution and atrocities. That figure demonstrates why the responsibility to protect needs to be at the heart of our shared mission to advance peace and security, human rights and development. When atrocity situations are emerging or ongoing, it is important for multilateral institutions, most notably the Security Council, and Member States to take timely and decisive action. The Council should consider situations where there is a potential for mass atrocities at the earliest possible stage, including by utilizing working methods such as situational-awareness or horizon-scanning briefings and Arria Formula meetings, and by inviting the Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect, respectively, as well as the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to brief the Council. We call on all members of the Security Council to respond to and address the risk or commission of mass atrocities, noting, in that context, initiatives such as the code of conduct of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group and the French-Mexican initiative on the use of the veto in cases of mass atrocities, which was mentioned earlier. In that connection, we also welcome the support of members for the recently adopted resolution aimed at holding the five permanent members of the Council accountable for their use of the veto (resolution 76/262). We also recognize the important role that national and international civil society can play in supporting the further advancement and implementation of R2P. The expertise of civil-society actors can substantially and substantively inform discussions among policy and decision makers in relation to atrocity prevention and the responsibility to protect, in particular through the inclusion of the voices and needs of local actors and communities directly affected by ongoing atrocities. We would like to thank the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect for its invaluable work as secretariat of the Global Network of R2P Focal Points and the Group of Friends, both in New York and in Geneva. We also strongly support an inclusive approach to preventing atrocity crimes  — one that recognizes the critical role that women and youth play in early warning, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, capacity- building and developing more cohesive, inclusive and resilient societies. We should take concrete steps to end all forms of gender-based discrimination and violence and to empower women and youth as agents of change, including by promoting access to essential services and education, including human-rights education, and meaningful participation in the decision-making processes that affect their lives. Today, during this formal debate, we look forward to hearing from Member States on best practices to end the current climate of impunity and inaction with regard to the risk of atrocity crimes across the globe. Let this debate be a reminder of the importance of continuing this exchange of information and the need to strengthen our individual and collective prevention efforts.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of Latvia, Lithuania and my own country, Estonia. We align ourselves with the statement to be delivered by the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer. We welcome the annual General Assembly debate on the responsibility to protect (R2P) and commend the Assembly’s adoption last year of resolution 75/277, according to which R2P and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity are to be included on its annual agenda. We thank the Secretary-General for his latest report on the responsibility to protect (A/76/844), which provides insight into ways to prioritize children and youth. We also thank the Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect, respectively, and the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect for their important work. Children and youth continue to be targeted by, and caught up in, atrocity crimes. They have been killed and maimed, including in indiscriminate attacks on schools and hospitals; recruited into armed forces and armed groups; detained; tortured; abducted; and faced rape and other forms of sexual violence. Firm action is needed on the part of every State in order to strengthen efforts to fulfil obligations under international law to provide special protection to children and young people, both in conflict and in peacetime. At the same time, no State has the right to use R2P in bad faith as a pretext for invasion. Russia’s allegations of Ukraine having committed genocide in the Donbas region of the country were false, and Russia must comply with the 16 March order of the International Court of Justice and immediately suspend its military operations in the territory of Ukraine. Russia’s ongoing four-month-long brutal aggression against Ukraine has been characterized by systematic violations of international law that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and possibly even genocide. It has also brought grave violations against children, including killing and maiming them, attacking schools and hospitals, committing sexual violence and denying humanitarian access. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has caused profound and lasting damage to children and youth, including persons with disabilities, and especially those who have fallen victim to the horrific human rights violations and abuses committed by the Russian armed forces in Russia’s war of aggression. Officially confirmed data shows that more than 300 Ukrainian children have been killed and nearly 600 injured in the war initiated by Russia. Moreover, nearly two thirds of Ukraine’s children have been displaced. The actual numbers are likely to be even higher and more horrifying. The fate of many Ukrainian children is unknown, including those hundreds of thousands of children being forcibly deported from Ukraine to Russia and who may now face illegal adoption in the country. Those brutal actions by Russia against the Ukrainian nation and its future — the children — will affect many generations to come. Our countries have welcomed those fleeing the war in Ukraine, including children and youth. We have offered them access to our education and health systems, as well as online learning opportunities and mental health support for those still in Ukraine and those who have fled. Every child and young person has a right to safety and a right to education. We remain actively engaged in protecting and promoting human rights, including the rights of persons with disabilities and the rights of the child in Ukraine. As strong supporters of accountability, including the mandate of the International Criminal Court, the Baltic States fully support the call to ensure that the perpetrators of atrocities against children and youth are held to account, including by adopting and implementing legislation that criminalizes violations of the rules of international law pertaining to the protection of children in armed conflict, adopting national accountability measures and ensuring that all accountability mechanisms have the necessary expertise to investigate, document, prosecute and adjudicate crimes against children and youth. Finally, in order to enhance the protection of all populations, we call on those States that have not yet done so to join key international instruments, including human rights instruments and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Benelux countries — Belgium, the Netherlands and my own country, Luxembourg. We align ourselves with the statement to be made by the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, and the statement made by the representative of Costa Rica, on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). The Benelux countries welcome the report of the Secretary-General (A/76/844), which has just been presented by the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu. We welcome the appointment of Mr. George Okoth-Obbo as Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect. We reiterate our full support for his mandate and the work of his Office. Our countries attach particular importance to the responsibility to protect  — a norm that is integral to a just international order based on respect for the rule of law. That is why last year we voted in favour of resolution 75/277 in order to permanently include the responsibility to protect on the agenda of the General Assembly. The resolution was timely given that, regrettably, the number of atrocity crimes continues to rise. Such crimes affect the entire international community, especially children and young people. Atrocity crimes affect children and young people in different ways. In Ukraine, hundreds of children and young people have died as a result of the bombing of civilian infrastructure by the Russian armed forces. In Afghanistan, children and young people are victims of sexual violence. However, atrocity crimes can also occur outside of an armed conflict. In the Xinjiang region, Uyghur children are forcibly separated from their parents. In his report, the Secretary-General also mentions intolerance of diversity as well as discrimination based on identity as elements that create an environment conducive to atrocity crimes. In that context, our countries underscore their commitment to respect for diversity and deplore any discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Although children and young people face different atrocities risks, the international community has not yet managed to adapt atrocity prevention to the needs of children and young people. Despite the significant progress made in protecting the rights of children in general, few of those measures relate to the prevention of atrocities. It is therefore essential to put children and young people at the heart of prevention efforts. The contribution of young people to the prevention of conflicts and the creation of tolerant societies has already been recognized by the Security Council through the youth, peace and security agenda. However, we must redouble our efforts to break down the barriers that are preventing children and young people from fully playing their role as partners in building and sustaining peace. In that connection, we also encourage the Secretary-General to include an assessment of the risks of atrocity crimes in his annual reports, as well as an analysis of the implementation of the recommendations contained in previous reports. Action-oriented reports with concrete follow-up to those recommendations would enable the international community to better implement the responsibility to protect. Finally, the role of civil society is essential, both at the local and international levels, where non-governmental organizations such as the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect and the other organizations within the International Coalition for R2P support countries in implementing their international obligations. I should like to conclude by emphasizing that the responsibility to protect civilian populations lies primarily with the States concerned. We therefore urge all Member States to shoulder their responsibility to protect in order to advance peace, security and human rights for all.

Canada endorses the statement made by the representative of Costa Rica on behalf of the members of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect. We thank the Secretary-General for his report (A/76/844), and Ms. Nderitu for her statement earlier today. We welcome the report’s focus on children and young people. Promoting the protection of children in times of conflict and violence has been a priority for Canada for many years. Today I must talk about the devastating effects of the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine, which is, among other things, a war of aggression against the children of Ukraine. (spoke in English) As we sit here in the General Assembly today, Russian forces are indiscriminately bombing schools and hospitals, subjecting Ukrainian women and girls to brutal sexual and gender-based violence and forcibly displacing and deporting Ukrainian children in the hundreds of thousands. It is a war against the very future of Ukraine, as Russia seeks to destroy Ukrainian identity as a sovereign and independent nation. I would remind all of us here today that, following the terrible events of the Second World War, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which states, and I quote its Article II because I think that we should be constantly reminded of what it says: “In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic[al], racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.” Let me repeat that: “(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group” — that is a definition of genocide. Ukraine’s application to the International Court of Justice concerning Russia’s unsubstantiated allegations of genocide in Ukraine is historic. The conclusion that Russia should immediately withdraw its troops from Ukraine is an order of the International Court of Justice, of which Russia is a member and with which Russia has refused to comply. We strongly encourage and fully support the Secretary-General in using all the tools at the disposal of the United Nations in order to hold Russia accountable for the grave violations committed against children in Ukraine. There are moments when bold action is required, and now is such a moment. For our part, we will continue to promote accountability for Russia’s violations of international law in Ukraine, including through the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and national courts, by invoking international jurisdiction, just as we will continue to demand accountability in Ethiopia, Myanmar, Syria, Yemen and indeed all over the world. (spoke in French) For the past 13 years, the Assembly has been discussing the issue of the responsibility to protect (R2P). We now better understand what that principle means and what it does not mean. The responsibility to protect is not solely about the use of military force. Contrary to the assertions of some members of the Assembly — and I am sure they will make the same assertions again in this debate  — it is not a tool for interfering in the sovereignty of States. On the contrary, the responsibility to protect consists in bolstering the responsible sovereignty of States. Above all, it is a question of prevention by using all the available tools in full respect for the Charter of the United Nations and international law. The prevention of atrocity crimes is everyone’s business. (spoke in English) Last year, we collectively placed R2P permanently on the Assembly’s agenda. As we look forward to future engagement on this issue, we would like to share two thoughts for consideration. First, recent reports of the Secretary-General have expanded our understanding of R2P from a thematic perspective. Moving forward, future United Nations reports should focus on country situations and provide assessments on risks and recommendations. To put it simply, we have to become more granular in the meaning of R2P and how we can put it to good use effectively. It was not developed and agreed to by this organ for it to be a purely theoretical exercise, or for us to look at the situation from a great height. The principle is a moral call to action, but it is also an implementable framework for policy and action. It is up to us in the General Assembly to help make that a reality. Therefore, receiving more and timely information from the United Nations, including through the Secretary-General’s reports, will help us greatly in doing so. Secondly, we continue to witness the paralysing effects of the abuse of the veto in the Security Council. Citizens in Ukraine, Syria and Myanmar are appealing for the Council’s action. Indeed, if you go on the Internet, you can see civilians in those countries holding up signs that read “R2P”. That is a call for us to respond. It is not something we can ignore. We unanimously adopted the principle of R2P in the Security Council and the General Assembly. We therefore have no excuse for not responding. The veto is undemocratic and anachronistic. In the face of Council deadlock, we have seen the Assembly assume its responsibilities  — quite rightly. There has been important momentum in bringing more transparency to the use of the veto, including through the recently adopted veto initiative (resolution 76/262), which was submitted by my friend the Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein. However, the Assembly’s powers do not stop there. As the International Court of Justice said, the General Assembly “is also to be concerned with international peace and security”. The notion that we have somehow done our job when we say, “Well, that is the Security Council’s job” is not correct. The General Assembly still has an ongoing responsibility to play its part. We therefore believe we should continue to go down certain paths together. The first path is to continue to find ways to constrain or otherwise limit the use of the veto, especially in instances in which it is preventing the Security Council from acting to prevent breaches of peace and the commission of atrocity crimes. The implementation of the veto initiative is a very positive first step, but there is more to be done, including by implementing, as mentioned today by my colleague from Mexico, the code of conduct of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group and the French-Mexican initiative, as well as through the work of the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform, through which Canada continues to seek to prevent the expansion of veto powers — indeed, we think we should go further and ask ourselves whether the veto should exist at all. The second path is to further explore the role of the General Assembly in preventing and responding to atrocity crimes, in line with the Charter of the United Nations and in complementarity with a Security Council that we hope will be able to better function — indeed, we demand that it function better. A more fulsome debate on this issue would be very welcome, and we will encourage that. The General Assembly has evolved over time as we have confronted new threats and challenges. R2P is very much a part of the evolution of our thinking. As civilians around the world face unprecedented levels of conflict, violence, displacement and threats to their personal security, it is our responsibility to continue to evolve in order to meet the letter and spirit of the commitments we made in signing the Charter of the United Nations and in unanimously adopting the principle of the responsibility to protect. I should like to conclude on a personal note. On 23 June 1985, the worst civilian air disaster in history up to that point took place. It is known to us now as the Air India bombing. We know that a bomb was placed on a plane in Vancouver, Canada, that it passed through the Canadian transport system to another flight departing from Montreal and that the plane blew up off the coast of Ireland. Twenty years later, I was asked by my country’s Prime Minister at the time to carry out a review of what had happened. How had we failed? What had we done in our security and policing systems? What information had we been unable to put into action? What had we done to protect people, and how had we failed to protect them? When I was on my way to this meeting, I said, today is 23 June. When we talk about the responsibility to protect, Canada is not pointing a finger at anyone. We are pointing a finger at ourselves. The responsibility to protect civilians and human life and avert attacks of any kind or nature is an absolutely fundamental responsibility of every State. What we are trying to do through the responsibility to protect is to create an architecture that does not deny the responsibility of the State, but rather supplements and adds to it. It therefore stipulates that we all have a responsibility to assist in protecting human life. As we witness the events in the world today — in Myanmar, Syria and Ukraine — we have to understand that the architecture is hitherto incomplete. We have started to build it, but we have not succeeded in implementing it. That remains the challenge of our time, and something to which we must all commit.

At the outset, I would like to express my sympathy and deepest condolences to the people of Afghanistan following the deadly earthquake in the country that has left more than 1,500 people dead and many more injured. We urge the international community to mobilize its resources and take prompt action in order to respond to that urgent humanitarian disaster. We also call on countries that have confiscated or blocked Afghan assets, contrary to basic humanitarian and international norms, to release them for the sake of humanity. I would like to reiterate my delegation’s unwavering commitment to the noble goal of the protection of civilians, as well as the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and the prosecution of their perpetrators. Early-warning initiatives along with preventive diplomacy, including by resorting to the appropriate peaceful settlement of disputes, serve as the cornerstone of those efforts in order to achieve that goal. We acknowledge the inevitable role of youth in that process and emphasize the commitment of all countries to protecting all their citizens, especially children and youth, during catastrophic humanitarian situations. In that regard, we take note of the recent report of the Secretary-General (A/76/844) under this agenda item. Bearing in mind that there has been no consensus concerning the scope, definition and elements of the concept of the responsibility to protect since the 2005 World Summit, in-depth legal and humanitarian discussions are required in order to overcome any divergences and advance towards consensus on the concept and its application. In that regard, the legitimate concerns surrounding the concept must be addressed in thorough and exhaustive detail, while the assurances and commitments made by Member States under the Charter of the United Nations with respect to sovereignty, non-interference in the internal affairs of States and the non-use or threat of the use of force must be reiterated. My delegation reiterates its long-standing position that the failure to effectively prevent atrocity crimes can be attributed more to the failures of the Security Council than the lack of a relevant normative framework. However, any attempt to divert the responsibilities of the Council to another United Nations body owing to its failure to meet its responsibilities, including by providing novel interpretations of the articles of the Charter of the United Nations and adopting non-consensual practices, is unequivocally rejected. It is crucial that an objective body, both impartial and independent, be used to assess all situations, without selectivity, based on the agreed upon legal norms and criteria. Therein, it shall act decisively to take the appropriate non-military measures in order to prevent the occurrence of atrocity crimes and the deterioration of the relevant situations. However, should there be an absence of such a body, the Security Council should continue to implement its mandates according to the Charter of the United Nations, while efforts to reform the Council should be redoubled in order to compensate for its deficiencies. Moreover, any attempt to deviate the Council from its exclusive humanitarian objectives in conceptualizing the notion of the responsibility to protect is rejected. Based on past practices, we cannot ignore the political orchestrations intended for the misuse of the concept of the responsibility to protect with a view to achieving narrow political agendas. It would be remiss of me if I did not mention the considerable role of certain mainstream media outlets in the hands of certain States and lobbies that wilfully portray humanitarian situations while manipulating the realities on the ground. That non-constructive role manifests itself by exaggerating particular situations while downgrading or censoring certain critical conditions, such as in the cases of Afghanistan, Palestine and Yemen. Furthermore, the destructive role of those media outlets provokes insurgencies and dissatisfaction among those within the countries that are targeted, specifically by fuelling incitement to violence and identity-based hate speech, as well as hate crimes, racism and racial discrimination, while also calling attention to religious differences. Those actions ultimately culminate in provoking the commission of violence and terrorism, as witnessed in many countries in the Middle East, which is a matter of concern. Since at least 2005, a number of countries have raised their concerns and questions time and again with regard to the new concept of the responsibility to protect, specifically regarding its scope and application, as well as its occasional arbitrary interpretation. It is necessary that those concerns be afforded vigilant attention and be considered within the report of the Secretary-General under this agenda item. The United Nations should address all Member States’ positions and treat them equally. We should bear in mind that the responsibility to protect is a new concept, not an established principle, and that it still needs to be considered by Member States. Finally, I would like to conclude my remarks by reiterating the Islamic Republic of Iran’s strong commitment to promoting and preserving all human values, as well as its commitment to the Charter of the United Nations.

My delegation takes note of the report of the Secretary-General (A/76/844) and would like to make the following observations. First, my delegation underscores that our discussions on the responsibility to protect should not be carried out on the basis that it constitutes a legal principle. It is a concept that is not underpinned by any established rule or procedure under international law. In purely legal terms, it is an unstable concept. The so- called responsibility to protect is merely an idea — the scope of its work, the rules for its application and its evaluation mechanisms are yet to be defined and do not enjoy consensus among Member States. It is therefore a term that has no legitimacy or legality. Secondly, the responsibility to protect civilians in a given State from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity falls entirely within the framework of the exercise of the sovereignty of the State concerned. The concept of the responsibility to protect as an alternative to humanitarian intervention has been rejected by the international community in the past, because respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a State and non-interference in its internal affairs is a fundamental principle of the Charter of the United Nations and the cornerstone of international relations. Thirdly, the ongoing interference of a number of Western countries in the internal affairs of other countries in various forms, including political, economic and military, among others, has played a key role in the emergence and continuation of many armed conflicts over a long period of time. Moreover, the spread of terrorism and organized crime and racial and ethnic conflicts, inter alia, continues to cause suffering among populations in many parts of the world. There are various examples of that destructive approach, and there is not enough time to discuss and analyse them all. The United Nations must never tolerate any plans or concepts designed to encourage the interference of States in the internal affairs of other States, including under the pretext of the responsibility to protect. Fourthly, international efforts aimed at preventing crimes against humanity constitute a shared objective of my country, based on our commitment to promoting respect for the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, in particular the sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States and the right to self-determination. We also believe that promoting sustainable development, education and health; eliminating poverty, discrimination and marginalization; and the immediate lifting of inhumane unilateral coercive measures are all factors that contribute to preventing conflicts and violations, as well as enhancing international peace and security. Contrary to their own assertions, some countries that support the idea of the responsibility to protect ignore the deep-rooted causes of crises and atrocities, sometimes even contributing to increasing the possibility of their occurrence by continuing to sell or supply weapons to zones of conflict. They also apply double standards by ignoring the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in several regions around the world, including against the Palestinian people, while regrettably applying the concept of the responsibility to protect only for purposes that serve their own political agendas. We heard our colleague mention in his statement earlier that while browsing the Internet he had come across pictures of people displaying the “responsibility to protect” slogan in a number of countries. I wonder whether he found anything about the situations in Palestine, Libya or Afghanistan, for example? He also referred to a painful incident that occurred last century. I am sure that, in 20 years’ time, when I am asked for an example of double standards, I will mention that colleague.

Our delegation continues to believe that the responsibility to protect is a notion that does not enjoy consensus at the United Nations and is a matter of concern for many countries, in particular small and developing ones. The world has witnessed invasions, military aggression and occupation carried out against stable States in the name of the responsibility to protect. The consequences of those practices based on the responsibility to protect have sown chaos, death and destruction and led to hunger and extreme poverty. Interventionism and violations of sovereignty have led to the complete disintegration of certain States and generated great suffering among their populations. Nicaragua continues to stand firmly with the international community and the United Nations against the commission of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Nicaragua reaffirms the urgent need to resolve the root causes that lead to those situations, including poverty, the unfair international economic order, extremism, inequality and social exclusion, and address the structural problems that give rise to conflicts that escalate into extreme situations. We reiterate that the danger posed by the concept of the responsibility to protect, which some countries seek to impose as a practice, is that it has been manipulated and used by concealed interventionists who seek to justify their interference and use of force in different ways in order to destabilize and overthrow Governments that have been legitimately and democratically elected by their citizens. Through its comprehensive human security model, Nicaragua promotes a culture of peace and peaceful coexistence among its people, which guarantees their right to peace through the restitution of the rights to health, education and a good life. Our country will continue along the path of multilateralism by promoting and forging peace with our people and working for the stability and reconciliation of the Nicaraguan family. We will continue fighting to eradicate poverty for the security, promotion, restitution and protection of the rights of Nicaraguans and their future and well-being. We take this opportunity to reiterate Nicaragua’s firm commitment to continuing to consolidate stability, serenity, security and peace as essential conditions for the sustainable development of our peoples.

Romania aligns itself with the statement to be made by the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, and the statement made by the representative of Costa Rica on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect. We welcome today’s debate as an opportunity to discuss efforts to implement the responsibility to protect (R2P). We commend the work of the Secretary-General and his Special Advisers on the Responsibility to Protect and on the Prevention of Genocide, respectively. We believe it is important that the Secretary-General continue to prioritize atrocity prevention and R2P, and we support the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect. We also welcome the recent appointment of Mr. George Okoth- Obbo as Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect and wish him a successful mandate. We thank the Secretary-General for his report (A/76/844) and agree with him that children and youth should be at the very heart of our efforts to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. We support prevention actions that contribute to guaranteeing the safety of children and youth from atrocity crimes. We believe that Member States should use the annual reports of the Secretary- General and their recommendations in order to work together to identify the best measures to implement the responsibility to protect. We encourage all Member States to use all United Nations frameworks designed to put in place early- warning and prevention mechanisms. As we have witnessed in past decades, flagrant violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms often generate mass atrocities. In that context, we believe the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms play an essential role in providing early warning of the risk factors that can lead to mass atrocity crimes. Mechanisms such as commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions collect evidence of atrocities and play a role in holding the perpetrators accountable. As a candidate country to the Human Rights Council for the term 2023-2025, if elected, we will lend our support to the work of the special procedures and treaty bodies, as well as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with regard to the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Romania acknowledges the imperative of combating discrimination and hate speech, including anti-Semitism, and is fully committed to promoting that principle in all decisions and actions at the international level. At the national level, we are currently implementing a national strategy for the period 2021-2023 to prevent and combat anti-Semitism, xenophobia, radicalization and hate speech, and our country’s Prime Minister has appointed a task force to monitor the implementation of that strategy. My country is also an active member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, including in the area of the prevention of genocide. We are horrified by and strongly condemn the reported war crimes, crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine, and we support accountability efforts. Romania therefore joined other States parties to the Rome Statute in submitting a referral to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to investigate any acts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide that have occurred on the territory of Ukraine. Romania is committed to the unique role played by the International Criminal Court in preventing and sanctioning the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, given that our country is a strong supporter of a rules-based international order and international law. Romania is one of the States to have accepted the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice as compulsory. Moreover, Romania put forward an initiative to promote the broader recognition of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. We will continue to promote the declaration on promoting the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and invite all States to join us in that regard. I would also like to recall that Romania ratified the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and has enacted national legislation in accordance with its provisions. In conclusion, I would like to reassure the Assembly of Romania’s constant support for R2P. We are part of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect, both in Geneva and New York. We have a designated R2P national focal point that participates in the Global Network of R2P Focal Points, and last year we supported the inclusion of R2P as a standing item on the General Assembly’s agenda. We appreciate the opportunity to participate in this debate, as we believe it is important to reflect on the lessons learned from past atrocities in order to prevent them for happening in the future.

At the outset, let me express sympathy and solidarity with the people of Afghanistan who have been affected by the recent earthquake. I thank the Secretary-General for the important report before us (A/76/844), and Special Adviser Nderitu for her insightful remarks earlier. Croatia aligns itself with the statement to be made by the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, and the statement made by the representative of Costa Rica on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect. I would like to add some remarks in my national capacity. Some of the developments that have taken place since our previous debate on the responsibility to protect (R2P) have been positive. The General Assembly adopted resolution 75/277, which put R2P permanently on the Assembly’s annual agenda and mandated the Secretary-General to submit his report ahead of the annual debate. The Secretary- General has also appointed a new, committed R2P mandate holder, Mr. George Okoth-Obbo, and we look forward to cooperating with him. However, far more significantly, on the negative side we have witnessed a further increase in the commission of atrocity crimes, including against children and young people, which, simply put, means that we are failing our responsibility to protect in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Syria, South Sudan, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen — the list goes on. Our success in exercising R2P should be measured not by the number of resolutions adopted or whether or not we have a reference on R2P, and neither should it be measured by the number of reports submitted and debates held. Instead, it should be measured by the level of success in protecting populations from atrocity crimes in real life. Reports, debates and resolutions are means, not ends. In order to improve the Security Council’s capacity to prevent atrocity crimes, we need to challenge the legality of, as well as the political and moral justification for, the use of the veto in situations in which there is a serious threat of atrocity crimes being committed. We therefore strongly support both the French- Mexican initiative and the code of conduct proposed by the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group. We also sincerely hope that the discussions of the General Assembly following every veto that is cast in the Security Council will help avert its use in situations in which there is a threat of atrocity crimes being committed. Finally, we should also put the Secretary-General’s annual reports and our R2P debates in the General Assembly to better use. We therefore encourage the Secretary-General to ensure that his future reports include assessments of atrocity risks in country- specific situations, as well as recommendations for responses. We also need to review the implementation of the recommendations contained in previous reports in order to make them more actionable. Is it asking too much to address the points I have raised? Not at all. It simply means delivering better on our consensually adopted commitment to protecting populations under threat from atrocity crimes. In order to prevent a further increase in atrocity crimes, we have to be bold and act now.

I now give the floor to the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer.

I would like to start by saying how horrified we are by the news of the horrific earthquake that has struck and added to the calamitous situation of the people of Afghanistan. I should like to pass on our heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the people of that country, the victims and their families. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union (EU) and its member States. The candidate country Albania; the country of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina; as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, align themselves with this statement. The EU and its member States wish to thank the Secretary-General for his important and timely report entitled “Responsibility to protect: prioritizing children and young people” (A/76/844). We also thank him for his ongoing leadership in this area, as outlined in his Our Common Agenda report (A/75/982), which we very much support. In 2005, we agreed unanimously on the international community’s responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Today our world is confronted by unprecedented levels of violence, atrocities and displacement. I will not start naming countries — the list is long and well known. Let us remember that the primary responsibility to protect lies with Governments and States. Clearly, we all need to double down on our efforts and actions, both in terms of prevention and response. The prevention of atrocities is never negotiable. Preventing violent conflict is key to saving populations, many among them children and youth, from the scourge of war and the suffering that follows. As the Secretary-General points out in his report, prevention is indeed the key to guaranteeing the safety of children and young people from atrocity crimes. The continuing operationalization of the responsibility to protect (R2P) also means tackling the underlying causes that can provide fertile ground for atrocity mindsets to grow. Prioritizing prevention requires holistic approaches and a renewed emphasis on strengthening the global protection of human rights. To that end, we strongly support the General Assembly’s children and armed conflict mandate. The Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism, the annual report on children and armed conflict and its annexed list of perpetrators are enhancing the protection of children, ending and preventing violations and contributing to accountability. The collection of accurate, timely and reliable information on the impact of grave violations of child rights is much needed. I also wish to underline the responsibility of the Security Council to act in situations of mass atrocities. We encourage all States Members of the United Nations to join the code of conduct of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group and the French- Mexican initiative on the use of the veto in cases of mass atrocities. In parallel, we need to work on our response. We therefore encourage the Secretary- General to include in his future R2P reports assessments of the risks of atrocity crimes and recommendations for measures in response. The collection of evidence to ensure accountability for atrocities must be strengthened. In that context, we stress the important role of the International Criminal Court as the key institution for international criminal justice. We also wish to highlight the important roles of the accountability mechanisms adopted by the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. Strengthening national judicial systems and policies and developing effective legal tools, as well as the advancement of transitional justice, can contribute to the prevention of mass atrocities. The impact of grave violations of child rights is long-lasting and negatively affects future generations. Effective age- and gender-sensitive recovery and community rebuilding are crucial to overcoming the legacy of mass violence. The EU uses conflict-analysis tools and its early-warning system to implement early action. Our toolkit on R2P and atrocity prevention offers practical guidance on atrocity prevention to EU delegations, missions and operations and is a concrete step towards operationalizing R2P on the ground. We support the strengthening of early-warning and prevention mechanisms within the United Nations system and stand ready to provide support in that regard, as well as in implementing the youth, peace and security and the women and peace and security agendas, respectively. The upcoming EU initiative entitled “Youth Action Plan — involving young people in EU external action” will promote youth empowerment, leadership and participation at the political, social and economic levels and will recognize the important contribution of young people in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. In conclusion, the EU and its member States, working together with the Organization and our partners around the globe, will continue to support effective and operational action on R2P at the United Nations. We strongly support the work of the Special Advisers to the Secretary-General and the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, including the elaboration of atrocity-prevention guidelines for practitioners. We welcome the report of the Secretary- General. We highlight the importance of implementing the recommendations contained therein, and would therefore welcome a more systematic follow-up. Lastly, with the active participation and empowerment of children and youth, we can build more legitimate, peaceful and democratic societies in which human rights, humanitarian law and the rule of law are respected and no one is left behind. That is an essential element for our future and fulfilling the R2P principle.

At the outset, I would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the people of Afghanistan and to the families of the victims of the earthquake. I would like to thank those who convened this important debate on the responsibility to protect (R2P). Albania welcomes the recent report of the Secretary- General on the responsibility to protect (A/76/844), which focuses on children and youth and recognizes the specific risks, causes and consequences for children and youth in both conflict and non-conflict contexts. In the 2005 World Summit Outcome document, Heads of State and Government affirmed that the international community should encourage and help States to exercise the responsibility to protect. R2P principles offer us an excellent opportunity to advance the R2P agenda. Seventeen years later, the need to fulfil our collective responsibility to protect populations at risk is more urgent than ever. Genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity make people, especially children, vulnerable to situations in which atrocity crimes are being perpetrated. We continue to witness widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Without doubt, there is a connection between the increasing number of civilians experiencing forced displacement, which currently stands at 100 million people around the world, and the failure to prevent or stop mass atrocity crimes in places such as Syria, Myanmar, the central Sahel, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine and elsewhere. Children and youth are at risk of being forcibly displaced, recruited, abducted, killed, maimed and raped and at high risk of other forms of sexual and gender-based violence. We are witnessing an increasing number of deliberate attacks against civilians, humanitarian workers, journalists, human rights defenders and peacekeepers, as well as places of worship, hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure. Atrocity crimes mainly affect women and girls. It is the responsibility of States to prevent such acts. We strongly support a survivor-centred and gender-inclusive approach to atrocity prevention. Responses to violence must focus on addressing the needs of victims, preventing further abuses and holding the perpetrators to account. When countries are confronted with situations of mass atrocity and grave human rights violations and at risk of experiencing genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing, it is the obligation of the United Nations, the Security Council and the international community to prevent them and respond. States have the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute crimes committed within their jurisdiction. We support all national and international accountability efforts. Today, at a time when the world is confronting high levels of violence, displacement, hunger and food insecurity, it is our enduring responsibility and obligation to increase our collective efforts to protect civilians from mass atrocity crimes. We strongly support the idea that the Security Council should leverage its working methods, briefings and Arria Formula meetings on the responsibility to protect. We encourage Council members to better incorporate mass atrocity prevention into the Council’s agenda and better utilize its working methods in order to bring potential atrocity situations under consideration. Albania welcomed the launching of the national R2P focal points initiative back in 2010 and is pleased to note that the Global Network of R2P Focal Points has now expanded to more than 61 countries and two regional organizations. I would like to commend the key role of civil society, human rights defenders, humanitarian workers and other stakeholders in having developed early-warning and response systems. In conclusion, allow me to emphasize that the commitment of Member States to the responsibility to protect is first and foremost a commitment to preventing and mitigating the risk of atrocities from occurring.

I thank the President of the General Assembly for convening this important meeting. In the 2005 World Summit Outcome document, Member States recognized that every State had the responsibility to protect its populations from atrocity crimes, namely, genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, which, together with the subsequent establishment of the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, filled a critical gap in the United Nations prevention and protection architecture. However, despite that critical gap having been filled, we note that there is still much to be done to operationalize the responsibility to protect and ensure its consistent application. Legitimate concerns remain, with discrepancies in its interpretation continuing to hamper discussions on the matter, specifically within the context of the third pillar of the responsibility to protect doctrine. As such, its interpretation remains a serious concern. We therefore continue to call for those concerns to be addressed through dialogue, assessing the lessons learned, engagement and best practice. Nevertheless, Namibia remains seized of, and engaged in, the continuing discussions on this issue. While underscoring respect for fundamental human rights and the principles of international law, we maintain that there is no pretext for the use of force against States. Safeguards must therefore be put in place to protect against vulnerability to surreptitious interference in the internal affairs of sovereign nations. We therefore thank the Secretary-General for his report on this topic (A/76/844), which highlights the special needs of children and young people in the context of genocide and atrocity crimes and the extent to which they are targeted and affected by those crimes in both conflict and non-conflict situations. As noted in the Secretary-General’s report, children and young people continue to be targeted by, and caught up in, atrocity crimes. The plight of children in situations of armed conflict in particular, which has been documented extensively, remains a serious concern. Equally concerning is the growing number of attacks on the right to education, including attacks on children in schools. My delegation notes the unfortunate consequences of those situations, in particular the impact on children’s education. In that regard, we recall the words of Mrs. Virginia Gamba de Potgieter, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, who rightly stated that education is an absolute necessity, not just for the children themselves but also for global peace, stability and prosperity for all. Schools should be treated as sanctuaries, and it is our common responsibility to ensure that every child has access to an education, even in times of conflict. We would therefore like to use this opportunity to reiterate the call for a reformed Security Council that is reflective of the realities of the twenty-first century, and is therefore able to effectively implement its mandate of maintaining international peace and security, including through the prevention of atrocities and regulating the collective use of force. In conclusion, Namibia remains committed to defending human rights and ending human suffering through globally supported and internationally recognized multilateral bodies and institutions.

Slovenia aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, and the statement delivered by the representative of Costa Rica on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect. Slovenia welcomes the permanent inclusion of this item on the General Assembly’s agenda. We would also like to thank the Secretary-General for his report (A/76/844), which very auspiciously focuses on children, youth and the responsibility to protect (R2P). Slovenia reaffirms its support for the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect. Allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate the Special Adviser to the Secretary- General on the Responsibility to Protect, Mr. George Okoth-Obbo, on his appointment and to express our full support for his work, as well as that of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Ms. Alice Nderitu. We would like to thank them for their efforts and dedication in mainstreaming R2P and genocide prevention within the United Nations system and assisting Member States. We would also like to thank civil society and non-governmental organizations, in particular the Global Centre for R2P, for their tireless efforts and support in advancing the implementation and awareness-raising of the responsibility to protect. Children and youth have demonstrated incredible leadership in global crises, including with regard to climate change and the coronavirus disease pandemic. They have inspired change and been at the forefront of action to build more peaceful future societies. It is our responsibility to support them and ensure that they become an integral part of, and our partners in, efforts to build back better. Nevertheless, in crises, children and youth also remain among the most vulnerable, be it in a situation of armed conflict or a global crisis. Sadly, reports continue to document the persistently high numbers and trends of grave violations against children in armed conflicts. The six grave violations against children can be risk factors or may even amount to atrocity crimes in themselves. It is therefore crucial that children and youth be at the centre of our strengthened protection efforts and atrocity prevention. Young women and girls continue to face a particularly high risk of sexual and gender-based violence. Shockingly, we continue to witness dramatic increases in those heinous acts, especially in armed conflicts. States have a responsibility to prevent such acts and bring the perpetrators to justice. Slovenia supports initiatives aimed at strengthening laws, policies and practices to address sexual violence in conflict more effectively. Comprehensive rights-based support and assistance for victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, including sexual violence in conflict, is essential. Ensuring accountability is key to preventing the reoccurrence of grave violations and for victims and survivors to receive justice and reparations. Fighting impunity for the most serious crimes is therefore an essential component of preventing armed conflicts, protecting civilians — especially the most vulnerable among them during armed conflicts  — and building sustainable peace. We wish to emphasize the importance of the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on grave violations against children in situations of armed conflict, as established by Security Council resolution 1612 (2005), and its independence, impartiality and credibility. We encourage the States that have not yet done so to consider ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and to consider joining the Paris Principles and Commitments, the Safe Schools Declaration and the Vancouver Principles. In advocating an end to impunity, Slovenia also supports the work of the International Criminal Court as well as regional and national mechanisms to counter impunity. Furthermore, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure represents an important instrument in recognizing children’s right to an effective remedy and enhancing their access to justice through an international child- sensitive mechanism. Slovenia played an instrumental role in its creation and remains a strong advocate of promoting its ratification. Prevention remains key to protecting populations from situations that may lead to mass atrocity crimes. Enhanced preventive efforts and early warning followed by early action are essential for more effective atrocity prevention. We should spare no effort to systematically invest in preventing genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Given the nature of atrocity crimes, with suspects, victims, witnesses and evidence often crossing States’ borders, it is paramount to ensure effective international legal cooperation at the global level. The Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) initiative advocates the adoption of a multilateral treaty that would provide inter-State cooperation mechanisms for the investigation and prosecution of the most serious international crimes. Today the MLA initiative is supported by 76 States and is open for others to join. In May 2023, Slovenia will host the Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of the Convention on International Cooperation in the Investigation and Prosecution of the Crime of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes. Human rights education can help empower children and societies and serve as an important preventive measure that contributes to sustainable peace. Respect for, and the protection of, human rights will lead to peaceful and durable solutions to conflicts. All children should experience a childhood free from violence and with access to quality education in safe schools. Through the “Our Rights” project and teaching materials, Slovenia has enabled human rights education for more than 280,000 children around the world, which helps to foster tolerance and an understanding of diversity in societies. We are currently implementing the project for Ukrainian refugee children that have found shelter in our country, following the unprovoked Russian aggression against Ukraine. The increase in global food insecurity is a trend that threatens to further destabilize already fragile societies and exacerbate armed conflicts as well as regional and global instability. Alarming reports highlight the need for the international community to act and reverse the current trends, which could lead to the most food- insecure years on a global scale. Hunger can intensify conflict, as food shortages deepen existing grievances and fuel tensions that can incite violence. Long-term investment in development is essential in order to break the cycle of hunger and conflict. We need to invest more to ensure sustainable political solutions to end conflicts and prevent their occurrence. That should also include strengthening sustainable food systems in order to protect them from future shocks. The United Nations and its States Members have a key role to play in solving those complex challenges. Improved coordination and response systems, better data and decision-making processes, as well as strengthened multi-stakeholder partnerships, are our collective task. In that regard, we stress the importance of Security Council resolution 2417 (2018), which condemns the use of starvation as a tactic of war and recognizes the impact of armed conflict on food insecurity, having been unanimously adopted in May 2018. Allow me to conclude by reiterating Slovenia’s strong commitment to the promotion and protection of children and their rights. Ensuring a safe and more peaceful future must remain our priority, as that is our legacy to our children and youth. Slovenia stands ready to do its part.

The Cuban delegation would like to thank the President of the General Assembly for his good offices in convening this plenary meeting. Cuba believes it is wrong to talk about the responsibility to protect as a principle, as it does not constitute a fundamental norm or axiom of international law. The so-called responsibility is merely a notion whose scope, rules of application and evaluation mechanisms are still far from being defined and agreed on by the Member States. It is therefore inappropriate to talk about strengthening the implementation of the responsibility to protect when there is no consensus on its implications that would serve to resolve the disagreements over its interpretation, guarantee its universal recognition and acceptance and lend legitimacy to the proposed steps for its implementation. The report before us (A/76/844) continues to misuse the term “atrocity crimes”, framing it within the four crimes agreed on in resolution 60/1. In that regard, we recall once again that numerous delegations have expressed their disagreement regarding the use of that term, as well as that of “mass atrocities”, owing not only to their legal ambiguity but also the lack of consensus on their definition, which derives from the will of the Member States. This is not the first time that concerns have been raised in this Hall about the selective use of those terms for political purposes to refer to various situations that are sometimes portrayed as new challenges that warrant protection but are easy to manipulate, especially if the Assembly is not unanimous. We also do not believe it appropriate to mandate other bodies, such as the Human Rights Council, to evaluate States on matters that are still under consideration and lack consensus. The international community has a duty to encourage and assist States, as appropriate, in exercising their responsibility, which rests with them first and foremost. More than 15 years after the World Summit, the issue of the responsibility to protect continues to pose serious questions for many countries, particularly small and developing ones. In an international system as undemocratic as the one in place today, it is vital to determine who decides when there is a need to protect; when a State is not protecting its population; how to act and under what criteria; and how to prevent the concept from being used for interventionist purposes. There is absolutely no clarity on how to ensure that the option to take action is decided with the consent of the State concerned in order to prevent the notion from being used to justify a purported and non-existent right to intervene. Even more alarming is the idea of protecting a population by using bombs, which, when detonated, do not distinguish among, and in no way safeguard the lives and personal integrity of, those they are intended to protect. International efforts to prevent acts of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity — a goal that Cuba has always shared — should contribute to strengthening the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, in particular those of sovereign equality, territorial integrity and self-determination. However, the ambiguities of the concept and the implications of exercising its so-called three pillars contradict those purposes and principles. For that reason, the pre-eminence of the principles of voluntariness, prior request and State consent must be recognized in the context of the so-called responsibility to protect. If the intention is to prevent, then we should tackle the root causes of the relevant situation, such as underdevelopment, poverty, the unjust international economic order, social inequality and exclusion, marginalization, food insecurity and other structural problems capable of triggering the outbreak of conflicts that may escalate into extreme situations, which, regrettably, are not discussed with the same rigour by many of those who advocate the advancement of the responsibility to protect. Ensuring that the international community does not remain passive in the face of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity is a noble effort that Cuba supports. However, in many cases, promoting and attempting to implement the responsibility to protect merely conceals an objective to obtain yet another tool to facilitate interference in the internal affairs of, and agendas for regime change and subversion in, third countries, usually small and developing ones. Sadly, world history is rife with examples that vindicate that concern.

I thank the President of the General Assembly for convening today’s meeting. At the outset, I wish to convey our deep condolences at the tragic loss of lives in the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan. We stand in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan at this time of national grief. Bangladesh aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of Costa Rica on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect. I wish to say a few words in my national capacity. We thank the Secretary-General for his report (A/76/844) and welcome its focus on the special needs of children and young people in the context of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Children and young people are uniquely affected by atrocity crimes. At the same time, young people possess unique perspectives and energy that can play a catalytic role in the prevention of such crimes and their root causes. We also support the Secretary-General’s call for promoting a whole-of-society approach to atrocity prevention, as well as coherence and coordination among the mandates, programmes and initiatives of the United Nations, especially the children and armed conflict agenda, the youth, peace and security agenda and the sustainable development agenda. We welcome the appointment of the Special Adviser to the Secretary- General on the Responsibility to Protect, and we hope that the two Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect, respectively, will work in a coordinated manner to support national authorities in prevention, early warning and response. Allow me to share a few points. First, we support the centrality of a multilateral approach in implementing the principle of the responsibility to protect, with the United Nations playing the main coordination role. In doing so, it is critical to ensure synergies and complementarities among the humanitarian, development and peace mandates and initiatives of the United Nations. Existing human rights mechanisms, including the Universal Periodic Review, also support Member States through evidence-based risk assessment, early warning and mitigation measures. As a leading contributor of police and troops to United Nations peacekeeping, we remain at the forefront of protecting civilians in many conflict- affected and transition countries and in the maintenance of peace and security in those countries and regions. Secondly, the Security Council remains the principal organ of the United Nations for maintaining international peace and security, including by addressing threats to peace and in the prevention of atrocity crimes. We also maintain our in-principle support for a possible suspension of the veto in cases of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity. We believe that the recent consensus adoption of resolution 76/262, entitled “Standing mandate for a General Assembly debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council”, is an important development in that regard. As a party to the Rome Statute, we also express our support for the International Criminal Court in ensuring justice for acts of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and call for the universalization of the Statute. Thirdly, the responsibility to protect is the primary responsibility of States. It is therefore critically important to build the capacities of national institutions and mechanisms in identifying and tackling atrocity risks and providing support to Member States in their prevention measures. We encourage greater engagement from the Office of the Special Adviser in supporting national authorities, as well as with community leaders and local human rights organizations, including women and youth groups. In that regard, we strongly support a victim-centred and gender-responsive approach. We also believe it is equally important to support accountability mechanisms at the national and local levels in order to provide redress to the victims. Finally, I wish to remind the Assembly of its responsibility towards the Rohingya minorities who fled Myanmar in the face of unprecedented atrocities and took shelter in Bangladesh. It is regrettable that no progress has been achieved in creating an environment in Myanmar conducive to the return of the Rohingyas or in ensuring accountability for the atrocity crimes committed against that population. If anything, the situation has gone from bad to worse. We call on the United Nations, especially the Security Council, to play its primary role in ensuring the protection of civilians, including the minorities in Myanmar, by addressing the root causes of atrocity crimes and eliminating atrocity threats and risks. In conclusion, I reiterate my delegation’s full commitment to supporting United Nations-led initiatives to prevent mass atrocity crimes anywhere, at any time.

Our world is currently facing a convergence of crises. Our international community is struggling collectively with an unpredictable and uneven recovery from the coronavirus disease pandemic, the cascading shocks of conflict and violence and the devastation and aftermath of climate-crisis events. Those who find themselves in the most vulnerable situations are now even more vulnerable. There is also a danger of fatigue — danger that our humanity towards one another is threatened by the relentlessness of those crises. It is for those very reasons that the norm of the responsibility to protect (R2P), which was adopted unanimously in 2005, remains a critical element of our collective commitment to international peace and security, human rights and development. That is ever truer today as we witness Russia’s aggression against the people of Ukraine. It is clear that Russia has committed egregious war crimes, including against children and youth. As we have said before, Australia strongly supports the International Criminal Court’s investigation into the full extent of those crimes. Once again, we call on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory, in accordance with the legally binding decision of the International Court of Justice of 16 March. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the impact of its actions relating to food supplies and global hunger remind us once again that atrocity crimes undermine all three pillars of the United Nations. Atrocity prevention and response must therefore be a global priority and a vital part of the core business of the United Nations. To suggest otherwise would undermine the purpose and spirit of the Charter of the United Nations. R2P is not a mask for other agendas. It is not an attempt to reinterpret the Charter. R2P is about acknowledging that sovereignty is not an absolute right but rather a responsibility to be upheld, including one to work collectively, in line with the Charter, in order to protect populations from the gravest of crimes. To suggest that R2P is solely about military intervention or that it is inconsistent with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations wilfully misrepresents the norm. It ignores the power of R2P to galvanize a State’s capacity to meet its primary responsibility to protect its own population. It also disregards the sophisticated R2P framework that has evolved to include an array of preventive, peaceful and non-coercive actions. And it overlooks the express provision of the norm that any collective action will be taken in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Charter. Australia thanks the Secretary-General for his 2022 report (A/76/844) and recommendations on children, youth and R2P. The annual reports are an important contribution to our understanding and implementation of R2P and help align it with the youth, peace and security agenda, the children and armed conflict agenda and other key agendas. We encourage the Secretary-General to focus his future reports on the implementation of R2P, including by following up on recommendations contained in his previous reports and assessing atrocity crime risks in specific situations. We also encourage the Security Council to take action in order to prevent and halt the commission of mass atrocities and bring situations of risk under consideration as early as possible. We urge all States, especially the members of the Security Council, to join Australia and more than 100 other States in supporting the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group’s code of conduct regarding Security Council action against genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. We also urge all States to support the French-Mexican-led political declaration on the suspension of veto powers in cases of mass atrocity. We welcome the recent General Assembly initiative aimed at holding the five permanent members of the Council accountable for their use of the veto. Instead of prevaricating, the international community needs to do more to prevent and intercept mass atrocities. We share a responsibility to ask how the United Nations system, across all three pillars, can strengthen our resolve and capacity for accountability, early warning, mitigation and the prevention of mass atrocities.

Liechtenstein welcomes this opportunity to further the operationalization of the responsibility to protect (R2P) and aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of Costa Rica on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect. R2P continues to evolve both politically and legally. It has been invoked in more than 80 resolutions of the Security Council, 60 resolutions of the Human Rights Council and 30 resolutions adopted by the General Assembly. Despite the increasing references to the concept across a range of resolutions and debates, the gap between our express commitment to protecting civilian populations and our collective action has widened. The success of R2P depends on both strong political leadership and timely action. The primary responsibility of each State to protect its population from crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and ethnic cleansing is not contested. The same is true of the international community’s commitment to helping and assisting States in preventing such crimes and protecting populations at risk. When States are unable or unwilling to live up to that responsibility, however, far too often R2P remains an elusive concept rather than the basis for action. The biggest recent challenge with respect to R2P is our joint responsibility to work for the protection of the civilian population in Ukraine, where the Ukrainian Government is unable to do so against the backdrop of the well-documented crimes being committed by the Russian armed forces. The situations in Myanmar, Syria and Yemen continue to be daily reminders that such failures to protect come at a high cost to civilians and that accountability for atrocity crimes is key, with a crucial role to be played by the International Criminal Court. Following Myanmar’s announcement last week of its accession to the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group’s code of conduct, there are now 124 signatories to the code, all of which are committed to taking measures to end and prevent atrocities crimes. The code of conduct is an essential political commitment that can change the political culture in the Security Council when faced with the risk or occurrence of atrocities crimes. Despite the strong support for the code of conduct, the use of the veto in recent years has repeatedly prevented Council action in response to mass atrocities. In having adopted resolution 76/262 without a vote in April, otherwise known as the veto initiative, the Assembly created a mechanism that allows it to shoulder its own responsibility to uphold peace and security and strengthen accountability among the principle organs of the Organization. As outlined in the most recent report of the Secretary- General (A/76/844), children and youth are uniquely and often disproportionately affected by conflict and atrocities. Children continue to be intentionally targeted, abused or exploited by the perpetrators of atrocity crimes, leading to unconscionable forms of physical and psychological trauma. In the face of such tragedy, Liechtenstein reaffirms its strong commitment to R2P and the strengthening of criminal accountability for atrocity crimes against children and young people and calls on all Member States to support and implement the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including on the involvement of children in armed conflict, as well as the Paris and Vancouver Principles, respectively, and the Safe Schools Declaration. Ensuring a peaceful, just and bright future for young people requires not only atrocity prevention and protection but also their meaningful participation as agents of change.

Poland aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer. I would like to offer some additional comments in my national capacity. Let me start by reaffirming Poland’s long-standing commitment to the promotion and full implementation of the responsibility to protect (R2P) principle. We co-sponsored the first standalone resolution on R2P back in 2009 (resolution 63/308) and last year’s resolution 75/277, which confirmed wide international support for the principle and was an important step towards its operationalization. We stand ready to support the concept of R2P and its full implementation in the future. Regrettably, we are currently observing how Russia is misusing and distorting the R2P principle by making unfounded claims of genocide against the Russian- speaking population in eastern Ukraine. By doing so, it is trying to legitimize its unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia itself remains obliged to respect the R2P principle in the territories of Ukraine that it is currently occupying. Under the principle, States are obliged to protect the population in their territory against such crimes as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. That obligation extends to the population in territories that may fall under their jurisdiction, including those under occupation. The first pillar of R2P is based not only on a political concept but also on specific international legal obligations resulting from international agreements and customary international law. Russia is grossly violating those obligations in Ukraine, including with respect to children and young people. It is also preventing international cooperation from being implemented as part of the second pillar of R2P. In that context, it is worth noting that attributing responsibility for international crimes would require the Security Council to refer the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court. Unfortunately, that has not happened. Far from being a guarantor of international peace and security, as envisioned by the authors of the Charter of the United Nations, Russia is clearly in breach of both the fundamental principles of international law and accepted standards of conduct within international institutions and mechanisms. We cannot allow one country to overturn the entire international order established after the Second World War and replace it with a new one, which will take us back to a world where the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must. The Secretary-General’s report on the responsibility to protect (A/76/844), which raises the urgent issue of the protection of children and youth from atrocity crimes, should help us to shape a forward-looking strategy for the implementation of the principle. The toll of every war on children and youth is immense and has multiple implications. If not properly addressed, the costs of war and conflict on children and youth will be long-term and far-reaching, with the potential to affect the overall social and economic recovery of individuals and society as a whole. The protection of children’s rights should therefore be the cornerstone of our conflict-prevention agenda. We share the view that the most constructive way to empower young people and ensure that they are not radicalized in situations of conflict is to invest in high- quality education, vocational training and employment opportunities. Quality education contributes to the process of preventing future conflicts and building healthy societies based on empathy and solidarity. Poland therefore provides assistance to students from developing countries, including those from conflict- affected territories. We have provided scholarships to almost 2,000 Belarusian students fleeing political repression. Moreover, as a result of the war raging in Ukraine, almost 200,000 refugee children are continuing their education at Polish schools. In that vein, we are also deeply disturbed by the tragic situation of women in Afghanistan. The Taliban leaders have not only failed to keep their promises by continuing to block girls’ access to education, but they have openly stated that they would shut schools indefinitely. The responsibility to protect is now more relevant than ever. It is a beacon of hope for those to whom conflicts and wars have brought suffering and misery, especially children and young people, who are always the most vulnerable. It is up to us to do our utmost to enforce the R2P principle as a binding pattern of conduct for all States.

Let me begin by saying that Denmark aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, and by the representative of Costa Rica on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect. I should like to thank the Secretary-General for his report (A/76/844) and to express our appreciation for this opportunity to comment on this important issue today and reiterate our firm and unwavering commitment to the responsibility to protect (R2P). In 2005, all States Members of the United Nations agreed on the international community’s responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. All Member States promised that never again should those crimes go unpunished. That promise is more relevant now than ever, and Denmark is determined to live up to it by working with the international community to prevent and respond to atrocities. This year the debate takes place at a time when one particular Member State that is a permanent member of the Security Council has invaded another Member State. Russia’s unprovoked invasion of its sovereign and independent neighbour, Ukraine, has once again reminded us of the importance of a swift and solidary response to international atrocities. We welcome this year’s report by the Secretary- General and reaffirm our full support for the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect. We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome the new Special Adviser on R2P, Mr George Okoth-Obbo. We look forward to cooperating closely with him. This year’s report focuses on the special needs of, and impact on, children and youth in the context of atrocity crimes. The report provides numerous examples of how atrocity crimes disproportionately affect children and youth and how States can protect them from the impacts of atrocity crimes. The report’s recommendations on how to protect them from atrocity crimes are particularly useful, namely, the importance of early warning and accountability for atrocities committed against and affecting them. As the report highlights, it is pivotal for the effective implementation of the principle of the responsibility to protect that we ensure accountability for the perpetrators of atrocities against children and youth. In general, we very much welcome the report’s focus on accountability. We recall that States have the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute international crimes committed within their jurisdiction. Denmark also wishes to put on record its strong support for the International Criminal Court. The situation in Ukraine clearly demonstrates the central role of the Court in the fight against impunity. Ending impunity is quite clearly critical and crucial for the effective implementation of the responsibility to protect principle. The report rightly mentions the atrocities that affect children and the measures that States could take to address them. Those crimes are real, and they are being committed as we speak. But the report does not identify where they are taking place, which makes it a challenge to address such situations. I would like to remind members that it is incumbent on all of us in the international community to assist in vulnerable situations and to protect our children from atrocity crimes. To that end, we welcome the recommendation of the report concerning cooperation among States, organizations and institutions in collecting data on specific risks. We urge the Secretary-General and the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect to strengthen their efforts to provide Member States and United Nations organs with timely and continuous advice on specific situations and how to implement the three pillars of the principle of the responsibility to protect. That includes advice and analysis on country situations. We also urge the Office to regularly update Member States on concrete initiatives, for example, on the role of religious leaders and on hate speech. That will increase the effectiveness and effective implementation of the principle of the responsibility to protect in order to ensure concrete action and spur cooperation among States and civil society organizations. As we participate in this debate today, men, women and children are suffering indescribable atrocities. When national authorities fail to protect their populations or are prevented from doing so by another State, we call on the Security Council to take timely and decisive action to prevent atrocity crimes, pursuant to the Charter of the United Nations. We also call on the members of the Security Council to consult with the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect and to apply the United Nations Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes in order to help identify the drivers of atrocity risks. The adoption of the veto initiative, as mentioned by our colleague from Liechtenstein, is a welcome step to enhance the transparency and accountability of the Council when a veto is cast. We further encourage all Member States to join the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group’s code of conduct and the French-Mexican initiative on the use of the veto in cases of mass atrocities. At the end of this debate, we will take action on a draft resolution on the responsibility to protect, and we call on all States to support it. The Organization was born from the ashes of the Second World War and the promise to protect future generations from atrocity crimes. Until that promise is kept fully, we believe that we should continue to consider and discuss R2P and its implementation, now more than ever.

I would like to start by expressing Malta’s condolences to, and solidarity with, Afghanistan in the wake of the devastating earthquake. We thank the President of the General Assembly for convening this meeting. We also thank the Secretary- General for this year’s annual report (A/76/844), which focuses on the specific needs and vulnerabilities faced by children and youth in the context of atrocity crimes. Malta fully aligns herself with the statement delivered by the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, and would like to make a few additional remarks in its national capacity. At the 2005 World Summit, the international community pledged collectively to protect populations, including children and youth, from the perpetration of atrocity crimes. It is deeply concerning that, despite that pledge, we continue to witness escalating levels of conflict, violence and human rights abuses in several countries. In Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar and elsewhere, children and youth are at risk of being killed and maimed, including in indiscriminate attacks on schools and hospitals. Children and youth also suffer the risk of being recruited, abducted, detained, tortured, raped and subjected to other forms of sexual violence. A number of atrocity crimes can be directed specifically against children and youth. Those include the war crime of enlisting children under the age of 15 to participate actively in hostilities; the crime of genocide of transferring children from one group to another; and the war crime of intentionally attacking schools and other buildings dedicated to education. That underlines the vulnerabilities of children and youth and the need for us to protect them from atrocity crimes. We believe the most effective way to do that is by strengthening prevention and early-warning mechanisms. That requires a whole-of-society approach, from the local to the international levels. It must involve civil society organizations, including those led by youth, which have had a crucial role to play in building cohesive, tolerant and resilient societies. Where atrocity crimes are committed, accountability must be prioritized, both as a measure of justice and a deterrent. In that context, Malta stresses its support for the International Criminal Court, as a key mechanism for advancing international justice. Malta has been entrusted by the General Assembly to serve as an elected member of the Security Council in 2023 and 2024. We believe the Council has a crucial role to play in protecting populations from mass atrocities. In that regard, we support the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group’s code of conduct, as well as the French-Mexican initiative on the use of the veto in cases of mass atrocities. Throughout our upcoming term as an elected member of the Council, we will continue to support efforts to that end. In that vein, we reiterate our wholehearted support for the United Nations children and armed conflict mandate, which plays a fundamental part in enhancing the protection of children and addressing violations. Malta is committed to the protection of children’s rights in both peacetime and armed conflict. We will continue to support important intergovernmental and civil society-led initiatives, including the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, the Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict and the Global Coalition for the Reintegration of Child Soldiers. Malta will continue to support the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict in order to work towards ending the grave violations and abuses of children’s rights. Malta also fully supports the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect. We look forward to enhancing our cooperation with the Office, given our common priority of addressing emerging atrocity risks and protecting populations, including children and youth, from atrocity crimes.

Switzerland welcomes the fact that the responsibility to protect is now included on the annual agenda of the General Assembly. As a member of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect, Switzerland reaffirms its full support for the principle and aligns itself with the joint statement made on behalf of the Group. Switzerland invites all Member States to commit to the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group’s code of conduct regarding Security Council action against genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as the French- Mexican initiative. We thank the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide for her statement, and we congratulate Mr. George Okoth-Obbo on his appointment as Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect. Switzerland fully supports the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, as well as its Special Advisers. We call on them to share their recommendations on crisis situations, including with Member States, so that the United Nations and its various entities can take action. We thank the Secretary-General for his report (A/76/844), which focuses on children and young people. We support the priorities and recommendations proposed therein. Let me highlight the following three elements. First, atrocity prevention must be anchored at the national level. It is up to each country to identify the appropriate mechanisms in accordance with its situation. In particular, Switzerland is working within the Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes to strengthen dialogue among States and other actors in order to bolster national prevention mechanisms and structures. We invite other States to join the initiative in order to share good practices and build an atrocity- prevention community. Secondly, promoting the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in all peace processes and the protection of their rights is essential. That is especially the case given that women and girls are disproportionately exposed to sexual and gender- based violence, including in cases of genocide. Such violence can constitute war crimes or even crimes against humanity. However, let us not reduce women, girls and young people to the status of victims. In identifying risks and contributing actively to early- warning mechanisms, women and young people play a fundamental role in preventing atrocities. Thirdly, education is crucial to reducing risk factors and preventing violence. We are shocked that attacks on schools continue to increase in number. As a signatory to the Safe Schools Declaration, Switzerland calls on all Member States to endorse it and show the political will necessary to translate it into action. In order to promote education during crises, we also supported the creation of the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies. It is by putting children and young people at the centre of our collective efforts that we can contribute to the prevention of mass atrocities. As the Swiss educator Pestalozzi said, “The future of nations lies in the schools of the people”. Switzerland will continue its efforts to build a future free from atrocities.

I should like to begin by congratulating Mr. George Okoth-Obbo, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect, given that this is his first debate since assuming that role. We wish him a successful mandate. I am also grateful for the convening of this meeting to address an issue that Guatemala believes is extremely important. This year’s debate takes place in an international context that requires that we revitalize the responsibility to protect (R2P) norm, which is inextricably linked to the maintenance of international peace and security and the protection of human rights. My country is pleased that this is the fifth time that the debate on this topic has taken place. We recognize the efforts of all Member States that supported last year’s resolution 75/277, which decided that R2P would be included on the General Assembly’s annual agenda and mandated the Secretary-General to submit an annual report on the subject. With the support of 67 Member States, Guatemala introduced resolution 63/308, which was adopted by consensus and is of vital importance, as it has ensured that the responsibility to protect will remain an issue warranting ongoing consideration, thereby consolidating its place in the work of the General Assembly. Moreover, since 2006, Guatemala has been a member of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect. In a world facing unprecedented levels of violence, atrocities and displacement, there is enormous value in holding annual debates on this topic. It demonstrates the interest of Member States in raising awareness and improving our individual and collective capacity to prevent the perpetration of international crimes and grave human rights violations on a massive scale. Every State has the primary responsibility to protect its own people and prevent the commission of atrocities such as those we have witnessed in the past. That precept is precisely what justifies the genesis and relevance of the responsibility to protect, since it is an exceptional mechanism to protect human rights and defend the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations in order to support that primary responsibility. The ultimate goal of R2P is therefore to protect future generations from the scourge of war, which has inflicted untold suffering on humanity. In order to achieve that goal, we recognize the need to implement progressive changes at the national, regional and international levels, which would serve to strengthen the international human rights system. Seventy-four years after the publication of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the responsibility to protect must be acknowledged as the only way to defend populations against mass atrocities. It must therefore be strengthened, particularly in the light of the new hotbeds of tension around the world where similar trends are evident, which, in the worst cases, could lead to the commission of new crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. I would like to acknowledge the Secretary-General’s report (A/76/844) entitled “Responsibility to protect: prioritizing children and young people”. It is children and youth who consistently bear the brunt of conflict and atrocities. Millions of children around the world today face the risk of mass atrocity crimes. Ensuring their safety, protection and well-being is therefore critical to meeting the objectives of the responsibility to protect. Conflict disrupts societies and leaves children vulnerable and deprived of education and access to health care, which subsequently threatens their future. Therefore, serious violations of the rights of the child, including forced recruitment, kidnapping, murder, maiming, rape or other forms of sexual violence, are among the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. From our national perspective, the responsibility to protect plays a central role in the protection of human rights. The principle is enshrined in our Constitution, which imposes an obligation on the State to protect the individual and the family and stipulates that its ultimate goal is the realization of the common good. In that connection, in order to support the protection of civilians, Guatemala reiterates its commitment to promoting the principle and fulfilling its international obligations, including those relating to human rights. We recognize that the principle of the responsibility to protect is complemented by the concept of sustainable peace, as it prioritizes respect and support for human rights, based on a preventive approach, with a view to avoiding confrontations. In conclusion, I would like to underscore that Guatemala welcomes the coordinated efforts and work of the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect. We must take advantage of the input generated by the Special Advisers, which are of great value to the work of the United Nations intergovernmental bodies, including the Security Council and the Human Rights Council.

At the outset, let me express our heartfelt condolences to the people of Afghanistan as they deal with the devastating consequences of the earthquake. My delegation aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer. I would like to add few remarks in my national capacity. First of all, we wish to thank the Secretary-General for his comprehensive report (A/76/844). We fully concur with his view that prevention is the most important part of the responsibility to protect populations from atrocity crimes. In that regard, we agree that putting children and young people at the centre of atrocity-prevention efforts is vital. We also support the Secretary-General’s ongoing commitment to prevention, as outlined in his Our Common Agenda report (A/75/982). As a strong advocate of the responsibility to protect (R2P), Georgia welcomes the further institutionalization of the R2P principle within the United Nations system. I also welcome the appointment of Mr. George Okoth-Obbo as Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect and wish him every success in his mandate. We all agreed in 2005 that it is our responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. However, 17 years later, we still continue to witness increasing levels of violence, atrocities and record- high displacement in different regions of the world. Georgia remains deeply alarmed about the enormous human suffering in Ukraine, which has been caused by Russia’s premeditated, unjustified and unprovoked full- scale aggression. Although it does not have a complete picture of the ongoing atrocities, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has already verified more than 10,000 civilian casualties and more than 4,500 deaths, attributing most of the civilian casualties to the use of explosive weapons with a wide-impact area. The High Commissioner has also confirmed a vast number of summary executions of civilians, sexual and gender-based violence, torture and other violations that may amount to war crimes committed in the Russian- controlled areas in Ukraine. As we have mentioned on numerous occasions, it is imperative that accountability be ensured and justice served for those gross violations of human rights, through all available international legal mechanisms. The announcement by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court with regard to opening an investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine is a step in the right direction. We reiterate our call on Russia to comply with the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice of 16 March, which binds Russia to immediately suspend the military operations commenced on 24 February. We also stress the importance of ensuring respect for international humanitarian law, including the protection of all medical and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in their duties, and underline the necessity of ensuring their safe, rapid and unhindered access to populations in need on the ground. Systematic human rights violations, widespread impunity, hate speech, exclusion and discrimination can be the early-warning indicators and triggers of atrocity crimes. The Human Rights Council and its mechanisms, including the Universal Periodic Review, special procedures and treaty bodies, all play an essential role in providing early warning and prevention. For its part, Georgia is committed to further strengthening its national human rights machinery and attaches great importance to cooperating with existing human rights mechanisms. We also recognize the importance of safeguarding the space for civil society, including human rights defenders, in order to ensure their voices are duly heard. Regrettably, Russia’s occupation of Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions prevents us from sharing the human rights protection framework with our compatriots who remain on the other side of the occupation line, where people are living under dire human rights and humanitarian conditions. Notwithstanding the repeated calls of the international community, including in the most recent Human Rights Council resolution on Georgia, both of those Russian- occupied regions remain closed to international human rights bodies, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. As the Secretary-General notes in his report, given the positive role of education in promoting social cohesion, the negative impacts of the absence of education on efforts to prevent atrocities are severe. Unfortunately, the prohibition of education in one’s native language in the Russian-occupied territories of Georgia remains among our major concerns, depriving up to 5,000 children each year of the right to education in their native language in schools and kindergartens. That creates acute risks with the potential to grow into atrocity crimes and demands that the international community take a resolute stance. Before concluding, let me reiterate Georgia’s commitment to cooperating with the International Criminal Court and reaffirm our full support for the French-Mexican declaration on the voluntary restriction of the use of the veto in the Security Council when considering decisions aimed at preventing atrocity crimes. As one of the main co-sponsors of the recent veto-initiative resolution (resolution 76/262), Georgia duly hopes that it will increase accountability and bring transparency to the use of the veto. I would also like to reaffirm Georgia’s commitment to continuing to advance the goals and objectives of the responsibility to protect and express support for the mandate of the Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect, respectively.

We have heard the last speaker in the debate on this item for this meeting. We shall hear the remaining speakers this afternoon at 3 p.m. in this Hall.