To mark the first international day of genocide awareness on 9 December, UNA-UK joined forces with a number of organisations in writing to Prime Minister David Cameron, calling for genocide commemoration and prevention to become a crucial part of the Government’s foreign policy.
The letter asks the Prime Minister to ensure that the Government endorses and participates in this important initiative, formally titled International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of Crimes of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime. The letter also urges the Government to incorporate genocide prevention into the UK’s strategy to prevent conflict and promote stabilisation.
While the UK has pledged to create a new Holocaust Museum to commemorate the victims of genocide, the Government failed to include the atrocity prevention as a priority in the new National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review - a major exercise which sets out the UK's approach to peace and security issues for the next five years.
What is the 'Responsibility to Protect'?
In 2005, all states agreed that they had a ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) populations from atrocity crimes, which include genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and war crimes. It is in our national interest to take all possible measures to prevent these crimes.
The international community has a long and complex record of mixed success and abject failure to prevent such crimes from occurring and in tackling them when they do. Beyond the moral imperative that this presents, the instability caused by atrocity crimes constitutes a global security threat, causing refugee crises, poverty, pressure on resources and an increased threat from extremism.
Over the last year, UNA-UK has been campaigning for atrocity prevention to be prioritised in the UK’s foreign and security policy, through initiatives to remember victims of past crimes, the publication of a report on atrocity crimes and R2P and continued efforts to engage parliamentarians on the issue.
Along with our partners, UNA-UK is ready to work with the government in improving its stance on atrocity crimes and ensuring that this issue gets the attention it deserves.
Image: Armenian Genocide Memorial, Yenovan (Rita Willaert/Flickr)
