U.N. Advisor and Committee on Genocide Prevention
In July 2004, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed the first Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. The establishment of the position embodies the international community’s aspiration to learn from past collective failures to prevent massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law with an ethnic, racial, religious or national character, such as the tragedies in Rwanda and Srebrenica. The Office of the Special Advisor collects existing information about ongoing violations that, if not prevented or halted, might lead to genocide. The Special Advisor then acts as an early-warning mechanism to the Secretary-General, and, through him to the Security Council, and makes recommendations on actions to prevent or halt genocide. Notably, the purpose of the Special Adviser is not to determine whether genocide has occurred or is occurring, but to propose steps to prevent it. The position is held by Juan Méndez, an Argentinian lawyer who has dedicated his legal career to the defense of human rights with organizations such as Human Rights Watch, the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, and the International Center for Transitional Justice, of which he is currently President. Méndez has made repeated visits to Darfur, resulting in varied recommendations to the Secretary-General and to the Security Council about what actions are necessary to end the suffering in the strife-torn region.
In May 2006, the Secretary-General appointed an Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention to provide guidance and support to the work of the Special Adviser and contribute to the broader efforts of the United Nations to prevent genocide. The Committee, which had its first biannual meeting on June 19-20, 2006, is composed of distinguished individuals with diverse backgrounds related to human rights, peacekeeping, diplomacy, conflict prevention, and mediation, and is chaired by David Hamburg, President Emeritus of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. In addition to its Chair and Special Advisor Méndez, the Committee consists of seven members, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and former Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa; Roméo Dallaire of Canada, Canadian Senator and former Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda; and Gareth Evans of Australia, President of the International Crisis Group and former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia.
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