GUIDANCE FOR UNGA DEBATE ON RESPONSIBILITY TO

UNCLAS STATE 076133

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM UNSC
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE FOR UNGA DEBATE ON RESPONSIBILITY TO
PROTECT


1. (U) This is an action request: The Department requests
that USUN draw from the points below during the UN General
Assembly debate on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
scheduled for July 23, 2009.


2. (U) Begin points:

Thank you, Mr. President. Let me begin by thanking the
Secretary-General for his comprehensive report. We are
grateful to have the opportunity to comment on this important
issue.

Since the Holocaust, the world has often said, &Never
again,8 but too often we have failed to give those words
real meaning and strength. The horrors that we witnessed in
the 20th century are not inevitable. That is why the United
States is determined to work with the international community
to prevent and respond to such atrocities.

Four years ago, in this hall, UN member states adopted by
consensus the Responsibility to Protect at the World Summit.
The Responsibility to Protect*or, as it has come to be
known, R2P*represents an important step forward in the long
historical struggle to save lives and guard the well being of
people endangered by conflict.

The Responsibility to Protect is rooted in the principle that
sovereignty comes with responsibility, and that states have a
particular obligation to protect their populations from such
atrocities as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity,
and ethnic cleansing. It holds that other states have a
corollary responsibility to assist a state in meeting this
fundamental responsibility through appropriate diplomatic,
humanitarian and other peaceful means to take collective
action, through the United Nations, if that state is
manifestly failing to do so.

The Responsibility to Protect follows a path set forth by our
African colleagues in the African Union,s Constitutive Act,
where, united, they took a pledge of &non-indifference8 in
the face of mass crimes. R2P complements principles of
international humanitarian and human rights law to which we
have all committed. Responsibility to Protect reflects our
collective recognition of past failures to save innocent
people from the worst forms of abuse.

And the United States supports this important progress.

Mr. President,

The Secretary-General reminds us that the grave crimes of the
last century were not confined to any particular part of the
world. They occurred in the North and in the South, and in
countries both poor and affluent. Sometimes they were linked
to ongoing conflicts and sometimes they were not. He also
reminds us that we still know too little about the paths that
lead to mass atrocities.

In the 21st century, we cannot wait for genocide, war crimes,
crimes against humanity, or ethnic cleansing to occur. We
must look at ways to prevent these human tragedies. The
Secretary-General,s report provides an important framework
for operationalizing R2P. The &three pillars8 elaborated in
the report draw attention to the policies and instruments
that we need to mobilize. They highlight the need to
strengthen early warning and conflict management, improve
coordination of international efforts, and ensure sufficient
resources.

First, we must address the continuing challenge of
translating early warning signs into effective action. The
United States strongly supports an effective UN human rights
and humanitarian operations machinery, including more
credible action from the Human Rights Council, more field
work by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,
and the Special Procedures, which can provide invaluable
information on unfolding or potential calamities.

The UN,s mediation standby teams can also play an important
role, but these teams need to be strengthened. We still have
too few mediators with the right skills ready to deploy in
real time*and far too few women.

Second, we do know that the potential for abuse is greatest
amid war and civil strife, and we must redouble efforts to
prevent and respond swiftly to outbreaks of violence.
Effective peacekeeping can help bolster fragile peace
processes and provide essential protection to civilians under
imminent or ongoing threat of violence. In this respect, it
remains vital to conitue efforts to incorporate protection
training across the activities of the UN Department of
Peacekeeping Operations, and to broaden UN and NGO efforts to
prevent and prosecute sexual exploitation and abuse, as well
as sexual and gender-based violence.

The UN,s new peacebuilding architecture, including the
Peacebuilding Commission, can do more to help stabilize
societies trying to leave years of conflict behind them.
These efforts must be supported by development funds that
arrive sooner, early investments in the core capacities of a
struggling state, and assistance for national efforts to
reinforce the rule of law, demobilize ex-combatants, and
reform the security sector.

We understand better today how poverty, environmental
pressures, poor governance, and state weakness raise the risk
of civil conflict. The tools at our disposal to address those
challenges need to be sharper, stronger, and more
consistently deployed.

Finally, there are times when collective action beyond
prevention is required. R2P enjoins us to mobilize a wide
spectrum of policies and instruments, both as individual
nations and as an international community. But we stress
that such action does not necessarily involve military
intervention. Only rarely, and only in extremis, does that
include the use of force.

Mr. President,

We must work together ensure that there will be peace,
justice, accountability, and dignity for all. The United
States stands prepared to work with all critical partners -
the United Nations, regional and sub-regional groups,
development banks, donors, and nongovernmental organizations
) to these ends.

The greatest obstacle to swift action in the face of sudden
atrocity is, ultimately, lack of political will. Together,
let us all help one other to have the courage of our
convictions and the will to act.

Thank you.
CLINTON