Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Name	Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Type	Non-governmental organization
Founded	2008
Headquarters	Ottawa, Canada
Focus	Prevention of mass atrocity crimes, early warning, policy advocacy

Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P) is an international advocacy organization focused on operationalizing the norm of the Responsibility to Protect through policy research, diplomatic engagement, and capacity building. Founded in the aftermath of debates following the Rwandan Genocide and the Srebrenica massacre, the organization seeks to influence actors such as the United Nations Security Council, the African Union, the European Union, and national parliaments to prevent and respond to genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.

History and Establishment

The organization emerged in the context of international responses to crises like the Rwandan Genocide, the Bosnian War, the Darfur conflict, and the Iraq War, drawing on the report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty and the endorsement at the 2005 World Summit where the Responsibility to Protect principle was affirmed. Founders included human rights advocates connected to institutions such as Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group, the Amnesty International movement, and academic networks at the London School of Economics, the University of Oxford, and the University of Toronto. Early supporters included diplomats from permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and representatives from the Commonwealth of Nations and the Organisation of American States. The centre established headquarters in Ottawa and opened programs engaging with regional bodies like the African Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Mandate and Objectives

The centre’s mandate links normative frameworks such as the Responsibility to Protect to operational instruments including United Nations peacekeeping, diplomacy by members of the European Parliament, and national legislation like the Genocide Convention. Objectives include early warning and prevention policies informed by cases including Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria, Libya, and the Central African Republic. The organisation promotes accountability mechanisms involving institutions such as the International Criminal Court, ad hoc tribunals like the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and truth commissions modeled after examples such as the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It advances policy prescriptions to bodies like the G7, G20, and the United Nations General Assembly.

Governance and Leadership

Governance structures reflect civil society models practiced by groups like Open Society Foundations, The Elders, and Interpeace; boards often include former diplomats from the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the United States Department of State, and retired military officers with experience in NATO operations. Leadership has featured executive directors with backgrounds linked to the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and academic appointments at institutions such as the Harvard Kennedy School and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. The centre engages legal advisers versed in treaties like the Genocide Convention and engages policy fellows from think tanks including the Brookings Institution, Chatham House, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Programs and Activities

Programmatic work spans early warning analyses, policy briefings, and training for actors including delegations to the United Nations Security Council, staff of the African Union Commission, and personnel from the European Commission. Activities have addressed crises in Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, Ethiopia, and Burma and draw on methodologies from the Clinton Global Initiative and project models used by International Alert and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. The centre produces reports, convenes roundtables with diplomats from the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, the United States Mission to the United Nations, and civil society coalitions involving Mercy Corps and CARE International. Training modules adapt best practices from UNICEF protection programs and humanitarian standards like the Sphere Project.

Partnerships and Advocacy

The centre partners with multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, regional actors like the African Union and the European Union, and civil society networks including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Rescue Committee. It lobbies legislative bodies including the Parliament of Canada, the United States Congress, and the European Parliament and collaborates with faith-based organizations like the World Council of Churches and academic centers such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Peace Research Institute Oslo. Advocacy campaigns have engaged former statespersons such as Kofi Annan, Mary Robinson, and Lakhdar Brahimi and drawn support from foundations like the MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Impact and Criticism

Supporters cite influence on Security Council debates over crises in Libya and Côte d'Ivoire, contributions to policy shifts in Canada and the United Kingdom regarding atrocity prevention, and partnerships that informed International Criminal Court referrals and sanctions regimes enacted by the European Union and United Nations Security Council. Critics argue the centre’s approach echoes interventionist policies associated with debates post-Iraq War and question effectiveness in complex environments like Syria and Yemen, noting tensions with principles upheld by the Non-Aligned Movement and states citing sovereignty concerns at the United Nations General Assembly. Other critiques reference resource constraints faced by NGOs such as Oxfam and Save the Children when operationalizing prevention frameworks, and debates remain over engagement strategies with governments implicated in alleged abuses, exemplified by controversies involving responses to the Myanmar military and the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Category:Human rights organizations Category:International relations Category:Ottawa organizations