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2008-2009 Topic: Confronting Crimes Against Humanity
The high number of civilian deaths caused by the war in Darfur underscores the need for concerned governments and organizations to find effective ways of protecting civilians from mass killing and targeted attacks in conflicts. With the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, the United Nations laid important groundwork for saving civilians. Adopted by the UN General Assembly, the document represented a shift from the long-held principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states to a new principle of national and international responsibility to protect civilians from genocide and other crimes against humanity. However, in contemporary conflicts, implementing this responsibility runs into various forms of opposition from governments and international organizations.
According to international law, crimes against humanity are specified acts—such as murder, enslavement, torture, and rape—committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilian populations. Although many policymakers, experts, and practitioners recognize the need to protect civilians from crimes against humanity, there is little consensus on the best way to achieve that end. Governments and international organizations have sought to use various methods—media campaigns, diplomatic pressure, economic sanctions, and military interventions—to save populations from crimes against humanity, with varying degrees of success. Many governments resist outside interference in the affairs of sovereign states, while the record of international responses to mass violence against civilians indicates that the UN, concerned governments, and non-governmental organizations find it difficult to act quickly, cohesively and effectively.
In a 1500-word essay, discuss how international actors (the UN, regional organizations, governments, and/or non-governmental organizations) can improve their capacity to implement the responsibility to protect civilians from crimes against humanity during conflict.
- Briefly describe two foreign conflicts that involved crimes against humanity. Describe the sources of each conflict and the circumstances in which the crimes took place.
- Discuss and analyze the roles that the international actor(s) played in responding to the crimes. Were they effective? If so, why? If not, why not?
- Drawing on your analysis, recommend two or three specific measures that international organizations, governments, and/or non-governmental organizations could take to respond more successfully to crimes against humanity.
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