This year, 2020, the international community celebrates the 75th anniversary of the United Nations as well as the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the principle of the Responsibility to Protect at the 2005 World Summit. While these coinciding anniversaries deserve to be widely celebrated, they also come at a turbulent and unprecedented time. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need for solutions that embrace multilateralism, defend global norms and standards, and uphold international law.

On the sidelines of the opening of the 75th UN General Assembly, the Global Centre, together with the governments of Costa Rica, Denmark and Qatar, hosted a Ministerial side-event. The virtual event offered Member States the unique opportunity to reaffirm the global commitment to protect vulnerable populations, to take stock of past efforts and best practices with regard to the prevention of atrocities, and to devise effective strategies for ‘Building Back Better’ after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The meeting opened with a video message on the 15th anniversary of R2P delivered by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

During the meeting statements were delivered by more than 30 states, including 17 ministers, as well as representatives of the European Union and Organization of American States and the UN Special Adviser on R2P, Karen Smith.

Shortcuts to speeches by particular individual speakers, as well as links to text where available, can be found below:

Co-hosts

• • • Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
    • Costa Rica (As written) 
    • Qatar (As written)
    • Denmark

Participant Countries and Organizations

• • • Armenia (As written)
    • Luxemburg
    • Organization of American States
    • Botswana 
    • Morocco (As written)
    • Peru
    • Poland 
    • Uruguay 
    • Italy 
    • Australia 
    • Bangladesh (As written)
    • Czech Republic
    • Spain 
    • Ireland
    • Ukraine 
    • United Kingdom
    • Lithuania 
    • Croatia 
    • United States of America
    • European Union
    • Estonia (As written)
    • Germany
    • Finland
    • Slovenia
    • Sweden
    • Rwanda
    • Canada
    • Turkey
    • The Netherlands
    • Argentina
    • Belgium (As written)
    • Bulgaria
    • Slovakia 
    • France
    • UN Special Adviser on R2P