Ending impunity for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing through criminal investigations and effective transitional justice processes, including truth commissions, reparations and memorialization, among other judicial and non-judicial mechanisms, is essential to the work of the Global Centre and to upholding R2P. Accountability can serve as a deterrent of future atrocity crimes and is an important foundation for achieving reconciliation, as well as lasting peace and stability.
Through our core work, the Global Centre urges states, regional bodies and multilateral institutions to uphold their responsibility to protect by pursuing justice for mass atrocities. We also encourage states to explore innovative approaches to justice, including through the use of universal jurisdiction, and uphold their obligation to provide victims and survivors with an effective remedy, satisfying their rights to truth, justice and reparation.
No justice or accountability process is the same, and each must be tailored to its specific context. By working with partners from affected communities, we advocate for the international community to prioritize the needs and rights of victims throughout these processes. This approach is crucial for ensuring that accountability processes have a meaningful impact on both affected communities and society at large, encompassing memorialization, rebuilding, documentation and the preservation of archives, confidence building, reconciliation and more.
Through our work with communities affected by atrocity crimes, Global Centre works to ensure their voices and expertise are centered in and substantively inform policy discussions and decision-making processes within and among governments and in multilateral spaces regarding the response to emerging or protracted atrocity situations. Examples include our work on:
The Global Centre has been an active member of myriad coalitions of civil society organizations that regularly convene to discuss justice and accountability issues for populations who have endured mass atrocities. This includes a civil society coalition working to codify the draft Crimes Against Humanity treaty. As part of this coalition the Global Centre has worked with colleagues to share updates on the process, collaborate on strategic advocacy efforts and share insights on each organization’s ongoing work. The Global Centre has utilized the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect to share opportunities for collaborative advocacy efforts on the Crimes Against Humanity treaty, encouraging coalition members to join the advocacy initiatives. To guide our advocacy strategy and identify target states, the Global Centre has also conducted research into the positions of various states following the second resumed session of the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024. This research also examined how states perceive the treaty within the context of prevention.
Through our Expert Voices on Atrocity Prevention podcast, we have featured many thematic discussions that highlight the relationship between R2P and justice and accountability. These include episodes with:
Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies
The Graduate Center, CUNY
365 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5203
New York, NY 10016-4309, USA