On 11 May 2021 the UN Human Rights Council held an the intersessional panel discussion marking the 15th anniversary of the Responsibility to Protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. The panel discussion was mandated by member states in Resolution 44/14 on the Responsibility to Protect.

During the panel discussion speakers pointed out the link between human rights violations and atrocity crimes, including through the importance of early warning and early action to prevent atrocities. Panelists also highlighted that the appointment of national R2P Focal Points, the adoption of national action plans for atrocity prevention, regular national risk assessments and measures to counter hate speech are all practices to actively prevent atrocity crimes at the national level. The following summary, produced by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, provides an overview of the panel and ensuing conversation.

2021-Report-Intersessional R2P Panel-HRC48