ECR2P@Hague hosts Global Parliamentarians

On Thursday and Friday, 13 and 14 April, The Hague Institute hosted discussions on how members of parliament can improve the effectiveness of mass atrocity prevention in a workshop entitled “Global Parliamentarians: The Role of the Legislative Branch in Building National Mechanisms for Atrocity Prevention.” In collaboration with The Stanley Foundation, The Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, The Global Center for The Responsibility to Protect, and the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, a number of members of parliament from across the globe gathered to address this critical issue.

The workshop allowed the MPs and experts present to discuss their experiences with legislative action for atrocity prevention, and to share best practices with regard to establishing national mechanisms and making lawmakers aware of the roles and expertise required to prevent mass atrocities. The discussions included topics such as how legislation can be implemented to improve domestic and international responses to risks of atrocity, examples of National Mechanisms for Atrocity Prevention, and how legislators can more effectively collaborate with the executive branch of government.

Attendees included current and former special representatives for the responsibility to protect (R2P) to the UN Secretary General (Ivan Šimonović and Jennifer Welsh respectively), current and former MPs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, European Union, Germany, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa, United Kingdom, and Uruguay, and other experts on atrocity prevention.

For more on the event, please see this Stanley Foundation webpage.