2017 Annual Lecture

Dr. Ivan Šimonović, the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) – R2P: Operationalisation or Marginalisation? 

Photo Courtesy of Robin May

On November 30th 2017, we were delighted to have Dr. Ivan Šimonović, the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), at the University of Leeds, to deliver our Centre’s Second Annual Lecture.

The UN Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on R2P first met with PhD students working on R2P-related topics, in the School of Politics and International Studies (POLIS). Following a very engaging meeting, Dr. Šimonović delivered the ECR2P Second Annual lecture to a wider audience from across our University, which also included participants coming from across the UK to Leeds for this sold-out event.

Photo Courtesy of Robin May

The introductory remarks were delivered by Dr Cristina Stefan, who invited Dr. Šimonović to his first visit to the University of Leeds. The Dean of the Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law, Professor Jeremy Higham welcomed Dr. Šimonović to the University and highlighted how important partnerships and collaborations such as the one ECR2P has with the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the R2P are to our Faculty.

Photos Courtesy of Robin May

The title of the ECR2P Second Annual Lecture was “Responsibility to Protect: Operationalisation or Marginalisation?” This very informative lecture focused on a pragmatic approach to operationalising the R2P framework and to ensuring accountability for prevention, and it also raised provocative questions. A recording of the lecture is available below.

Recording Courtesy of First Frame Productions 

A very engaging Q&A session followed Dr Šimonović’s lecture, with a range of questions from the audience that triggered very insightful responses from our Distinguished Guest Speaker.

Photo Courtesy of Robin May

2016 Annual Lecture

Professor Alex Bellamy: Implementing R2P: Progress, Challenges and the Next 10 years 

Photo courtesy of Jess Gifkins 

On December 8th 2016, we were delighted to welcome Professor Alex Bellamy for our first Annual Lecture on ‘Implementing R2P: Progress, Challenges and the Next 10 years’. The event also marked the official launch of the European Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (ECR2P) at the University of Leeds.

Co-Director, Professor Jason Ralph, introduced the ECR2P and recognised the important role the Centre will have in advancing research in the area of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), including bringing together a wide range of academics researching on the R2P.

Lecture Overview
When it comes to R2P, most of the normative struggle is now behind us while most of the operational challenges are still before us. Recognizing that a gap has emerged between the world’s normative commitment to R2P and its ability to make this principle a living reality, this talk called for a more comprehensive approach to the practice of R2P. This must include the full range of actors that play a role in inhibiting atrocity crimes and protecting vulnerable populations, including the new European Centre for R2P at the University of Leeds.

Professor Bellamy’s talk combined analysis of the normative effort to win support for the R2P principle with an examination of international responses to major crises since 2009, such as those in the Middle East (Libya, Syria, Yemen) and sub-Saharan Africa (DRC, South Sudan, Mali, CAR), as well as some critical cases before that time (notably Kenya and Sri Lanka). It suggested that whilst tangible progress has been made, significant challenges remain ahead that will require a redoubling of effort.

A full audio recording of the event is available below: