The international Conference on the Responsibility to Protect is two days away from beginning in Linkoping, Sweden and anticipation is building. For international observers, 2010 makers the five year anniversary since the adoption of the concept of R2P during the United Nations’ World Summitin 2005.
In recognition of this milestone a number of events are taking stock of the R2P concept and current state of normative development. Presently, states party to the Rome Statute are meeting between May 31st and June 11th in Kampala, Uganda for the first Review Conference of the Rome Statute, which governs the International Criminal Court. The ICC and R2P share a number of commonalities. Indeed, both the ICC and R2P hold jurisdiction over genocide, ethnic clensing, and crimes against humanity. Due to this overlap, many interested in R2P are keeping well versed on the proceedings of the Rome Statute Review.
In preperation for the R2P Conference, the academic community is ensuring proper disimination of information for all those interested. This is were blogs are playing a more prevalent role then ever. Perhaps this can be attributed to the close connects between the academic and non-governmental communities which has become so characteristic within the human rights realm. Regardless of the causation, blogging is playing a key role in bridging the gap between functions which have been typically reserved for the academic commnuity (such as academic conferences) and the wider activist community. Without question, the mantra of “no academia without activism” has gained substancial relavence pertaining to human rights.
In concrete terms, I discovered with much satisfaction that I am not alone in my efforts to blog the R2P conference. In Fact, The Booker.eu, a bimonthly magazine and its associated website and email newsletter published by the Foundation for International Development Publications out of the Netherlands, has a four day head start on me with contibutions by Julia Hoffmann and André Nollkaemper. To follow The Booker’s coverage visit: www.thebrokeronline.eu
Coverage provided by The Booker and my own contributions on behalf of the Atlantic Human Rights Centre play an important role in ensuring debates and perspectives generated within the conference are communicated to the much larger community. By opening up such conferences the larger human rights community can claim a sense of ownership over these issues and cofidence that grass roots and shoestring budget organisations and concerned citizens have their ears placed as close to the ground as possible.
It is for this reason that I’ll be providing coverage of all events during the conference as well as injecting my own anaylsis. It’s my hope that coverage will generate discussion and action within Canada relating to R2P. It was along this line of thinking that I submitted an abstract to the conference organizers outlining my wish to speak on Canada’s role in the impitus and conceptualization of R2P in contrast to current contributions towards normative development.
Here is a link to the conference schedule. Stay tuned for updates.
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