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Special Adviser for the Prevention of GenocideBackground on the Position: At the 2004 Stockholm International Forum on Genocide: Threats and Responsibilities, the Secretary-General proposed creating a Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide (SAPG) who would be “supported by the High Commissioner for Human Rights but would report directly to the Security Council--making clear the link, which is often ignored until too late, between massive and systematic violations of human rights and threats to international peace and security.” In July 2004, the Secretary-General appointed Juan Mendez, Argentinean human rights lawyer and Executive Director of the International Center for Transitional Justice to the post. The mandate, based on Security Council Resolution 1366, is to collect existing information, particularly from within the UN system, act as an early warning mechanism, and make recommendations to the Security Council through the Secretary-General. In May 2006, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed a high-level Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention to provide guidance and support to the work of the Special Adviser and contribute to the broader efforts of the United Nations to prevent genocide. The panel's recommendations were never released. The post of Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide was vacant from March 31, 2007 when the mandate of Juan Mendez expired, until UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Francis Deng as the Special Advisor for the Prevention of Genocide on 29 May 2007. Proposed Changes to the Special Adviser post Upon appointing Dr. Francis Deng, Ban also announced his intention to find other ways to strengthen the UN’s genocide-prevention capacities. In accordance with this goal, in August 2007 Ban proposed upgrading the position from Assistant Secretary-General to Under-Secretary-General and making it a full-time post, which is in line with the never-released 2006 recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention. In line with another recommendation from the committee to expand the Special Adviser’s title, Ban also proposed changing it from “Prevention of Genocide” to “Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities.” Additionally, Ban proposed changing the name of the position from Special Adviser to Special Representative. As a result of both the Security Council’s and the GA’s discussions, Deng has been assigned Under-Secretary-General status, but he remains the Special Advisor rather than a Special Representative, and his title does not include “Mass Atrocities.” This outcome means that Deng’s mandate and title are the same as Mendez’s had been before him, although his status is higher as a result of his promotion to Under-Secretary-General, and his position is now full-time (whereas Mendez was an Assistant Secretary-General and employed part-time). Dr. Deng has been working closely with the Special Advisor with a focus on the Responsibility to Protect, Dr. Ed Luck to elaborate a revised mechanism within the UN system that would be able to collect and analyze early warning information as well as provide early warning information and recommendations for action to the Secretary General and Security Council. The Secretary-General in his report “Implementing the Responsibility to Protect” has expressed his intention to propose a joint-office which would incorporate the mandates of both Dr. Deng and Dr. Luck, in the Annex section of his report. Further elaboration of the joint office is expected in the coming months, after the General Assembly has considered the report. Current Activities of the Special Adviser In response to an upsurge in violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Mr. Deng visited Eastern DRC, Uganda and Rwanda in late-November 2008 and issued a statement on his findings of massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law on the basis of ethnicity and national origin. The OSAPG submitted a report to the Secretary-General, but despite the grave findings its recommendations have yet to be made public. The Office is currently monitoring situations using its framework for analysis on the likelihood of the potential threat of genocide. Risk assessments of the Office are not public. In early March 2009, the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported to the Human Rights Council on the activities of the Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide. Timeline – Recent Developments in the Special Adviser on R2P and the Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide August 31, 2007: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sends a letter to the Security Council president requesting approval to: -Upgrade Deng from Assistant Secretary-General to Under-Secretary-General; -Expand his title to Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities (SAPGMA) (the mandate would remain unchanged, however, as attention to mass atrocities – potentially early warning signals of genocide – would be geared toward the prevention of genocide); and
-Appoint Edward Luck to the position of Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect. October 30, 2007: SG issues report on resource requirements for the two positions, which fall under “Special Political Missions.” The report: -Reports on work of SAPGMA in 2007 as well as the development and function of his early warning role; -Outlines expected accomplishments and indicators of achievement for the SAPGMA Office;
-Includes the budget request for Office of the SAPGMA: $1,902,900 (including salaries for 8 posts), and breakdown of request including staffing requirements; -Explains that the upgrade to USG is necessary to emphasize importance of the mandate, and to ensure a high-level liaison role with Member States, regional organizations, etc.;
-Notes that the mandate of SAPGMA is linked closely to the mandate of the Special Adviser on R2P; and -States that SAR2P will have the sole focus of developing the concept and mandate of the Responsibility to Protect;
November 29, 2007: SG issues additional information on the SAPGMA’s office -Proposes staffing allotment for the office in 2008: 1 USG, 1 ASG, 4 P-level, 2 GS (8 posts total) December 11, 2007: The Security Council replies to Ban’s August letter. The Council: -Acknowledges Luck’s appointment, leading to the public announcement of his appointment; and December 2007: The General Assembly’s Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) begins to discuss funding for the two positions. Some States deny that they had endorsed the Responsibility to Protect provision in the World Summit Outcome Document (WSOD). There was disagreement regarding the definition of the norm to which they had committed. This led to questioning the need for a Special Adviser on the norm. Some States proposed that the GA formally discuss how to implement the commitment in the WSOD (paragraph 139) before deciding on the Secretary-General’s proposals. December 14, 2007: The ACABQ sends its recommendations to the GA’s Fifth Committee on budgetary issues. It recommends: -Leaving the decisions about upgrading Deng’s position to Under-Secretary-General – and adding “Mass Atrocities” to his title – to the General Assembly; December 24, 2007: In Fifth Committee negotiations, several delegations express opposition to the expansion of Deng’s title to include “Mass Atrocities”, as well as to the creation of the SAR2P (Cuba, Venezuela, Pakistan, China, Egypt, Nicaragua, Iran, India). Other delegations, including Argentina, supported both mandates. (See Press Release GA/AB/3832.) The Committee negotiates a draft GA budget resolution reflecting a compromise agreement to: -Approve upgrade of Deng’s position to USG [and establish an additional P3 and GS post for the office]; The final text reads: Decides to upgrade the position of the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide to the Under-Secretary-General level, and to establish an additional P-3 and an additional General Service (Other level) position in his office (Para V.10). -Regrets the recurrent late submission of the reports under consideration, which hinders the proper examination of the matter by the General Assembly, and requests the Secretary-General to present future budget proposals for the special political missions not later than the first week of November (Para V.2); February 21, 2008: Secretary-General appoints Edward Luck as Special Adviser with a focus on the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanities.
Bio of Francis Deng: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced on 29 May 2007 the appointment of Mr. Francis Deng of Sudan as the new Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, succeeding Mr. Juan Mendez of Argentina. Mr. Deng took up his position on 1 August 2007. Mr. Deng was a Director of the Sudan Peace Support Project based at the United States Institute of Peace. He was also a Wilhelm Fellow at the Center for International Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Research Professor of International Politics, Law and Society at Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. Before joining MIT, Mr. Deng was a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the John Kluge Center of the Library of Congress. Mr. Deng served as Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons from 1992 to 2004, and from 2002 to 2003 was also a Senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Mr. Deng served as Human Rights Officer in the UN secretariat from 1967 to 1972 and as the Ambassador of Sudan to Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United States. He also served as Sudan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. After leaving his country’s service, he was appointed the first Rockefeller Brothers Fund Distinguished Fellow. He was at the Woodrow Wilson International Center first as a Guest Scholar and then as a Senior Research Associate, after which he joined The Brookings Institution as a Senior Fellow, where he founded and directed the Africa Project for 12 years. He was then appointed Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York before joining Johns Hopkins University. Among his numerous awards in his country and abroad, Mr. Deng is co-recipient with Roberta Cohen of the 2005 Grawemeyer Award for 'Ideas Improving World Order' and the 2007 Merage Foundation American Dream Leadership Award. In 2000, Mr. Deng also received the Rome Prize for Peace and Humanitarian Action. Mr. Deng holds an LL.B from Khartoum University and an LL.M and a J.S.D. from Yale University and has authored and edited over 30 books in the fields of law, conflict resolution, internal displacement, human rights, anthropology, folklore, history and politics and has also written two novels on the theme of the crisis of national identity in the Sudan. In a continuing effort to strengthen the UN’s role in this area, the Secretary-General has asked Mr. Deng to devote full time to this position. |