Focal Points Meeting of the Latin American Network for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (XI)

The Stanley Center and the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, in collaboration with the U.N. Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, will bring together key members of the Latin American Network for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (LAN) in this eleventh meeting of the network’s focal points.

As the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates risks for mass violence in many communities, it is especially important to convene representatives and encourage peer dialogue on potential risks and areas for building resilience. The eleventh meeting will include elements that inform and advance national agendas on the incorporation of prevention-focused policies into COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, and promote regional education and action on the topics of indigenous populations, mobile populations, and mass atrocity prevention.

Since its creation in 2012, the LAN has been working to identify common criteria to integrate prevention elements into human rights agendas. The world as a whole and the region in particular are facing new challenges that should be interpreted as a call to strengthen the respective commitments with concrete actions. The network’s recurring meetings represent a space to work toward this direction, and they provide an opportunity to further institute and implement emerging proposals and initiatives with a prevention focus in the context of the network.