Overcoming Barriers: Civil Society Perspectives on Implementing R2P

On September 6, 2016, the Stanley Center, along with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), convened a panel discussion entitled “Overcoming Barriers: Civil Society Perspectives on Implementing the R2P.”

Bridget Moix, US senior representative of Peace Direct, moderated the conversation between Dismas Nkunda, cofounder and chief executive officer of Atrocities Watch-Africa; Gus Miclat, executive director and cofounder of the Initiatives for International Dialogue and a member of the Steering Committee of the International Coalition for the R2P; and Evan Cinq-Mars, UN advocate and policy adviser for the Center for Civilians in Conflict.

The panelists identified and considered ways that civil society enhances preventative measures for civilian protection. They agreed that the R2P is a “fundamentally human enterprise” and thus only as strong as the actions of those who seek to uphold it. The panelists also emphasized that those who are most affected by atrocities and their responses need to be included in efforts to uphold R2P.