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GJavetski - My Blog
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Can Genocide Be Prevented?
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Genocide: n. Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. (1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Article 2).

On June 12th, over 150 people gathered in the United Nations’ Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium to listen to genocide expert David Hamburg talk about his new book, Preventing Genocide: Practical Steps Towards Early Detection and Effective Action. The event was organized by the United Nations University.

“It’s encouraging that there is so much interest in such a grim subject,” Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud, the head of the United Nations University said while introducing Dr. Hamburg. “The fact that we have such a large crowd here is a true testament to peace.”

For the next hour, Hamburg argued against the widely held belief that genocide is inevitable and affirmed that it is indeed preventable. He explained that while much research has gone into documenting and analyzing genocides, experts have said little about prevention.

“It’s widely accepted among political leaders that genocide cannot be detected until the last minute,” Hamburg explained. “However, research shows that early signals always provide ample time for response options, provided that we have focal points for mobilizing the best practices.”

Hamburg credits United Nations’ former Secretary Generals Dag Hammarskjold for introducing the concept of genocide prevention and Kofi Annan for proving that humanitarian help can be provided quickly and efficiently. Because of these two men, Hamburg said, the United Nations has "started to get the ball rolling" in formulating a set of genocide prevention tools. Hamburg identified six tools in preventing genocide, including pro-active help in prevention of mass violence, fostering equitable socio-economic development, promoting education for human survival, and preventing human rights infractions through forms of international justice.

Yet while Hamburg applauded the UN for “setting a favorable trend” in genocide prevention, he acknowledged that there is still much room for improvement.

“Agencies can do more in prevention than they are now doing,” Hamburg said. He pointed out that United Nations genocide prevention efforts are constrained by the threat of a Security Council veto and by nations’ fear of overriding sovereignty in the General Assembly. Additionally, departments that deal with genocide prevention are usually “underfunded and understaffed.”

The book also identified patterns that can be found at the roots of genocides. Hamburg made the point that genocides usually occur when one group blames a weaker group for its own problems and cultivates intergroup hatred. If left untouched, the stronger group may incite violence that will grow over the years, from periodic outbursts, to civil war, to genocide. It’s for this reason, Hamburg says, that we need to focus on early and mid-range genocide prevention tactics and not wait until it’s too late.

Along with identifying the early steps of genocide, Hamburg called upon policy makers to create environments where genocide is less likely to occur. “A fundamental responsibility of policy makers is to …promote factors of political process in violence-prone societies,” he said.

“It’s hard to understand how decent human beings can commit genocide,” the author concluded. “If we can’t learn to live together, then all of our efforts won’t be of much value.”

Dr. Hamburg's book can be purchased here.


July 20, 2008 | 11:35 PM Comments  0 comments

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Sustainable Development
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Sustainable Development:n.development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (United Nations’ recognized Brundtland Definition)
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On Wednesday, July 2, 2008, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) identified the biggest
issues that are hampering sustainable development internationally, including rises in energy costs, a declining world economy, an international food crisis, and climate change.

Along with regular ECOSOC members, several foreign ministers outlined their countries' plans to promote sustainable development.

According to one of the foreign ministers, Japanese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Yasuhide Nakayama, there are three priority areas of sustainable development:

1. economic growth
2. insuring human security
3. environmental issues and climate change.

He explained that these three areas are interrelated and must all be in place in order to achieve sustainable development within a country.

Nakayama made it clear that international cooperation is necessary in fighting climate change. “There are a variety of opinions about climate change, but one thing is certain,” he said. “We share the responsibility to make progress for future generations.” He also added that technology is an important tool in solving environmental issues and creating low carbon societies.

After promising that Japan will donate over ten billion US dollars towards fighting climate change, the Vice-Minister said that Japan would fight the international food crisis as well. “Japan is ready to release over three hundred thousand tons of imported rice. [We will also] donate fifty million US dollars to poor farmers,” he said.

Nakayama called upon all countries to join efforts in helping societies grow and promote sustainable practices. He made an analogy between countries’ efforts in achieving sustainable development with Japan’s national reconstruction following World War II. “As all of you know, Japan has had its own experience of recovering and rebuilding,” he said. “We didn’t start from zero, but sub-zero.”

Like Nakayama, Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Manouchehr Mottaki also called for international cooperation.

“The world economy is worsening during a severe economic downturn and a food crisis is impeding on the [ Millennium Development Goals ]by reversing progress made,” he said. “Obviously, [developed countries] should not remain indifferent to the situation because overcoming these obstacles requires vigorous cooperation. It is imperative for ECOSOC to assume a leading role in promoting cooperation.”

While other foreign ministers identified climate change and financial problems as threats towards sustainable development’s progress, Mottaki blamed the “management of world affairs.” He warned the council that “before thinking about the future, we should think about where we are now.”

“The management of the world should be carefully scrutinized in order to find its shortcomings,” he said. “The political aspect of the management of world affairs today is non-democratic and faces serious constraints in decision-making process. In economic progress, there is a deep gap between the rich and the poor. Wrong economic policies by certain economic powers have lead to the increase of the price of powers, and the world is at the stake of these policies by these powers. The weakest countries have been harmed the most.”

After Mottaki identified problems that are limiting sustainable development, Lichtenstein’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Rita Kieber-Beck, pointed towards solutions.

Noting that “the food crisis and energy costs are presenting serious threats to sustainable development” and that “we must do more to solidify our gains,” in a unique approach, Kieber-Beck suggested mirofinance as an effective tool in helping countries become sustainable.

Microfinance is the provision of small loans to the world’s poorest people to help them start their own businesses and create sustainable lives. In this way, microfinance services promote economic sustainability for people by giving the poor the chance to take control of their financial futures and become completely self-reliant.


“Microfinance is an important tool that has proved to be successful,” Kieber-Beck said. “It is estimated that there were over 64 million borrowers worldwide in 2006, up from 9 million in 2000.” (Refer to the graph to the left.)

While microfinance isn’t the only way that we can promote sustainable development, few other foreign ministers besides Minister Kieber-Beck were able to provide concrete suggestions. What other things can governments, groups, and people do to become more sustainable? What can YOU do to lead a more sustainable life?