AGENDA
5TH GLOBAL FORUM
AGAINST THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE
STRENGTHENING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNATIONAL MECHANISMS FOR EARLY WARNING AND EARLY RESPONSE TO THE RISK OF GENOCIDE AND OTHER ATROCITY CRIMES
Yerevan, Matenadaran
Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts
12-13 December 2024
Guided tour in Matenadaran
(Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts) for international guests
Registration of participants
Opening of the Forum
High-level segment
Moderator: Rebecca A. Shoot, Executive Director Citizens for Global Solutions
Opening remarks by:
- Vahagn Khachaturyan, President of the Republic of Armenia
- Message by Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and the Prevention of this Crime
Speakers:
- Ararat Mirzoyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
- Video message by Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Video message by Virginia Gamba, Acting Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide
- Egils Levits, Former President of Latvia
- Melanie O’Brien, President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars
Plenary Session: Evolving risk factors for genocide and other atrocity crimes and role of small countries in promoting the genocide prevention agenda.
The session will focus on warning signs and common risk factors for genocide and other atrocities in the world, dangerous trends, and the cycle of violence and inhuman acts that can lead to atrocity crimes. At the same time, the session will highlight the contribution of small states to shaping the agenda for the prevention of genocide.
Moderator: Elisabeth Pramendorfer, Geneva Representative, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Speakers:
- Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
- Video message by Ambassador Christian Guillerment-Fernandez, Chair of the Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC)
- Anahit Manasyan, Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia
- Ewelina Ochab, Lawyer, Co-founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response
- Blanka Jamnišek, Ambassador, Slovenian National Focal Point for the Responsibility to Protect
Discussion/Q&A
Panel one. Development of UN early warning mechanisms.
First Panel will look into past genocides and other atrocity crimes that prompted establishment and historical evolution of prevention mechanisms and institutions.
Increasingly sophisticated early warning mechanisms have been developed over decades, in parallel to the failures of early warning in cases of mass atrocities.
What does an early warning system consist of and how does it work?
Moderator: Edita Gzoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute
Panelists:
- Vincent Duclert, Researcher at the Centre Raymond Aron, Former President of the Research Commission on the French Archives Related to Rwanda and the Tutsi Genocide
- Jochen Böhler, Director of the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies
- Fernand de Varennes, UN former Special Rapporteur on Minorities
- Vladimir Vardanyan, Chair of the Standing Committee on State-Legal Issues, National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia
- Jean Meyer, Historian, Founder of the ISTOR magazine (online)
Discussion/Q&A
Panel Two. UN early response system: necessity to improve operational and policy coherence (cases of gross human rights violations against protected groups).
It will stress the role of criminal justice and accountability in the protection and promotion of human rights, underline the role and partnerships among diverse actors (Security Council, ICJ, ICC, human rights system, soft law mechanisms, civil society, media).
Moderator: Andranik Shirinyan, Country Representative for Freedom House in Armenia
Panelists:
- Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (online)
- Marcin Marcinko, Associate Professor, Chair of Public International Law, Faculty of Law and Administration, Jagiellonian University in Kraków
- Agnieszka Klonowiecka-Milart, International judge for the UN Mission in Kosovo and at the Khmer Rouge Trials in Cambodia
- Mario Buil-Merce, Senior Political Affairs Officer / Chief of Office at the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect
Discussion/Q&A
Panel Three. Other international actors: identification of risk factors of atrocity crimes and early action in cases where preventive measures may be required.
Moderator: Gurgen Petrossian, Senior Officer for International Criminal Law, International Nuremberg Principles Academy
Panelists:
- Kathryne Bomberger, Director-General, International Commission on Missing Persons
- Video Message by Bernard Duhaime, Special Rapporteur on truth, justice and reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence
- Mark McInnes, Lord McInnes of Kilwinning, Member of the House of Lords
- Mirza Dinnayi, Co-Founder and Director of Air Bridge Iraq, Aurora Prize Laureate
- Andrew Forde, Commissioner, Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
- Sheila Paylan, UN Senior Human Rights Consultant
Discussion/Q&A
Panel Four. Existing gaps and challenges.
Fourth Panel will focus on flows and gaps in the international legal and policy framework and will examine emerging challenges and threats that lead to gross violations and the most serious international crimes, yet lack either codification (hate speech, siege, etc.) or comprehensive oversight and implementation (Geneva Conventions).
Special attention will be paid to the necessity of systematic study of the evolution and practice of mass atrocity early warning mechanisms, and the impact this has had on UN-led responses to imminent and unfolding cases of mass atrocity crimes.
New proposals to improve existing international mechanisms will be welcomed.
Moderator: Gulnara Shahinian, UN former Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
Panelists:
- Matias Hellman, Head of the Outreach Unit, Division of External Operations, International Criminal Court
- Peter Prove, Director, Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, World Council of Churches
- Yeghisheh Kirakosyan, Representative of Armenia on International Legal Matters
- Henry Theriault, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, Worcester State University
- Luis Moreno Ocampo, Founder Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
Discussion/Q&A
Concluding Panel. The Forum will conclude with the Chair’s summary
Speaker: Vahan Kostanyan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia