Overview of Activities in the CRIES Responsibility to Protect Program 2012-2013

The Coordinadora Regional de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales (CRIES) program on «Responsibility to Protect» aims to approach civil society organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean in order to support the development of strategies to promote and implement the concept of Responsibility to Protect in the region. For such purpose, CRIES designed a combined action plan that includes advocacy, awareness raising, research and training efforts on Responsibility to Protect that are executed at regional, sub regional and national level as well as with civil society organizations.

In 2012 and 2013, CRIES has carried out the following activities in the framework of the Responsibility to Protect Program:

Responsibility to Protect Academic Contest

CRIES in collaboration with the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP), organized the first Academic Contest for students attending universities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) on the topic of Responsibility to Protect and its application in the region. The objective of this contest was to promote the principle of Responsibility to Protect among students of political sciences, law and international relations. More than 30 students from different countries in LAC participated in the contest. The winner was Pablo Rosales from Lima, Peru who wrote an article on the application of the concept of Responsibility to Protect in the context of the Colombian internal conflict. The evaluating committee was formed by Dr. Gilberto Rodrigues, Dr. Thomas Legler, Dra. Mariclaire Acosta and Dr. Andrés Serbin.

Publication of Pensamiento Propio Nº35. “La Responsabilidad de Proteger y su aplicabilidad a América Latina y el Caribe”.

CRIES dedicated the issue Nº35 of its trilingual journal, Pensamiento Propio, to the application of Responsibility to Protect in the region with the goal of fostering further debate on Responsibility to Protect in Latin America. The issue included documents with different perspectives on the Responsibility to Protect and is divided into three parts, in coherence with the journal’s traditional structure. The first part analyses the official positions of the governments of Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela on the subject of Responsibility to Protect. This subset of countries not only covers the position of some of the most important regional players, but also represents the different positions on the subject within LAC. Additionally, there are two articles that examine the concept from a global perspective and highlight the developments of Responsibility to Protect since its first articulation in the report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty in 2001. Finally, it includes a paper on the work of civil society organizations efforts to promote and consolidate the concept. The second part of the journal comprises the official position of the government of Brazil, “Responsibility while Protecting”, and two articles commenting on this document. The final part of the issue includes the article on the implementation of Responsibility to Protect in the context of the Colombian internal conflict written by the winning author of CRIES’ academic contest, Pablo Rosales.

Pensamiento Propio Nº 35 presentation in Buenos Aires.

On July 4^th, CRIES presented issue Nº 35 of Pensamiento Propio, dedicated to the analyzing the concept Responsibility to Protect and its applicability in Latin America. The event was held  in the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI) and had expert panel featuring Dr. Andrés Serbin, President of CRIES and Chair of the ICRtoP, Dr. Ricardo Arredondo, diplomat and professor at the University of Buenos Aires, and Dr Khatchik Der Ghougassian, professor of international relations at the University of San Andrés. After the presentation there was a discussion of the current situation in Syria. Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, academia, politicians and representatives of civil society organizations attended the event.

Pensamiento Propio Nº 35 presentation in New York.

On May 24^th, CRIES launched issue Nº35 of Pensamiento Propio, entitled “Responsibility to Protect and its applicability in Latin America”. The presentation was held at the offices of the World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy, which houses the Secretariat of the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP), in New York. Representatives of diplomatic missions to the United Nations, particularly from Latin America, and representatives from international nongovernmental organizations working on related issues attended the event. The Director of the Pensamiento Propio and Chair of the ICRtoP, Dr. Andrés Serbin, gave the introductory presentation. After the presentation there was a lively debate, and a cocktail was offered by the ICRtoP.

Pensamiento Propio Nº 35 presentation in Sao Paulo.

On July 15^th, CRIES launched Pensamiento Propio Nº35 at the Memorial de America Latina in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Dr. Gilberto Rodrigues and Prof. Diogo Bueno integrated the presentation panel. After the presentation there was a debate in which several students participated with questions on the role of Brazil on the development of the Responsibility to Protect concept.

Dinner and Pensamiento Propio Nº 35 presentation in Mexico City.

On November 15^th, CRIES held a dinner in the city of Mexico with representatives of civil society organizations, political staffers and academics to present Pensamiento Propio Nº35 and discuss the regional perceptions on the Responsibility to Protect.

Pensamiento Propio Nº 35 presentation in Santiago de Chile.

On November 6^th, CRIES presented Pensamiento Propio Nº 35 at the Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago de Chile, Chile. Dr. Carlos Fuentes, Dr. Marco Robledo and Dr. Andrés Serbin integrated the presentation panel.

Pensamiento Propio Nº 35 presentation in Rio de Janeiro.

On September 11^th, CRIES launched Pensamiento Propio Nº 35 in the city of Rio de Janeiro at the Instituto de Estudios Estrategicos. Dr. Thiago Rodrigues and Prof. Fernando Broncoli were the presentation panelists.

Meeting in Brasilia with high-level government officials.

In November, Dr. Andrés Serbin met with high-level representatives from the Brazilian presidential advisory team for international relations to discuss the support for Responsibility to Protect and Responsibility while Protecting in the region. There was an agreement to organize a conference in Brasilia with politicians and high-level staffers.

Peace Film Festival.

On September 20^th, CRIES organized a film festival dedicated to the promotion of peace, conflict prevention, peacebuilding and Responsibility to Protect. There were several movies that reflected situations of violence and peace building in Latin America and the world. A movie on the situation in Sri Lanka was also exhibited to encourage discussion on the application of Responsability to Protect.

Publication of reviews.

Pensamiento Propio Nº36/37 includes two reviews of books focused on the analysis of Responsibility to Protect. The books are: “The Responsibility to Protect: the Promise of Stopping Mass Atrocities in our Time” by Jared Genser and Irwin Cotler and “Intervención Humanitaria y Responsabilidad de Proteger ¿Hacia un nuevo paradigma de protección de los derechos humanos?” By Ricardo Arredondo.

Responsibility to Prottect Conference in Santiago, December 2012.

The conference was organized jointly with the National Academy for Political and Strategic Studies (ANEPE) from the Ministry of Defense, and was well attended by Chilean military, diplomats and academia representatives. There was also a representative from Itamaraty (the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Glivania Maria de Oliveira who is also the Director of the Department of International Organisations. ICRtoP and CRIES were represented by Dr. Gilberto Rodrigues and Dr. Andrés Serbin.

“Responsibility to Protect” seminar in Quito.

On March 2013, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) and the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Ecuador organized two private meetings to discuss the application of RtoP in Latin America. Among the participants there were academia and civil society representativesas well as staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador. After the meetings a public conference presented by ambassador Francisco Carrión, (Director of FLACSO) was held, where Dr. Andrés Serbin (CRIES) and Monica Serrano (Colegio de México) discussed the support and scepticism towards Responsibility to Protect in Latin American and the Caribbean.