Prevention of Genocide

Encourages Member States to build their capacity to prevent genocide through the development of individual expertise and the creation of appropriate offices within Governments to strengthen the work on prevention;

Encourages States to consider the appointment of focal points on the prevention of genocide, who could cooperate and exchange information and best practices among themselves and with the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, relevant United Nations bodies and with regional and subregional mechanisms;

Calls upon States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Convention to consider doing so as a matter of high priority and, where necessary, to enact national legislation in conformity with the provisions of the Convention;

Calls upon all States, in order to deter future occurrences of genocide, to cooperate, including through the United Nations system, in strengthening appropriate collaboration among existing mechanisms that contribute to the early detection and prevention of massive, serious and systematic violations of human rights that, if not halted, could lead to genocide;

Requests all Governments to cooperate fully with the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide in the performance of his work, to furnish all relevant information requested and to react promptly to his urgent appeals;

Urges all States to implement accepted universal periodic review recommendations relating to the prevention of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity;

Encourages the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the High Commissioner to further enhance the systematic exchange of information between their offices and between the Special Adviser and all relevant special procedures, including those concerned with the promotion and protection of human rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic, racial or religious groups, as outlined in article II of the Convention, and to continue collaboration with relevant international, regional and subregional organizations, national human rights institutions and civil society;

Encourages States to make use of appropriate international and regional forums to address the issue of prevention of genocide, including, inter alia, the annual meetings of regional and thematic organizations and their related human rights machinery dedicated to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;

Invites Member States and regional and subregional organizations to look at examples of best practices for the prevention of genocide developed in other regions, where appropriate, taking into account their specific regional and national circumstances, with the aim of exchanging experiences and good practices in order to strengthen prevention measures, including early warning mechanisms and forms of cooperation;

Encourages Governments, in cooperation with international and regional organizations and civil society, while promoting human rights education activities, to continue to disseminate knowledge of the principles of the Convention, paying particular attention to the principles of prevention;

Invites States as a preventive measure to provide appropriate ways, which may include the establishment of national days of remembrance of victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, that will ensure that such horrendous crimes are never forgotten and provide an opportunity for everyone to learn lessons from the past and to create a safer future;

Requests the Secretary-General, in collaboration with the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect and with relevant entities of the United Nations system, Governments and other stakeholders, to help to ensure the success of the observance by the United Nations of the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and the Prevention of This Crime and to assist Member States, upon request and in compliance with the provisions of resolution 69/323 relating to funding, in organizing activities for the observance of the International Day;

Invites the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide to continue to execute the activities under his mandate, including in the follow-up to the present resolution, by providing States with guidance, assistance and follow-up, upon their request;

Requests the Secretary-General to draw up a roster of focal points and networks on the prevention of genocide with updated information from Member States;

Also requests the Secretary-General to prepare a follow-up report based on information provided by States on the implementation of the provisions of the present resolution, with a particular focus on activities aimed at raising awareness of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the realization of educational programmes and projects that contribute to the prevention of genocide, and to submit the report to the Human Rights Council at its forty-first session;

Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize at the thirty-ninth session of the Human Rights Council a high-level panel discussion to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to be followed by an interactive dialogue with the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide;

Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a summary report on the high-level panel discussion and to submit it to the Human Rights Council at its fortieth session;