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UN General Assembly Omar Hilale calls for collective mobilization against mass atrocities
Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Omar Hilale, serving as co-chair of the Friends of the Responsibility to Protect Group, emphasized the urgent need for a shared commitment to protect populations from mass atrocities.
Speaking on behalf of the group, which includes 54 member states and the European Union, Ambassador Hilale highlighted this historic pledge by UN member states to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity during the annual UN General Assembly debate on the Responsibility to Protect.
He underscored significant progress in understanding the risk factors, root causes, and dynamics that lead to such crimes. Marking the 20th anniversary of the unanimous adoption of the Responsibility to Protect agenda in 2005, he stressed the importance of focusing on policies and structures that strengthen prevention and crisis response capabilities, along with the political will necessary for implementation.
Hilale noted that the Responsibility to Protect is essential to promoting peace, security, human rights, and development, while ensuring adherence to international humanitarian law.
Referring to the recent UN80 initiative aimed at improving the UN’s effectiveness, he called for preserving the organization’s core functions that support peace, security, development, and human rights. These are crucial to addressing the root causes of conflicts and humanitarian needs and enhancing the UN’s ability to prevent mass atrocities.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his 17th report on the Responsibility to Protect, pointed out emerging threats such as the militarization of new technologies and the spread of advanced weaponry. These developments demand continuous adaptation to prevent atrocities and safeguard populations.
Guterres stressed that Responsibility to Protect is not just a principle but a moral imperative grounded in our shared humanity and the UN Charter, warning that no society is immune to atrocity crimes.
The President of the UN General Assembly, Philémon Yang, called for collective reflection on the persistent failure to prevent atrocities. Citing ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, and Myanmar, he condemned the Security Council’s inaction, the disregard of warning signs, and the erosion of respect for international law.
Yang urged member states to move from rhetoric to concrete action, strengthen prevention mechanisms, and place protection of populations at the center of national and regional policies, affirming that protection is not merely an aspiration but a mandate for collective and individual action.
