R2P in practice: Africa

R2P in Practice: Africa
Egmont Palace (Room Arenberg)
7 September 2011
9.45-12.30
The working language will be English

The aim of this conference is to examine the implementation of the principle of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in a number of recent crisis situations on the African continent. The focus of the conference will be the political challenges the international community is facing: confronting the discrepancies between the protection of civilians and becoming part and partial of a conflict or even an instrument for regime change. Issues to be discussed include the growing importance of the UN’s relationship with African regional organisations, the complexities concerning the role of the African Union, dealing with the challenges and opportunities of a multitude of political agenda’s and their notorious forum shopping?  Is the UN ready and willing to take on the consequences of this new protection paradigm? Consequences of R2P that force it to deal with different interpretations of mandates by Security Council Members, coordinating within and outside the UN-system and deal with intricate African political dynamics? The debate will focus on the lessons and challenges presented by recent crises such as Ivory Coast, Libya, the DRC and Sudan.

CHAIR:           Alex Reyn Egmont Institute - former Belgian Ambassador to the UN

PANEL:           Kiyotaka  Akasaka Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information

                     Edward Luck Special Advisor on Responsibility to Protect to the UN Secretary General

                     Alex Vines Research Director, Regional and Security Studies; and Head, Africa Programme Chatham House

Participants to this conference include African, EU, UN and member state officials as well as a wide range of researchers, academics and practitioners.

To register, you are invited to reply to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it