Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Events

The U.N. Approach to Preventing Atrocities

A Conversation with Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Under-Secretary-General and U.N. Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide

Date: Wednesday, November 16, 2022 / Time: 10:00am - 11:00am EST

Center: Applied Conflict Transformation Center

Share This
Print the Page

With the risk of mass atrocities rising globally, the U.N. special adviser for the prevention of genocide serves as the U.N.’s nerve center for identifying threats of large-scale violence that could lead to atrocity crimes such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. This critical role provides early warnings to the secretary-general and Security Council and recommends actions to prevent or halt them — all while strengthening practitioner understanding of the key drivers of atrocity risk, including hate speech and genocide denial.

On November 16, USIP hosted a conversation with U.N. Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu on the efforts her office has taken to prevent atrocity crimes and to improve the U.N.’s ability to protect vulnerable civilian populations.

Continue the conversation on Twitter with #USIPAtrocityPrevention.

Speakers

Philippe Leroux-Martin, welcoming remarks
Director, Governance, Justice and Security, United States Institute of Peace 

Alice Wairimu Nderitu
Under-Secretary-General and U.N. Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide 

Lauren Baillie, moderator
Senior Program Officer, Atrocity Prevention, U.S. Institute of Peace

Related Publications

Linking Early Warning and Early Response Networks to Curb Violence in West Africa

Linking Early Warning and Early Response Networks to Curb Violence in West Africa

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

By: Nate Haken;  Patricia Taft Nasri;  Nikita Reece

A conflict early warning and early response (EWER) ecosystem has been developing in West Africa as multilateral organizations, governments, civil society groups, and others have established systems that detect threats and provide critical information to relevant authorities. Yet individual EWER systems are prone to a range of failures—from gaps in data to decision-making bottlenecks to response coordination breakdowns. This report argues that linking individual systems—a network-of-networks approach—can improve outcomes for people across West Africa and serve as a model for other conflict-affected regions around the world.

Type: Peaceworks

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

The Growing Flashpoints Between the U.S. and Iran

The Growing Flashpoints Between the U.S. and Iran

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

By: Robin Wright

Tension between Washington and Tehran has been a growing undercurrent of the war in Gaza, even as both countries tried to prevent it from sparking a direct confrontation during the first six months of fighting. Robin Wright, a joint fellow at USIP and the Wilson Center, explores the evolving flashpoints in the world’s most volatile region as well as the challenges for U.S. diplomacy, the new triggers for a wider regional conflagration and the historical backdrop.

Type: Question and Answer

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

U.S., Japan, Philippines Strengthen Strategic Bonds to Counter China

U.S., Japan, Philippines Strengthen Strategic Bonds to Counter China

Thursday, April 4, 2024

By: Brian Harding;  Haroro Ingram;  Andrew Mines

Next week’s U.S.-Philippines-Japan summit comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Manilla and Beijing in the South China Sea, known as the West Philippines Sea in the Philippines. Last month alone saw two incidents of China’s so- called “gray zone” activities, with Chinese ships colliding with Philippines Coast Guard vessels on March 5 and blasting a Philippines supply boat with a water cannon on March 23. These disputes in the West Philippines Sea — an issue on which U.S., Japanese and Philippine interests closely align — will feature prominently when President Joe Biden, Philippine President Ferdinando Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minster Fumio Kishida meet in Washington on April 11.

Type: Question and Answer

Conflict Analysis & Prevention;  Global Policy

View All Publications