History And Concept

The African Union edition of the Lemkin Seminar is based on the successful model AIPR and its partners have developed in Latin America. Already we have begun work with the U.S. State Department and the OSAPG to develop regional and sub-regional programs in genocide and mass atrocity prevention in the African Union.

To begin with, the Auschwitz Institute has recruited representatives from regional organizations in Africa—including the AU secretariat, ECOWAS, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, the East African Commission, and the South African Development Community—to attend the Global Government Lemkin Seminar in 2011. This will introduce them to our work and our methodology, as well as our instructional and organizational team, laying the foundation for future collaboration.

Next, we will invite these same officials to the March 2012 planning meeting for the Lemkin Seminar for Latin America, in Buenos Aires. This will give them a chance to become closely acquainted with our Latin American program in the hopes of developing a similar program for the AU. The first step as always will be to educate officials from the countries’ ministries of foreign affairs and justice, as well as any other government bodies dealing with human rights. Building partnerships with African regional organizations will serve as a bridge for involving the individual member states, so by the end of 2012 we can begin work on a plan for the creation of collaborative institutions to work on genocide and mass atrocity prevention.

Our emphasis throughout this planning process will be to find the best localized approach to genocide and mass atrocity prevention throughout Africa and within individual countries. In Latin America the best approach has proven to be a brand new collaborative institution, but in Africa we may see collaborative projects emerging within individual subregional organizations.

Organizers

Supporters

  • To be announced

Goals

  • To familiarize participants with the concept of genocide, its relation to the broader category of mass atrocity, and the processes by which genocide occurs.
  • To empower participants with the practical competencies (knowledge and skills) necessary to develop the means to identify and deter the potential for genocide, limit genocide as it unfolds, and engage in programs of transitional justice that aim to prevent the future occurrence of mass atrocity in a post-conflict society.
  • To reinforce the international security and human rights norm of the Responsibility to Protect, with clear recognition of the idea that sovereignty is not a privilege, but a responsibility.
  • To create a worldwide communication network of genocide-sensitive policymakers, with a heightened degree of awareness and sensitivity to the role of nongovernmental actors in supporting their work in zones of conflict.

Program

  • To be announced

Instructors

  • To be announced

Participants

  • To be announced