Montreal, New York 13 May 2021

Atrocity crimes include the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and, as explained in the Handbook for Parliamentarians on Preventing Violent Extremism and Mass Atrocities , also the crime of aggression. Its status as an international crime is based on the belief that the acts associated with it affect the dignity of human beings (UN Responsibility to Protect, 2005) and deeply shock the conscience of humankind (Preamble, Rome Statute of the ICC, 1998).

This event brought together experts to discuss, reflect and review current thinking on atrocity prevention approaches. Furthermore, the panelists explored ways to strengthen global action, spur new collaborations, improve our understanding and complement ongoing global efforts on addressing atrocity prevention.

Speakers

• Alice Nderitu, UN Secretary General's Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide
• General Roméo Dallaire, former Canadian Senator, MIGS Distinguished Senior Fellow.
• David Donat Cattin, Secretary-General, Parliamentarians for Global Action
• Kyle Matthews, Executive Director of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (moderator)