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Genocide Prevention

Announcements and Recent Analysis

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  • “The World’s Next Genocide”

    In a New York Times op-ed, Simon Adams, executive director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (external link), discusses the potential for genocide to unfold in Syria. Adams warns that as the current conflict intensifies, the risk increases of a violent backlash against Alawites and other minorities. He calls on governments to take decisive action to prevent further crimes against humanity from being committed, and to put an end to impunity for such crimes by engaging the International Criminal Court to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable.  

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  • Crimes Against Humanity in Syria

    We know from history that genocide and related crimes against humanity do not just arise spontaneously. They often take place in the context of civil war, when leaders commit such crimes to advance their goals of eliminating opposition or perceived enemies. In the civil conflict now raging in Syria, reporting by independent journalists and the United Nations leaves little doubt that conditions are being laid for a dramatic escalation of violence against civilians, possibly based on their membership in religious sects. Right now the majority Sunni population, perceived by the Alawite-dominated regime to be leading the opposition, are the primary victims, but if conditions deteriorate, other groups—including Druze, Christians, and Alawites themselves—could also be targeted.  

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  • Threat of Mass Violence Against Civilians in Syria

    Today, Syria is a country whose civilians are at risk of violence, with an estimated 1,000 people killed since mid-March, and countless others detained or missing. It is also a country whose regime allows little international access by foreign journalists, human rights groups, and aid groups and that offers few response options for those interested in stemming the potential for mass atrocities. As such, it provides a serious challenge for thinking about the limits and needs of a developing international civilian protection paradigm.  

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Country Case Studies
Country Case Studies

Find information on historical cases of genocide and other atrocities.