On October 11, 2022, the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide convened a private roundtable with presentations by three Ukraine experts to discuss potential scenarios of mass atrocity escalation in Ukraine and preventive options for policy makers. This blog distills key themes from the discussion.
On November 2, following formal peace talks mediated by the African Union, the Ethiopian government and regional forces from Tigray have agreed to a permanent cessation of hostilities. But will justice follow peace in Ethiopia?
Remarks by Naomi Kikoler, Director, Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, at an event on Syria, held at the British Embassy in Washington DC.
Reflections on the horror of the 2013 chemical weapons attacks by the Assad regime on Ghouta and the many lives lost, and the numerous other attacks, using chemical and conventional weapons, launched on its own people by a regime, still in power and rooted in impunity.
August 3, 2022 marked the eighth anniversary of attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on the Yezidis of northern Iraq. Eight years on, the need for justice remains unabated. Thousands of Yezidis are still missing, their families in anguish.
Since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the risk of mass atrocities has increased for vulnerable groups, including ethnic and religious minorities. The Hazara community is experiencing increasing and widespread attacks by ISIS-KP and the Taliban alongside a history of persecution, necessitating an immediate response by the US and other governments.
Real challenges remain, but the strategy represents important progress. Here's what civil society experts want to see next.
One strong theme in the new US government’s United States Strategy to Anticipate, Prevent, and Respond to Atrocities is the importance of evaluation, learning, and adaptation. These elements of the strategy reflect the same basic tenets that motivated the Simon-Skjodt Center to conduct the project, “Lessons Learned in Preventing and Responding to Mass Atrocities”—namely, that atrocity prevention efforts should be informed by what has been learned about how to accomplish this goal, and that continued learning is crucial to help address gaps in our current knowledge.
This new strategy marks the first time the US government has made public a written strategy concerning mass atrocities, signaling the potential for a stronger, more coordinated effort across the US government.
Although conflict frequently disrupts food systems, in the case of Ethiopia there are credible reports that parties to the conflict have destroyed food, crops, livestock, and civilian infrastructure such as water sources and that the Ethiopian federal government is responsible for deliberately starving civilians.
Find information on historical cases of genocide and other atrocities.