Statement by Minister Mateo Estrémé, Chargé d´Affaires a.i. of the Argentine Republic to the United Nations
Mr. President,
The 2005 Outcome Document, which reflects the commitment of Heads of State and Government, enshrines in a concept known as “RtoP” all the international obligations of States with regard to the protection of individuals. RtoP is an essential obligation of States in accordance with human rights law, international humanitarian law and the law of refugees.
Mr. President,
Argentina supports the concept of the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, having in mind the primary responsibility of States to prevent the occurence of such crimes and the responsibility of the international community to act through the United Nations in a timely and decisive manner.
Chapter VII of the Charter grants the Security Council the power to adopt coercive measures. But such measures even conceived as the ultima ratio –in particular the use of armed force-, led to certain uneasiness with Pillar III.
After the use of force authorized by the Security Council in Libya by virtue of Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011), a necessary discussion on Pillar III of the RtoP arose in the form of a document presented by Brazil on the “Responsibility while Protecting” (A/66/551-S/2011/701).
The concerns risen by the coercive action in Libya include resorting to the use of force without trying other measures first, regime change, the adequacy of air strikes to protect civilians, the need for the Security Council to do a follow up of the authorized measures and accountability of those authorized to use armed force. Those reservations and concerns must be addressed in order to ensure that action by the United Nations does not cause more victims than civilians protected, that it does not incurr in legitimizing political objectives beyond those of the Organization and, in the end, to ensure the legitimacy of collective action by the United Nations.
Señor Presidente,
I would like to highlight the need for Pillars I and II to be operate effectively so as to render coercive measures unnessary. Pillars I and II refer to prevention, which requires coordination among agencies and offices of the United Nations, but it also requires taking into account and incorporating to the coordinated efforts the work of regional or subregional organizations and mechanisms.
Several organizations and mechanisms of this kind work cooperatively in different regions of the world aiming at creating early warning networks and building the capacity of national and/or regional officials. In April 2012, the Latin-American Network for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities was launched with the cooperation of the Auschwitz Institute. The purpose of the Network is to prevent the commission of genocide and mass atrocities through the cooperation of 18 Latin-American countries. By virtue of the Network, officials of those countries will be trained and focal points will be appointed aiming at the coordination of policies and the exchange of information. The launching of the Network was supported by the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and was attended by officials of the Office of the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect.
Also, in conjuction with Switzerland and Tanzania, Argentina is organizing a series of regional seminars on the prevention of Genocide. The next one will take place in Cambodia, in 2013.
Mr. President,
I would also like to underscore that all forms of the exercise of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and its mere existence –not only the possibility of a Security Council referral- makes the clear statement that the most serious crimes of international concern are unacceptable. Thus, the ICC entails an important contribution to deterring from, and therefore, to the preventing the commission of such crimes.
Mr. President,
Argentina is convinced that as it is necessary to address the concerns raised regarding Pillar III, there is still much work to do on prevention. The close link between early warning and prevention, and the role of regional or subregional mechanisms to make cooperation in this regard effective was addressed in previous dialogues. Argentina favours a deeper examination of the role that such mechanisms can play and would like to suggest the possibility of having a future Report of the Secretary General on the relationship between early warning and capacity-building for prevention and the role of regional and subregional mechanisms.
Mr. President,
I would finally like to welcome the appointment of Mr. Adama Dieng as Special Adviser of the Secretary General on the Prevention of Genocide and recogne the work of Mr. Francis Deng and Mr. Edward Luck in the past yeaars.
Thank you.