Programme for Prevention Policy Planning

 

a. Objectives

 

With its prevention policy planning work, the Budapest Centre contributes to a perceived gap in the development and implementation of specific mass atrocity response strategies. While heads of state and government agreed on their Responsibility to Protect (R2P) people from mass atrocities, the methodologies and capabilities for the development of a ‘continuum of steps’, which is characteristic for the R2P, are still lacking within national governments, military and international and regional organizations. While capacities for the protection of civilians, conflict prevention and human rights protection have been increased modestly, but constantly, mass atrocity prevention was considered a by-product of such efforts, even though history documented the fundamental differences in these approaches. Mass atrocities have particular indicators and scenarios concentrating on members of a group and the threats to their physical integrity, which require specific response strategies. The program for prevention policy planning has been involved in the development and implementation of such response strategies in close cooperation with the program for research and cooperation.

b. Priorities

 

The Budapest Centre supported governments, civil society, international and regional organizations in preventing and halting mass atrocities through

 

- Monitoring of countries at risk of mass atrocities;

- Risk assessments and scenario development for countries at-risk;

- Development response strategies for different stakeholders based on best-practices and lessons-learnt;

- Advise and guidance for stakeholders on the development of mass atrocity prevention and response         capabilities.

 

Since 2012, the programme of preventive policy planning, as a priority, developed its methodological framework for the future monitoring, early-warning and early-response work of the Budapest Centre. In this regard, the Budapest Centre developed, in lose cooperation with relevant partners:

 

- A set of qualitative and quantitative indicators for early-warning of mass atrocities;

- Criteria for the application of R2P to situations at-risk;

- Elements of a generic ‘continuum of steps’ to prevent or halt mass atrocities.