On 20 June 2013, the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP) convened its first global conference for civil society practitioners on the Responsibility to Protect norm (RtoP, R2P) in Istanbul, Turkey.1 Over 60 organizations from over 25 countries participated in the conference to exchange strategies for advancing RtoP and mass atrocities prevention around the world.
Civil society organizations, political activists, academic experts, lawyers and others have long been critical drivers in ensuring that governments protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. This rich and active community, which works across the globe to advance the Responsibility to Protect and prevent mass atrocities, can only grow more robust if attention is given to ensuring that these groups and individuals know of one another, communicate about their activities and coordinate across sectors and regions.
ICRtoP convened these civil society representatives for a day-long meeting to exchange best practices to develop and strengthen local, national and regional programs to advance RtoP, and gain a holistic understanding of the work being done around the world on the norm as well as the remaining gaps in activity among sectors and regions. For non-Members, the meeting was also an opportunity to better understand how RtoP relates to and can be incorporated into their organization’s work.