Legal obligations of states to prevent atrocity crimes

Title: Legal obligations of states to prevent atrocity crimes

PhD Candidate: Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria

Milestone: PhD Mid-candidature review

Time and Date: 10am, Friday 8 October

Location: Via Zoom: https://uqz.zoom.us/j/2316954260

Abstract

The conceptualisation of States’ obligations for atrocity prevention, legal and otherwise, has gained increasing momentum as atrocity crimes across the world continue to make seemingly endless headlines. While some States acknowledge that they incur a duty to prevent atrocity crimes; the source, scope, and nature of any legal atrocity prevention obligations remain largely unexplored and controversial. The International Court of Justice identified such an obligation regarding genocide to be one of due diligence, but its scope remains ambiguous and somewhat unspecific.

 Accepting that legal obligations to prevent atrocity crimes exit, this presentation explores territorial and extraterritorial dimensions and expectations of States arising from narrow atrocity prevention obligations and broader suppression obligations, and examines possible prevention methods States may take to fulfil their international obligations