ELAC briefing paper
Foreign policy and promotion of human rights for atrocity prevention
This ELAC policy brief explains the relationship between human rights protection and atrocity prevention, demonstrating that the promotion and protection of human rights in foreign policy engagements is vital to safeguard populations from future atrocities. The brief also argues that states often subordinate human rights protection to other foreign policy agendas, including security, trade and development cooperation. It makes a case for states to develop foreign policy capacity on atrocity prevention that clearly foregrounds human rights to capture the unique risk factors associated with atrocity violence.
Specifically, the brief advances six key policy considerations for states when formulating a human rights-oriented foreign policy in countries at risk of atrocities. It argues that states should:
To show the importance of these six considerations, the brief investigates the foreign policy responses of actors including the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and Australia in three cases where widespread atrocities have recently occurred: Myanmar, Afghanistan and Ukraine. These cases show that the absence of a dedicated atrocity prevention foreign policy strategy has contributed to consistently poor responses to mass atrocities. Where actors have demonstrated political will and coordinated planning, they have been more successful in mobilising swift action with protection outcomes.
The brief concludes by presenting three key recommendations:
Read the full brief and recommendations in the document above.
This brief is the culmination of Visiting Fellow Cecilia Jacob's fellowship at ELAC.