Vatican foreign minister calls on UN to protect victims of ‘massive atrocities’
October 05, 2015
In an October 2 contribution to a United Nations discussion on peace, security, and human rights, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States called upon the United Nations to develop more effective means of exercising the “responsibility to protect” victims of genocide and other massive atrocities.
“The principle of a ‘responsibility to protect’ all peoples from massive atrocities, instances of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity is today recognized and accepted by all,” said Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, who added:
This “responsibility,” as has been noted, first obliges national governments, and then the international community or regional groupings of states, but always in accordance with international law. Yet it is not always easy to carry out this duty in practice, not least because its observance often conflicts with a strict literal interpretation of the principle of non-intervention … Nonetheless, due to the unacceptable human costs of inaction, the search for effective juridical means for the practical application of this principle must be one of the most urgent central priorities of the United Nations. To this end, it would be most useful if the states present in this General Assembly, in the Security Council and in the other bodies of the United Nations, could discern clear and effective criteria for applying the principle…
Archbishop Gallagher also addressed other topics: he welcomed the approval of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and lamented the world’s numerous conflicts, fostering mass migration unseen since World War II. In a possible reference to military interventions in Iraq, Libya, and eastern Ukraine, he said that “a serious examination of conscience is needed to accept responsibility for the role that certain unilateral interventions have had in the humanitarian crisis which today causes so much hurt in our world.”
Turning to the topic of climate change, he stated:
The Paris Conference represents an important phase in the process of re-establishing a balance between global greenhouse gas emissions and the earth’s capacity to absorb them. To this end, there is an urgent need to adopt a fair, transformational and legally binding global agreement. This would send a meaningful signal to the entire international community by promoting a rapid transition to a development marked by low carbon footprint, and by providing a powerful impetus to reinforcing the intrinsic linkage between two objectives: eradicating poverty and easing the effects of climate change. This linkage shows that the threat of climate change and our responses to it can become a promising opportunity to improve health, transportation, energy security and new opportunities for employment.
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