WASHINGTON

A special adviser of the UN Secretary-General presented an annual report on Monday which explores the "crucial" relationship between development and the Responsibility to Protect.

Addressing a session at the UN General Assembly, George Okoth-Obbo, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), said the debate proves every year a "poignant moment for us to reflect on the cardinal political and moral commitment the world made 18 years ago to ensure that the contagion of mass atrocities would never again mark humanity."

"The debate is particularly evocative this year in which countless civilians continue to be caught in situations of conflict, violence and egregious human rights violations which may amount to genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing," he said.

Recalling the 2005 World Summit, when the world resounded “Never Again,” Okoth-Obbo said "the keystone of R2P is, as has been underlined so many times, prevention."

"At the same time, to craft and deliver solutions that are effective for this purpose, it is crucial that the root causes, risks, triggers and multipliers of atrocity crimes are properly discerned.”

"The report I am presenting for the debate today explores a relationship that was recognized as crucial from the very inception of the conceptualization of the Responsibility to Protect: the intersection between development and R2P," he added.