Course content and description

At the 2005 World Summit, UN Member States endorsed the concept of the Responsibility to Protect, affirming that each State has the "responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity". Where States are manifestly failing to assume this responsibility, it shifts to the international community to take collective actions through the UN Security Council to ensure the protection of the population. The responsibility to protect remains controversial among UN Member States, as debates surrounding the crisis in Libya and recent events in Syria show. For the Security Council many questions arise: In which cases does the responsibility to protect apply? Which are the appropriate measures to be taken? Under which circumstances is a military intervention authorized by the Security Council legitimate? Does the responsibility to protect encompass regime change?

We like to invite you to a simulated Special Session of the Security Council to discuss these and other issues involving the Responsibility to Protect and the main organ responsible for international peace and security according to the Charter of the United Nations: the Security Council. Class sessions prior will give you an ample overview of the topic. With this class we hope to deepen your knowledge about the functioning of an international body, various aspects of international diplomacy, negotiation techniques, and also hopefully the roots and causes of the diverging opinions on the subject among UN-Member States.

You will be asked to represent one of the members of the Security Council or an invited State and take an active part in the class and negotiations. Participants are expected to research their respective countries position independently and take over the presentation of a topic listed below by preparing a 4-6 page summary on the subject and a handout for the presentation (up to 3 presenters per topic = team work). Delegations are also asked to prepare a one-page Position Paper. Each Delegation will consist of 1-2 persons.

Please note that the seminar/conference language will be English. It is possible to receive 5 ECTS-credits (Schlüsselqualifikationsschein oder Fremdsprachenfach-kompetenz, FB Rechtswissenschaft). All faculties are invited to apply.

Application procedure

Applications are to be sent via email until 7 April 2016 to Peggy Wittke

Your application should include:

• Personal Details (Name, Address, Phone, Email)
• Short CV, including field of studies and number of semesters
• Short letter of motivation
• 3 country preferences
• 2 topic choices

Members of the Security Council 2016: Angola, China, Egypt, France, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Senegal, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Invited States: Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan

Topics

1. The Genocide in Rwanda (1994)
2. The Massacre of Srebrenica (1995)
3. The Deadlocked Security Council I: The Case of Kosovo (1999)
4. International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS), Report "The Responsibility to Protect" (2001)
5. The High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, Report “A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility” (2004)
6. The World Summit Outcome Document (2005)
7. The Situation in Darfur/Sudan (2006)
8. The Situation in Kenya (2007)
9. The Situation in Libya and Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011)
10. The Deadlocked Security Council II: The Situation in Syria

Preliminary Schedule

Class takes place in Room 4405, Boltzmannstr. 3, 16 - 18h (if not announced differently).

	Date	Session
1	20 April 2016	Introduction to the United Nations System Peggy Wittke
2	27 April 2016	Peace and Security I Peggy Wittke
3	4 May 2016	Peace and Security II Peggy Wittke
4	11 May 2016	The Genocide in Rwanda (1994) The Massacre of Srebrenica (1995)
5	18 May 2016	The Deadlocked Security Council I: The Case of Kosovo (1999) Research and Speech Training
6	25 May 2016	International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS), Report "The Responsibility to Protect" (2001) The High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, Report “A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility” (2004)
7	1 June 2016	The World Summit Outcome Document (2005)
8	8 June 2016	R2P put into Practice: The Situation in Darfur/Sudan (2006) The Situation in Kenya (2007)
9	15 June 2016	The Situation in Libya and Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011)
10	22 June 2016	The Deadlocked Security Council II: The Situation in Syria
11	29 June 2016	Position Paper Writing
12	6 July 2016	The Rules of Procedure of the United Nations Security Council
	7 July 2016	Deadline Position Papers – please send to peg@zedat.fu.berlin.de
13	14 July 2016 Thursday 10.00 – 18.00 h Senatssaal Henry-Ford-Bau Garystr. 35	Special Session of the United Nations Security Council on the Responsibility to Protect
14	15 July 2016 Friday 10.00 – 18.00 h Senatssaal Henry-Ford-Bau Garystr. 35	Special Session of the United Nations Security Council on the Responsibility to Protect
15	20 July 2016	Feedback Session

Suggested Reading

UN Reports and Resolutions

Rwanda: Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Actions of the United Nations During the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, UN Doc. S/1999/1257, 16 December 1999

Srebrenica: Report of the Secretary-General Pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 53/35 – The Fall of Srebrenica, UN Doc. A/54/549, 15 November 1999

A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility: Report of the High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, UN Doc. A759/565, 2 December 2004, http://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/a_more_secure_world.shtml

In Larger Freedom: Report of the Secretary-General Kofi Annan, UN Doc. A/59/2005, 21 March 2005, http://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/in_larger_freedom.shtml

General Assembly - World Summit Outcome (2005), UN Doc. A/RES/60/1, 24 October 2005: http://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/worldsummit_2005.shtml

Further Internet Research

International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty: The Responsibility to Protect, December 2001, http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/ICISS%20Report.pdf

International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect: http://www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/

Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect: http://www.globalr2p.org/

Security Council Report: http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/index.php

or contact the staff at the United Nations Depository Library, Universitätsbibliothek der Freien Universität Berlin, Garystr. 39, 14195 Berlin - http://www.ub.fu-berlin.de/bibliothek/uneu/ close