African Regional Committee on Genocide Established
Ph.D., University of Milan
M.A.equivalent, University of Rome
September 20, 2010 through September 23, 2010
Dr. Andrea Bartoli spoke about the historic significance of the creation of the Regional Committee for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity and all forms of discrimination, at the founding "Framework for Genocide Prevention" seminar held in Kampala, Uganda from 22 to 23 September 2010. The seminar was organized under the auspices of the Office of the Special Adviser of the Secretary General on the Prevention of Genocide and in collaboration with the Uganda Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Executive Secretariat of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. For many years, the absence of a committee or treaty body to monitor enforcement of the genocide convention has been lamented. Establishment of the Office of Special Adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations on the Prevention of Genocide was a step forward and now there is a Regional Committee in an important region, which has known genocide in the past and where the concerns about preventions are palpable and genuine.There are eleven members state of the Great Lakes Region, of whom eight sent their representatives to participate at the founding meeting: Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Sudan. Each of the eleven states of the Great Lakes Region is expected to create a national committee on genocide prevention.