Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)

06/17/2026

In this issue of Atrocity Alert:

🔺 Escalating drone strikes exacerbate civilian casualties in El Obeid, Sudan

🔺 UNAMA's mandate renewed as civilian protection risks deepen in Afghanistan

🔺 Civilians in Nigeria’s Zamfara State face intensifying banditry violence

Full issue: https://bit.ly/4fRRSPH

06/15/2026

Today the Global Centre for R2P held a discussion with the Oromo Legacy Leadership and Advocacy Association (OLLAA) on the human rights situation in Oromia.

The conversation highlighted the often overlooked and underreported crisis facing civilians in Oromia, where years of conflict, insecurity and human rights violations have had devastating consequences. Our panelists, including Seenaa G. Jimjimo and Ethiopia expert Dr. Sarah Vaughan, discussed key findings from OLLAA's latest reporting, the challenges of documenting abuses amid restricted access and shrinking civic space, and the broader political and security dynamics shaping the situation. We also explored the risks posed by ongoing impunity and the urgent need for greater international attention, independent monitoring and accountability efforts.

As violence and human rights abuses continue across Ethiopia, discussions like these are essential for amplifying local voices, improving understanding of complex realities on the ground and ensuring that populations at risk are not forgotten.

Watch the recording below!

On 15 June the Oromo Legacy, Leadership and Advocacy Association (OLLAA) and the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect held a discussion on the human rights situation in Oromia, Ethiopia following the 13 May release of OLLAA’s annual human rights report. The report outlines ongoing patte...

06/15/2026

🚨 The rapid integration of artificial intelligence into military operations is transforming the nature of armed conflict. While new technologies can enhance capabilities, the delegation of life-and-death decisions to AI systems raises alarming concerns for civilian protection, accountability and compliance with international law.

We've joined Access Now, Amnesty International and over 200 other civil society organizations in endorsing this statement calling for urgent action to prevent the unchecked use of AI in warfare.The accelerating use of AI-enabled targeting and military systems risks further distancing decision-makers from the human cost of war.

States must ensure that meaningful human control remains at the center of decisions involving the use of force and work toward stronger international safeguards before these technologies outpace the norms designed to protect civilians.

Read the statement ⬇️

As AI-accelerated warfare is rapidly becoming a means of rubber-stamping killing at unprecedented speed and scale, Access Now, Amnesty International, and more than 200 civil society organizations and individuals are calling attention to the militarization of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies...

06/15/2026

🗣️ 🇺🇳 As the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) marks its twentieth anniversary, the multilateral protection architecture faces growing political, institutional and financial pressures. Established to strengthen the UN’s capacity to prevent and respond to serious human rights violations and atrocity crimes, the HRC has developed a range of monitoring, investigative and accountability mechanisms aimed at documenting abuses, combating impunity and supporting prevention efforts. Yet important questions remain regarding how these tools contribute to political action and protection outcomes in situations of ongoing crisis.

Against this backdrop, on 7 and 8 May 2026 the we joined Open Society Foundations and the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights to conven two complementary consultations in Geneva focused on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan. The consultations examined the role of UN human rights mechanisms within the broader protection architecture and explored how their findings can more effectively inform prevention, protection and accountability efforts.

Check out the page below for our summaries of those consultations.

As the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) marks its twentieth anniversary, the multilateral protection architecture faces growing political, institutional and financial pressures. Established to strengthen the UN’s capacity to prevent and respond to serious human rights violations and atrocity crimes, ...

06/12/2026

🇪🇹 Join us for this important event on ongoing crises facing civilians in Ethiopia on the sidelines of .

Over the past decade, Ethiopia has faced escalating human rights and humanitarian crises marked by widespread violence, repression and impunity. In the Amhara region, conflict continues, alongside the targeting of ethnic Amharas by federal forces. In Tigray, communities continue to endure occupation, a humanitarian emergency and a lack of accountability for mass atrocities. Across Oromia, civilians face ongoing violence, coercive military conscription and systematic repression. These abuses are occurring amid intensified restrictions on independent scrutiny, including attacks on the media and civil society, and persistent impunity for past and ongoing violations.

Against this backdrop, the side event will center the perspectives and experiences of affected communities and examine how formal peace agreements have failed to end violence, displacement, persecution or systemic suffering. At a time when international attention has shifted amid competing global crises, speakers will share findings from recent and forthcoming reporting documenting patterns of violations and abuses, including targeted attacks on civilians, widespread conflict-related sexual and reproductive violence, arbitrary detention, attacks on healthcare, restrictions on civic space and the obstruction of humanitarian assistance.

The discussion will also assess Ethiopia's human rights landscape nearly three years after the termination of the UN International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE). Participants will examine the implications for survivor-centered accountability and justice, civilian protection and atrocity prevention, while exploring how UN member states, HRC mechanisms and regional actors can strengthen engagement on Ethiopia through the Council and other multilateral fora.

Sign up to receive the virtual link to attend once it become available here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdxxs7NnkTpfESvj6vbg2kH_xL88T3u10swJnpGXQv5JCfVHw/viewform

06/10/2026

In this week's issue of Atrocity Alert:

🔺 Israel moves to deepen occupation of the West Bank as settler violence increases
🔺 Political tensions trigger armed clashes in Somalia
🔺 New judicial units in Haiti must ensure genuine justice for victims and survivors

Full issue: https://bit.ly/4uLsFuh

06/05/2026

Join us for this discussion on the human rights situation in on the occasion of the release of the Oromo Legacy Leadership and Advocacy Association's (OLLAA) annual report.

This discussion will provide a platform to discuss key findings, challenges surrounding data collection, the often overlooked or suppressed state of the human rights situation in Oromia and the broader regional and national dynamics shaping the situation.

We will be joined by researchers from OLLAA and decades-long Ethiopia researcher, Dr. Sarah Vaughan from The Policy Practice. The Global Centre's Horn of Africa expert, Sarah Hunter, wil moderate the discussion.

📅 15 June

⏰ 9 AM EDT | 3 PM CEST | 4 PM EAT

More info & registration 🔗 https://gcr2p.createsend.com/campaigns/reports/viewCampaign.aspx?d=j&c=1D15C2402C758211&ID=1E7C0824C6A42A682540EF23F30FEDED&temp=False&tx=0&source=Report

06/04/2026

🆕 🇺🇳 Twenty-one years after the UN General Assembly committed to the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), the UN Secretary-General's latest report on R2P delivers a stark message: atrocity crimes continue to occur at an alarming rate, while political divisions and inconsistent international action undermine efforts to prevent and respond to them.

The report highlights how growing disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law, attacks on civilians, shrinking civic space, disinformation, new technologies and climate-related risks are reshaping the landscape of atrocity prevention. It also underscores the need for stronger national prevention mechanisms, greater regional cooperation and renewed multilateral commitment to protecting populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

Read our summary of the report:

The UN Secretary-General issued the 18th report on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) titled “Sustained implementation of the responsibility to protect at the national, regional and multilateral levels.” The report reflects on lessons learned in operationalizing R2P and emphasizes the need to s...

06/03/2026

Today the UN General Assembly elected 🇦🇹 Austria, 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan, 🇵🇹 Portugal, 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe to serve a elected members at the UN Security Council for the 2027–2028 term.

At a time when populations in Sudan, Myanmar, Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere continue to face grave risks, the Security Council must overcome political divisions and apply a consistent, principled approach to protecting civilians and preventing mass atrocities.

The Council's credibility depends not on its rhetoric, but on its willingness to act when populations are at risk. Newly-elected and existing members alike must use every tool at their disposal to prevent genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

See our recommendations ⬇️

Today, 3 June 2026, the UN General Assembly elected Austria, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe to the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2027-2028 term. The UNSC bears the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Genocide, crimes against hu...

06/03/2026

In this week's issue of Atrocity Alert:

🔺 Despite ceasefire, Israel expands control and displacement in Lebanon
🔺 Intensifying violence in Mali heightens civilian protection risks
🔺 UN warns conflict-related sexual violence more than doubled in 2025

Full issue: https://www.globalr2p.org/publications/atrocity-alert-no-485/