PROGRAM

On May 17th, The Hunter College Human Rights Program hosted an event with Lloyd Axworthy on The Responsibility to Protect: The Evolution and Application of a New Norm.

[S]lowly, surely, guardedly, the UN is acquiring a new definition of sovereignty, and a new definition of its responsibilities in keeping the peace.
— Lloyd Axworthy, in an interview with the Globe and Mail, March 18, 2011

About the Speaker:

Lloyd Axworthy, Canada’s former foreign minister, talked about the Responsibility to Protect, an emerging human rights norm intended to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

Dr. Axworthy is the president of the University of Winnipeg and chair of the advisory committee of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch. He is best known for his pioneering work on human security, including his efforts to ban landmines and spearhead the concept of the Responsibility to Protect. For his leadership on banning landmines, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. For advancing the International Criminal Court and the protocol to stop the use of child soldiers, he received the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe.

As chair of the advisory board of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, Lloyd Axworthy played a crucial role in developing the concept of the Responsibility to Protect, which claims that the protection of fundamental human rights takes precedence over traditional notions of state sovereignty. Published in December 2001, The Responsibility to Protect report laid out a set of principles to guide the actions of the international community to prevent or stop gruesome violations of human rights.

Dr. Axworthy’s political career spanned 27 years, including 21 years as a member of the Canadian Federal Parliament. He held several Cabinet positions, notably Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Employment and Immigration, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, Minister of Transport, Minister of Human Resources Development, and Minister of Western Economic Diversification. Upon leaving public office, Dr. Axworthy served as Director and CEO of the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Colombia prior to his appointment at the University of Winnipeg.