This session will give you a taste of what it is like to study Politics & International Relations at Sheffield.
Who Deserves Protection?: Exclusions in the United Nations’ Responsibility to Protect
Ever since the United Nations (UN) was founded in the aftermath of World War II, there have been debates about the UN’s responsibility to protect people from violence and under what circumstances the UN can intervene in a state’s domestic affairs. In 2005, all UN member states made an international commitment to protect people from experiencing horrific violence and crimes against humanity, however despite this agreement we repeatedly still see people being targets of genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. We see this in the ongoing war in Ukraine, we have seen it in the breakup of Yugoslavia, and we saw it in Colombia before the peace talks - so why aren’t more governments acting to address this? In this online taster session, we will examine the multiple legal, ethical, logistical, and political questions that the UN’s Responsibility to Protect (R2P) raises. The outcome of this session will be to gain insight into the difficulties of ensuring that States uphold their Responsibility to Protect, as well as the politics around who and what is deemed worthy of protection.
Schedule
Please note that this is an approximate schedule and therefore is subject to change.
4.30pm: Log on and settle in
4:35pm: Welcome and overview of the Department and the session
4.40pm: Mini Lecture - What is the United Nations? What is the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)? 5.00pm: Interactive Session - Who is worthy of protection and what counts as identity based violence?
5.20pm: Group Discussion - Are we on the cusp of mass atrocity in 'the West’?
5.40pm: Conclusion and Q&A
6.00pm: Finish
For more information and to register, please follow the “visit website” link below.