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• early warning for protection
• Call for abstracts

Call for abstracts

The submission of abstracts for the Early Warning for Protection conference are now closed.

The conference is being held amid calls from the UN Secretary General and the General Assembly for improved early warning systems against violent conflict. These calls for improved processes to monitor and prevent impending violence, follow international debates around the principle of a ‘Responsibility to Protect’ against genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Key themes

The conference will focus on the topic of early warning, with specific focus on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and war crimes.

The conference’s four main sessions will:

1. Explore traditional conflict early warning systems, how NGOs can contribute to and benefit from those systems, and perhaps what needs to be put in place to ensure those systems are adequate.  This session will also explore whether there are response mechanisms and protocols in place for when early warning has been issued. Dr Francis Deng is the confirmed keynote speaker for this session.
2. Explore the potential of new technologies in conflict early warning.  To better understand the technologies, the benefits and the risks.  How NGOs can contribute/tap into and benefit from these technologies?  How can we harness, coordinate and utilise the sometimes overwhelming amount of information available? Patrick Meier is the confirmed keynote speaker for this session.
3. Learning from, and working with, communities at risk of atrocity crimes:  As NGO practitioners, how can we better understand communities’ coping mechanisms, what can we do to prepare communities for violence, and minimise the impact of violence once early warning is given?  What programming opportunities are there for NGOs working with communities at risk?
4. Focussing on the prevention of atrocity crimes through advocacy and influencing the behaviour of decision makers and power brokers.

Within these broad sessions, some of the questions the conference will address are:

• Identifying communities at risk of atrocity crimes. 
• Use of new technologies for early-warning and response to atrocity crimes. 
• Address protection and other issues that arise in the presence of open communication. 
• Existing early warning mechanisms – how they can be improved, and how NGOs and civil society can contribute to them, and benefit from their analysis.
• Risks and benefits to individuals and organisations in information gathering for early-warning. For example impartiality and information exchange – what happens to the neutrality of NGOs gathering or providing information for early-warning?
• Learning from disaster risk reduction programmes for conflict early-warning.
• Learn from and develop initiatives to work with communities at risk of atrocity crimes.
• Explore avenues for successful advocacy with decision makers and power holders at national, regional and international levels.

For any enquiries regarding the abstract submission process, please email us. For all other conference related enquiries, please contact us.