The Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, has announced the appointment of Somerville Fellow and Tutor in International Relations, Professor Jennifer Welsh, as his Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect.
The Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General on the Responsibility to Protect is charged with the development and refinement of the Responsibility to Protect concept and with continuing a political dialogue with UN Member States and other stakeholders on further steps toward implementation.
The role is located within the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. The two Special Advisers work closely together, with responsibilities including alerting relevant actors to the risk of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, enhancing the capacity of the United Nations to prevent these crimes, including their incitement, and working with Member States, regional and sub-regional arrangements, and civil society to develop more effective means of response when they do occur.
Jennifer says of the appointment: “I am very honoured to have been chosen to advise the UNSG on this crucial area of international policy, and to contribute my expertise to the UN. It is of vital importance that we continue to build the capacity of international organisations and individual states to protect populations from mass atrocity crimes. In particular, I hope to improve upon the international community’s capacity to prevent crises from occurring or escalating.”
At Somerville College, Jennifer is a core member of the PPE team, with a focus on the second and third year Politics papers in International Relations. She is also actively involved in graduate teaching and supervision within the Department of Politics and International Relations, concentrating on courses and theses related to International Normative Theory, International Relations Theory, and the use of military force in international society.
Jennifer’s research interests lie at the intersection of ethics and armed conflict, with a particular focus on the United Nations Security Council, the practice of military intervention, and the evolving principle of the Responsibility to Protect. She currently co-directs the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (ELAC).
Find out more on the UN website.