WINTER LECTURE SERIES

Mass Atrocities and the Responsibility to Protect
Sundays, February 20 to March 13 • 7:00PM 

Access: The Zoom link will be the same for all sessions. For the Zoom link, email Kelly at the church office at memberadmin@unitarianlincoln.org.
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Time: 7:00 to 8:30PM
Format: 45-minute lecture followed by an audience-driven Q&A.
Availability: Recorded lectures and Q&A sessions will be posted by the end of March 2022 on the Unitarian Church YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/unitarianchurchoflincoln
WLS Website: More information, including access to the speakers' bios, https://www.unitarianlincoln.org/winter-lecture-series.html

Background:
The UN General Assembly adopted wording in 2005 now referred to as R2P, the responsibility to protect. The language adopted reflects several ideas: that states through their government have a duty to exercise responsible sovereignty by, at a minimum, not allowing mass atrocities; that outside states have a duty to help other states be responsible by acting early through diplomacy to head off trends toward mass atrocity; and that as a last resort the UN Security Council can authorize use of force to stop mass atrocity. Absent this authorization, humanitarian intervention remains illegal. Notably, claiming self-defense for intervention is separate from R2P.

Most observers see the logic of R2P in positive terms. Most observers agree that R2P has not worked well in practice. Our 2022 lecture series examines the evolution of what is called R2P, the reasons for its disappointing impact on world affairs, and whether we can realistically hope for improvements in the future.

Sunday, February 20, 2022, 7:00PM. Professor Thomas G Weiss, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, will present a Zoom lecture on the history of the Responsibility to Protect (written R2P) as it was developed by the United Nations and as it was subsequently applied, misapplied, and not applied to various conflicts.

Sunday, February 27, 2022, 7:00PM. Professor Joshua Landis, University of Oklahoma, will pay further attention to the applicability of the R2P in the current conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

Sunday, March 6, 2022, 7:00PM. Professor Robert Hitchcock, University of New Mexico, will address R2P in Darfur and some other African cases.

Sunday, March 13, 2022, 7:00PM. Professor Parks Coble, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will discuss R2P in relation to the ongoing conflicts in East Asia including Myanmar and China.