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31 March 2025
Authored by Adam Day and Emma Bapt, our recent two-part research series explores how the United Nations' human rights system can enhance its role in early warning and conflict prevention.
The first brief, 'From Signals to Action – How the UN Human Rights System Can Deliver Early Warning and Conflict Prevention', examines how human rights data from the UN system can signal rising risks of violent conflict. Through case studies of Syria, Mali, South Sudan, Ukraine, and Myanmar, the report highlights how the UN’s human rights system already generates a wealth of information that clearly indicates growing risks of violent conflict. However, many of these signals were buried in long reports or spread out across different bodies of information that made them difficult to access or understand. The research also found that:
Building on these findings, the second brief, 'Operationalizing Prevention – How the UN Human Rights System Can Connect Early Warning to Action', shifts the focus to actionable steps for turning these signals into preventive measures and offers concrete policy recommendations. It identifies critical gaps including:
By addressing these challenges, the report underscores how the Human Rights Council (HRC) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) can play a more decisive role in preventing large-scale human rights violations and violent conflicts.
As the UN prepares for the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review, these insights offer a timely roadmap for enhancing global peace and security efforts.
These papers forms part of a larger research on human rights and prevention - exploring how the human rights system can serve as a tool in conflict prevention, resilience and early warning.
ECHR
Via its DHRTTDs Directory, the Geneva Human Rights Platform provides a comprehensive list and description of such key tools and databases. But how to navigate them? Which tool should be used for what, and by whom? This interview helps us understand better the specificities of the current highlight of the directory: ECHR Knowledge Sharing Platform
Geneva Academy
The Geneva Human Rights Platform has taken its work on strengthening the international human rights system to the heart of European policymaking.
Adobe Stock
This seminar explores how national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up can better integrate the capacities, data, and experiences of local and regional governments in advancing human rights implementation and reporting.
Adobe Stock
The event, as part of the AI for Good Summit 2025 will explore how AI tools can support faster data analysis, help uncover patterns in large datasets, and expand the reach of human rights work.
ICRC
Participants in this training course will gain practical insights into UN human rights mechanisms and their role in environmental protection and learn about how to address the interplay between international human rights and environmental law, and explore environmental litigation paths.
Participants in this training course will be introduced to the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as international environmental law and its implementation and enforcement mechanisms.
UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré
Geneva Academy
Geneva Academy