Download Background paper 1: The atrocities prevention board Introduction

Background paper 1: The atrocities prevention board
Introduction
The Atrocities Prevention Board (APB) is an Obama Administration initiative aimed at
highlighting atrocity prevention at the highest government level. The APB brings
together policy experts from a range of government departments at the senior and
junior level, encouraging interagency discussion and information sharing on mass
atrocity prevention. The inclusion of departments such as the Treasury (usually not
associated with responding to atrocity crimes) has allowed the APB to explore new
and innovative methods for addressing atrocities, beyond military intervention and
aid. Based within the White House, the APB has direct access to senior administration
officials and the President himself.
Composition
Chair: Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights (National Security
Staff)(previously Samantha Power, currently Stephen Pomper)
Permanent Members: Representatives at Assistant Secretary level or above from: The
Office of the President; the US Agency for International Development (USAID); the US
Mission to the United Nations; the Joint Staff; the CIA; the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence; Homeland Security; and the Departments of Defense, Justice,
State and Treasury.
Meets: Principles meet yearly, Deputies twice yearly, and meetings at a lower level
are held monthly. Ad hoc meetings can be convened to respond to immediate
crises. Details of these meetings – and their reports – are not publicly released.
Prior attempts at atrocity prevention
Before the APB was established, both the Clinton and the Bush administration
attempted to bring atrocity prevention into high-level discourse on US foreign policy.
Clinton appointed David Scheffer as the first Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes,
who then established the Atrocities Prevention Interagency Working Group. Meeting
monthly from 1998-2000, this group brought together representatives from the State
Department, USAID, and various parts of the intelligence and defence communities.
With an uncertain record, and poor attendance on the part of the Pentagon and
the Treasury Department, the Working Group was disbanded by the Bush
Administration; however, the position of Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes was
retained – albeit with greatly reduced scope – and given to Pierre Prosper. The wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan shifted US focus to its military endeavours, side-lining atrocity
prevention for the remaining duration of the Bush presidency.
Foundation
The 2007 Genocide Prevention Task Force, jointly convened by The American
Academy of Diplomacy, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the
United States Institute of Peace, provided the catalyst for the establishment of the
APB. Co-chaired by former Secretary of Defense William Cohen and former
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright the task force aimed to provide a roadmap
for government on how to address atrocity crimes, culminating in their 2008 report
Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers.This report noted that
genocide was not a necessary part of conflict, and that effort could be made to
prevent it. It placed significant emphasis on the need for early warning capabilities,
investment in timely prevention, and high-level political attention on atrocity
prevention.
Upon entering government Obama appointed Samantha Power as special adviser
for multilateral affairs, indicating a shift toward genocide prevention. Power’s 2003
book A Problem from Hell was oft cited as one of the influences on the Genocide
Prevention Task Force, and she had a reputation for advocating greater US response
to genocide internationally. The 2010 National Security Strategy further built on this
commitment to genocide prevention, openly stating that the US intended to
‘prevent and respond to genocide and mass atrocities’.
Creation
In August 2011 President Obama issued Presidential Study Directive 10 (PSD-10),
which declared that atrocity prevention was “a core national security interest and
core moral responsibility” of the United States. It ordered the creation of an APB
within 120 days and instructed the National Security Adviser to carry out a
comprehensive interagency review on the government’s atrocity prevention
capabilities. This review looked in depth at existing protocol, the extent of
interagency cooperation, the tools needed to further mainstream atrocity
prevention, and what changes need to be made to information sharing. PSD-10 also
made direct mention of the 2007 Genocide Prevention Task Force, using their
recommendations as a guideline for the operation of the APB.
On 23 April 2013 the APB met for the first time; missing the 120 day time limit by a
wide margin. Coordinating interagency cooperation on such a broad issue proved
to be far more problematic than expected, slowing the progress of the review and
the APB itself. This has been further compounded by the APB’s ‘budget neutral’
nature – in a time of austerity, the US government could not justify an entirely new
department with its own budget. As a result, the APB draws staff from its constituent
departments, as well as from the White House pool of staff.