"We Need to Act Before Warning Signs Become Mass Graves" - UN Chef de Cabinet | United Nations

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“We need to be proactive and vigilant, and act before warning signs become mass graves,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated on prevention of genocide in his remarks to the General Assembly. Earle Courtenay Rattray delivered remarks on behalf of the Secretary-General, presenting the 18th report on the Responsibility to Protect and warning that early warning signs of atrocity crimes are too often ignored. Speaking at the 97th plenary meeting, Rattray said the report takes stock of two decades of progress since Member States committed to the Responsibility to Protect principle. “Atrocity crimes can happen anywhere. But their effects on the world, and on our humanity, are shared. While prevention begins at home, it can be supported collectively,” he said. The report, he noted, reaffirms the responsibility of States to ensure cooperation with affected communities, civil society, and regional and international organizations. “The report we are discussing today — the 18th since this commitment was made — takes stock of two decades of progress. It includes a clear re-affirmation of the responsibility of States to ensure constructive and sustained cooperation with affected communities, civil society, subregional and regional organizations and the United Nations,” Rattray stated. He pointed to a sharp rise in global conflict as evidence of the urgency of the report's findings. “This report is not only about looking back. It's also about taking action, now. The Responsibility to Protect commitment is more vital than ever. The world faced more than 120 conflicts in 2025. Conflicts are becoming more protracted, more complex, and more interconnected,” the Chef de Cabinet said. Rattray added that responses to atrocity risks continue to fall short. “Too often, early warning signs are ignored. And responses are often too little, too late. This report makes specific calls to strengthen the Responsibility to Protect norm for this new era of instability and geopolitical risk,” he told the Assembly. At the national level, he said, the report calls on Member States to invest in prevention and protection programming. “At the national level, it calls on Member States to invest in national prevention and protection programming, and forge partnerships with civil society by designating focal points and establishing new domestic institutional arrangements,” Rattray noted. He said the report also calls for atrocity prevention to be woven into regional and multilateral tools. “At the regional and multilateral levels, it calls for integrating atrocity prevention across all the tools of peacemaking, conflict prevention and humanitarian efforts - including mediation and preventive diplomacy and dialogue, as well as security, technological, human rights and accountability frameworks,” he said. Rattray closed with a call to the Member States, “We need to be proactive and vigilant, and act before warning signs become mass graves.”


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