UN General Assembly
2005

peer review in its working methods to avoid double standards in accountability and compliance, which have plagued the Human Rights Commission. The new concept of the “responsibility to protect” merits our support, after the recent international failures to protect people in Rwanda and Bosnia. The responsibility to protect should be a collective undertaking by States to protect populations from genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. However, we will need to establish benchmarks and safeguards to guarantee against unilateral and politically motivated interventions, such as those experienced in the past with what were conceived and presented as humanitarian intervention. The African continent is the main scene of both looming and several ongoing natural and human-made disasters. Some are forgotten and protracted, while others gain initial media attention but receive delayed, and often inadequate, responses. We support the recommendations in the outcome document for new standby arrangements and funding for emergencies in Africa. There is an international regime in place to provide protection and assistance to refugees fleeing for their lives from persecution, violence and gross