A Duty to Prevent Genocide

Due Diligence Obligations among the P5

John Heieck, University of Kent, Brussels School of International Studies, UK

This perceptive book analyzes the scope of the duty to prevent genocide of China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US in light of the due diligence standard under conventional, customary, and peremptory international law. It expounds the positive obligations of these five states to act both within and without the Security Council context to prevent or suppress an imminent or ongoing genocide.

‘This is a closely argued and well-written book, which combines a firm grasp of controversial issues in international law, with a genuine and enthusiastic originality. Heieck’s focus is the duty to prevent genocide. He asks the question how this duty affects the bedrock principle of the current international order – the prohibition of the use of force. Highly recommended for students and scholars of international law.’
– Bill Bowring, University of London, UK

‘John Heieck wades into one of the murkiest and most politically fraught issues of our time – what the duty to prevent genocide requires of states, particularly the members of the P5 — and does so with aplomb. Future scholarship on genocide will ignore this brave and intelligent book at its peril.’
– Kevin Jon Heller, Australian National University, Australia and University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands