Humanity United

Harvard University’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy applies first-class research toward the solution of public policy problems. Housed within the university’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, the Carr Center carries out research programs that are designed to bridge the gap between government, civil society, and academia. The Center’s research, teaching, and writing is guided by a commitment to make human rights principles central to the formulation of good public policy in the United States and throughout the world.

Carr Center has developed a unique focus of expertise on the most dangerous and intractable human rights challenges of the 21st century, including genocide, mass atrocities, state failure, and the ethics and politics of military intervention. In 2007, Carr Center and Humanity United established a three-year partnership to develop the Mass Atrocity Response Operations (MARO) Project. The MARO Project will equip the United States, other nations, and regional and international actors with credible military planning tools to prevent or halt genocide and mass atrocities.

The MARO Project will harness the professional expertise of retired and active U.S. military planners, who have extensive experience in planning responses to a broad range of complex contingencies, such as in Darfur or Iraq. The Project is unique in its inclusion of a broad range of governmental, non-governmental, and international actors, all working to strengthen connections, build trust between the military and human rights communities, and create a safe forum for serious analysis of issues surrounding the use of force in order to prevent mass atrocities.

The Project’s goal is to develop a U.S. government-specific military concept of operations for genocide prevention that will serve as a tool for the next U.S. administration or for genocide-prevention advocates. A MARO proposal will be released publicly before the November 2008 U.S. presidential elections, and it will be refined over the following two years to fit the needs of NATO, the United Nations, and the African Union.

About This Photo

In March 2005, Harry Phillips, traveling as a United Nations representative with the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) head of mission during an assessment mission in Darfur, found himself surrounded by a curious group of youngsters during an African Union site visit near Al Daein in south Darfur.

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/cchrp/maro/index.php