Professor Edward Luck, Senior Vice President and Director of Studies, International Peace Institute, New York; UN Special Adviser and Assistant Secretary-General

Summary: At the 2005 Global Summit, the world leaders affirmed their responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, as well as their incitement. But transforming a universal declaration into operational practice and eventually into a global norm can be a challenging and unpredictable process. Professor Luck, as the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser, has been asked to guide this effort to turn words into deeds and promises into practice. He will explain the UN's strategy for advancing RtoP, chart some of the ups and downs along the way, and speculate about lessons for other global norm-building exercises.