A/HRC/28/30 I. Introduction 1. On 18 September 2014, the Human Rights Council held, pursuant to its resolution 24/16, a panel discussion on the role of prevention in the promotion and protection of human rights. In decision 24/16, the Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to organize the panel discussion in consultation with States, relevant United Nations bodies, funds and programmes, treaty bodies, special procedures and regional human rights mechanisms, and civil society, including non-governmental organizations, and national human rights institutions, with a view to ensuring multi-stakeholder participation. The Council also requested OHCHR to prepare a report on the outcome of the panel discussion in the form of a summary, and to present it to the Council at its twenty-eighth session. The present report was prepared pursuant to that request. 2. Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 24/16, the panel discussion aimed to contribute to developing further the concept of prevention of human rights violations and raising awareness of prevention in the promotion and protection of human rights among States and other relevant stakeholders in order to encourage its reflection in relevant policies and strategies at the national, regional and international levels. 3. The panel discussion was chaired by the President of the Human Rights Council, and moderated by the Adviser on Human Rights and Refugees at the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva, Rachel Brett. The Deputy High Commissioner gave an opening address. The panel comprised the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Rita Izsák; the Vice-Chairperson of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Benyam Dawit Mezmur; the Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Sima Samar; the Secretary-General of the Association for the Prevention of Torture, Mark Thomson; and the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Renato Zerbini Ribeiro Leão. II. Opening statement by the Deputy High Commissioner 4. In her opening remarks, the Deputy High Commissioner stated that all must strive, as a matter of sound policy and moral conscience, to prevent violations of human rights before they escalate into mass atrocities or conflict. She recalled that the duty of States to take legislative, administrative and other appropriate measures to prevent human rights violations was well established in law. She referred to the repeated statements made by the Human Rights Committee that States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights have an obligation, in responding to human rights violations, to take preventive action to avoid recurrence. The toolbox of preventive measures spanned the entire range of human rights responses. 5. Risk factors that may lead to serious violations of human rights included severe discriminatory practices. The construction of identities in terms of “us” and “them”, and the depiction of a targeted group as dangerous, disloyal, inferior or a security or economic threat, were often precursors for an escalation in human rights violations. She referred to a statement made by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, who had warned that, while there was much discussion about the importance of prevention of mass atrocity crimes, such as ethnic cleansing and genocide, Governments, civil society and the international community must be alert to warning signs much earlier – when the very first words of hate speech are uttered, or when media start to promote negative stereotypes. 3