A/HRC/27/24 34. The United States had taken a number of steps to strengthen its capacity to prevent atrocities, which had included creating an internal mechanism to coordinate atrocity prevention efforts across government departments, thereby enhancing the collection and analysis of relevant intelligence, and expanding its multilateral and bilateral diplomatic efforts to identify warning signs and coordinate its response. The United States was also working to strengthen training and educational tools for diplomats and development experts, in order to better equip them to identify and respond to situations quickly and effectively. The recommendations of the country’s Genocide Prevention Task Force were referred to as an excellent tool for the prevention of genocide. 35. The Government of Hungary had initiated the establishment of the Budapest Centre for the International Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities in 2010. The activities of the Centre were focused on promoting effectively the culture of conflict prevention and on institutionalizing the prevention aspects of the Genocide Convention. The Centre concentrated on bridging the gap between early warning and early action, setting up and applying an integrated warning-response support system, generating political consensus for timely action, and assisting in developing the capacity of the international community to prevent mass atrocities. The initiatives launched by the Centre included a report on the capacities of the European Union at preventing mass atrocities, published in 2013; a multiannual project to develop the skills of national administrations to prevent genocide and to operationalize the R2P; and various efforts to support the implementation of the mandates of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect. 36. Several delegates encouraged States to build their capacity to prevent and respond to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity through the development of national expertise. They emphasized the importance of promoting truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-recurrence of genocide. Economic development and restorative justice were also needed in order to prevent genocide. In addition, delegates highlighted the important role of civil society at the national level. 37. It was noted that, after the traumatic experience of atrocities committed by the military dictatorship between 1973 and 1989, Chile was strongly committed to the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities. The country had committed itself to guaranteeing that no such atrocities would be perpetrated in the future. Such guarantees of non-repetition were an essential part of a comprehensive reparation policy for past human rights violations. 38. National initiatives had also included the organization of several events. For instance, in June 2013, Italy had held an event dedicated to genocide prevention and the responsibility to protect, which had also focused on United Nations early warning mechanisms. In March 2014, Belgium had held an international conference on the prevention of genocide. At both events, participants had discussed various strategies and efforts relating to the implementation of the Genocide Convention. 39. Several delegates highlighted the importance of combating impunity, and of promoting democracy, the rule of law and good governance at the national level. For instance, it was stressed that the establishment of the Gacaca courts in Rwanda had contributed to delivering justice for Rwandans; more importantly, the courts had facilitated reconciliation in the country. Delegates also emphasized the importance of adopting the necessary legislation in order to ensure the implementation of the Genocide Convention at the national level. For instance, after its ratification of the Genocide Convention in 1982, Cyprus had adopted a specific law providing that “whoever commits any of the acts of genocide described in article II of the Convention or any of the acts listed in article III of the Convention is guilty of felony and, upon conviction, may be subject to the penalty of life imprisonment”. 10