This fourth Stockholm International Forum seeks to build on the foundations of its predecessors in addressing the vile phenomenon of genocide.

The first forum commemorated the most egregious example of genocide in modern times – the calculated attempt to exterminate the Jewish people.

It is an indictment of the international community that, notwithstanding the example of the Holocaust, it has failed to prevent recurrences of genocide in the six decades since.

Genocide is not a phenomenon which happens without warning. It is the culmination of a series of events which are readily detectable and, I would hope, preventable.

The most significant step in the genocide process is the dehumanisation or demonisation of the victim. This involves the view that members of the victim group no longer possess the inherent dignity which defines the human person. Thus, they are no longer entitled to any human rights. The victim is no longer seen as a human being, but as less than human.

At the national level, the primary onus rests on Governments to address the conditions that can lead to genocide, and to prevent conflict, stigmatisation, marginalisation, dehumanisation and demonisation.

They must adopt and implement effective measures to counter acts of hatred. In particular, states must ensure that the perpetrators of such acts face the full rigours of the law – there can be no impunity for intolerance.

In a more positive note, states need actively to promote the search for common ground between hostile social groups. Our experience in Ireland is that such understanding is not suddenly discovered – it has to be created, and this requires considerable effort.

Frequently, as in Ireland, the reconciliation process can benefit from the solidarity and support of the international community.

All too often, however, a government either fails to take the necessary action, or is itself a primary actor in the move towards genocide. In such circumstances, the international community has a clear duty to act, and we need to strengthen the international institutions to enable them to respond effectively and at an early stage to the warning signs.

Principal among these institutions is the United Nations.We must work to enable the United Nations to fulfil its potential, to live up to the promise of its Charter.We need a United Nations that is effective, because it has the unambiguous support of the international community, and that retains legitimacy, because it is seen to work in the interests of all members of that community.

We also need to reflect on the meaning of Article 2.7 of the Charter, which excludes the UN from intervening in matters that are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of a state.We need to question the argument that this precludes international action to prevent human rights violations. Do we really believe that grave and persistent human rights violations can be considered as falling entirely within the domestic jurisdiction of a state? Does genocide become a threat to international peace and security only at the point that refugees begin to cross an international border?

In my view, the international community should not ignore the large scale and persistent human rights violations that precede and accompany genocide. Events such as these threaten international peace and security, and so should be on the UN’s agenda.

The international community should devote more attention to dealing with the root causes of conflict. Where conflict nevertheless becomes a possibility, we need to act more assertively to head it off.

International intervention raises serious questions. Yet in some extreme cases, intervention may be objectively called for. And in such cases, we need to build an international consensus to buttress the necessary action. But this search for consensus should not be used by states as a pretext for inaction. States must be prepared to take their responsibilities in such circumstances – and this is particularly true of those states which are members of the Security Council.

Regional organisations can play an essential role in this process, both in building the required consensus and providing a framework for international action.

Finally, where international action fails to prevent genocide, its perpetrators must be brought to justice. The establishment of the International Criminal Court was a clear signal that genocide, crimes against humanity and other war crimes can never be condoned. The international community as a whole needs to give the Court its wholehearted support.

The framework for combating genocide at both the national and international levels exists already. What is now needed is courage and determination – the courage to make clear that gross human rights violations will not be tolerated by the international community, wherever they occur, and the determination to take the necessary action to enforce that vision.