Decades after the Rwandan Genocide and the Bosnian War of the 1990s, atrocities continue to be committed and are strongly influenced by gender. The implementation of atrocity prevention (AP) efforts has thus been lackluster and ineffective, especially concerning the role gender plays in these processes. To promote gender-sensitive atrocity-prevention, this brief report outlines the current state of knowledge regarding atrocity prevention and its gendered dynamics. Drawing on lessons from the WPS agenda and the AP field, we advance recommendations and potential solutions to ensure nuanced and effective gender-sensitive AP implementation.

Several systems of risk assessment and early warning of mass atrocities exist, and atrocity crimes such as genocide and political mass violence rarely come as a complete surprise.