The Mass Atrocity Response Operation (MARO) Project was founded by Harvard lecturer Dr. Sarah Sewall in 2007 and is a collaborative effort of the Harvard Kennedy School and the U.S. Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI). The goal of the MARO Project is to enable the U.S. and other governments to prevent and halt genocide and mass atrocity through the effective use of military assets and force as part of a broader integrated strategy.

The term “MARO” refers to a contingency operation to halt the widespread and systematic use of violence by state or non-state armed groups against non-combatants. The MARO Project works within the US, as well as internationally, to encourage adoption of the concepts and principles outlined in the MARO Handbook by the military and policymakers and foster greater understanding of tools that can be used to prevent and respond to mass atrocity and genocide.

Through the work of the MARO Project and colleagues both inside and outside the US government over the past few years, Mass Atrocity Response Operations are now becoming part of US military doctrine, training, exercising, and planning.