Responsibility to protect

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The Responsibility to Protect (R2P or RtoP) is an emerging norm stating that sovereignty is not a right, but entails responsibilities for states to protection their populations from mass atrocity crimes, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing.[1] [2][3] The R2P has three foundation "pillars":[4][5]

  1. A state has a responsibility to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing.
  2. The international community has a responsibility to assist the state to fulfill its primary responsibility.
  3. If the state manifestly fails to protect its citizens from the four above mass atrocities and peaceful measures have failed, the international community has the responsibility to intervene through coercive measures such as economic sanctions. Military intervention is considered the last resort.

While R2P is a norm and not a law, it is firmly grounded in international law, especially the laws relating to sovereignty, peace and security, human rights and armed conflict.[6][7] R2P provides a framework for using tools that already exist, i.e. mediation, early warning mechanisms, economic sanctioning, and chapter VII powers, to prevent mass atrocities. Civil society organizations, states, regional organizations, and international institutions all have a role to play in the R2P process. The authority to employ the last resort and intervene militarily rests solely with United Nations Security Council.

Criticisms of the R2P include a "moral outrage and hysteria [that] often serve as a pretext for ‘interventions of the civilised world’ and ‘humanitarian interventions’, which often conceal the true strategic motives, and it thus becomes another name for proxy wars."[8]

History

Background

The norm of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P or RtoP) was born out of the international community’s failure to respond to tragedies such as the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and the massacre in Srebrenica in 1995. Kofi Annan, who was Assistant Secretary-General at the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations during the Rwandan genocide,[9] realized the international community’s failure to respond. In 2000, and in his capacity as UN Secretary-General, Annan wrote the report ‘We the Peoples’ The role of the United Nations in the 21st Century, in which posed the following questions: “if humanitarian intervention is, indeed, an unacceptable assault on sovereignty, how should we respond to a Rwanda, to a Srebrenica — to gross and systematic violations of human rights that offend every precept of our common humanity?” [10]

ICISS

The Canadian government established the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) in September 2000 to answer exactly this question. In February 2001, at the third round table meeting of the ICISS in London, Gareth Evans, Mohamed Sahnoun and Michael Ignatieff suggested the phrase "responsibility to protect" as a way to avoid the "right to intervene" or "obligation to intervene" doctrines and yet keep a degree of duty to act to resolve humanitarian crises.[11]

In 2001, ICISS released a report titled ‘The Responsibility to Protect’. In a radical reformulation of the meaning of state sovereignty, the report argued that sovereignty not only entailed rights, but also responsibilities, specifically a state’s responsibility to protect its people from major violations of human rights. This idea rested on earlier work by Francis Deng and Roberta Cohen regarding Internally Displaced Persons.[12] The ICISS report further asserted that where a state was “unable or unwilling” to protect its people, the responsibility should shift to the international community and “the principle of non-intervention yields to the international responsibility to protect.” The ICISS argued that any form of military intervention should be guided by the following six criteria in order to be justified as an extraordinary measure of intervention:

1. Just cause – Is the threat a "serious and irreparable harm occurring to human beings"?

2. Right intention – Is the main intention of the military action to prevent human suffering or are there other motives?

3. Final resort – Has every other measure besides military invention been taken into account? (This does not mean that every measurement has to be applied and failed, but that there are reasonable grounds to believe that only military action would work in that situation)

4. Legitimate authority

5. Proportional means – Are the minimum necessary military means applied to secure human protection?

6. Reasonable prospect – Is it likely that military action will succeed in protecting human life, and are the consequences of this action sure not to be worse than no action at all?

African roots

While many critics of the R2P's third pillar claim that R2P is a Western concept, it was the African Union (AU) that had first pioneered the concept that the international community has a responsibility to intervene in crisis situations if a state is failing to protect its population from mass atrocity crimes.[13] The AU incorporated the right to intervene in a member state as enshrined in Article 4(h) of its Constitutive Act, which states "[t]he right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity" [14] The AU also adopted the Ezulwini Consensus in 2005, which welcomed R2P as a tool for the prevention of mass atrocities.[15]

2005 World Summit Outcome Document

As the ICISS report was released in 2001, right around the time of the Second Gulf War, many thought that would be the end of this new norm. However, in 2005, at the World Summit, where the largest number of heads of state and government in the history of the UN convened, the Responsibility to Protect was unanimously adopted.[16] While the outcome was close to the ideas of the ICISS report, there were some notable differences: the R2P would now only apply to mass atrocity crimes (genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing), rather than human rights violations; no mention was made of the criteria of intervention (see above); the UN Security Council was recognized with being the only body allowed to authorize intervention. The paragraphs also stress the importance of regional organizations and the role they can play through Chapter VIII of the UN Charter.

2009 Secretary-General's report

On 12 January 2009, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a report entitled Implementing the Responsibility to Protect. The report was the first comprehensive document from the UN Secretariat on the Responsibility to Protect, following Ban's stated commitment to turn the concept into policy. The Secretary General's report set the tone and the direction for the discussion on the subject at the UN. The report proposes three-pillar approach to the R2P:

  • Pillar One stresses that states have the primary responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
  • Pillar Two addresses the commitment of the international community to provide assistance to states in building capacity to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and to assisting those which are under stress before crises and conflicts break out.
  • Pillar Three focuses on the responsibility of international community to take timely and decisive action to prevent and halt genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity when a state is manifestly failing to protect its populations.

The significance of R2P

Anne-Marie Slaughter from Princeton University has called R2P “the most important shift in our conception of sovereignty since the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.” [17]

Louise Arbour from the International Crisis Group said that "The responsibility to protect is the most important and imaginative doctrine to emerge on the international scene for decades.” [18]

Francis Deng, former UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, stated that "R2P is one of the most powerful and promising innovations on the international scene.” [18]

The United Nations and R2P

At the 2005 World Summit, UN Member States included R2P in the Outcome Document agreeing to Paragraphs 138 and 139. These paragraphs gave final language to the scope of R2P. It applies to the four mass atrocities crimes only. It also identifies to whom the R2P protocol applies, i.e., nations first, regional and international communities second.

Paragraphs 138 and 139 state:

138. Each individual State has the responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. This responsibility entails the prevention of such crimes, including their incitement, through appropriate and necessary means. We accept that responsibility and will act in accordance with it. The international community should, as appropriate, encourage and help States to exercise this responsibility and support the United Nations in establishing an early warning capability.

139. The international community, through the United Nations, also has the responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other peaceful means, in accordance with Chapters VI and VIII of the Charter, to help protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. In this context, we are prepared to take collective action, in a timely and decisive manner, through the Security Council, in accordance with the Charter, including Chapter VII, on a case-by-case basis and in cooperation with relevant regional organizations as appropriate, should peaceful means be inadequate and national authorities manifestly fail to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. We stress the need for the General Assembly to continue consideration of the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and its implications, bearing in mind the principles of the Charter and international law. We also intend to commit ourselves, as necessary and appropriate, to helping States build capacity to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and to assisting those whis before crises and conflicts break out.

— 2005 World Summit Outcome Document.[4]

Since then, the UN has been actively engaged with the development of the R2P. Several resolutions, reports and debates have emerged through the UN forum.

The Security Council

The UN Security Council has reaffirmed its commitment to the R2P in several resolutions. The first such resolution came in April 2006, when the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reaffirmed the provisions of paragraphs 138 and 139 in Resolution 1674. This formalized their support for the R2P. In 2009, the Council again recognized states' primary responsibility to protect and reaffirmed paragraphs 138 and 139 in resolution 1894.

Additionally, the Security Council has mentioned the Responsibility to Protect in several country-specific resolutions:

Secretary-General reports

In January 2009, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released the first report on the R2P called Implementing the Responsibility to Protect.[19] His report led to a debate in the General Assembly in July 2009 and the first time since 2005 that the General Assembly had come together to discuss the responsibility to protect. Ninety-four member states spoke. Most supported the R2P principle although some important concerns were voiced. They discussed how to implement R2P in crisis situations around the world. The debate highlighted the need for regional organizations like the African Union to play a strong role in implementing R2P; the need for stronger early warning mechanisms in the United Nations; and the need to clarify the roles UN bodies would play in implementing R2P.[20][21]

One outcome of the debate was the first resolution referencing R2P adopted by the General Assembly. The Resolution (A/RES/63/308) showed that the international community had not forgotten about the concept of the responsibility to protect and it decided "to continue its consideration of the responsibility to protect".[22]

In subsequent years, the Secretary-General would release a new report, followed by a debate in the General Assembly.

In 2010, the report was titled Early Warning, Assessment and the Responsibility to Protect. The informal interactive dialogue was held on 9 August 2010 with 49 member states, two regional organizations and two civil society organizations speaking at the event. The discussion had a resoundingly positive tone, with virtually all of those that spoke stressing a need to prevent atrocities and agreeing that effective early warning is a necessary condition for effective prevention and early action. A small number of member states expressed objections– namely, Nicaragua, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan and Venezuela.[23] [24]

In 2011 the report analyzed The Role of Regional and Subregional Arrangements in Implementing the Responsibility to Protect. At the debate on 12 July 2011, interventions were delivered by 43 member states, 3 regional organizations and 4 civil society representatives. The biggest challenge to R2P was considered to be cooperation with, and support between, the UN and regional bodies in times of crisis. Member states acknowledged the importance of resolving this challenge through the unique advantages regional organizations possess in preventing and reacting to mass atrocities.[25] [26]

In 2012 the focus was on Responsibility to Protect: Timely and Decisive Response. The debate followed on 5 September 2012 saw interventions address the third pillar of the Responsibility to Protect and the diversity of non-coercive and coercive measures available for a collective response to mass atrocity crimes.[27]

In 2013, the Secretary-General focused on Responsibility to Protect: State responsibility and prevention. The debate following the report was held on 11 September 2013. Following presentations by a panel of UN, member state and civil society experts, interventions were delivered by 68 member states, 1 regional organization and 2 civil society organizations.[28] [29]

Special Advisors on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect

In 2004, following the genocidal violence in Rwanda and the Balkans, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Juan Méndez as Special Adviser to fill critical gaps in the international system that allowed those tragedies to go unchecked. In 2007, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Francis M. Deng on a full-time basis at the level of Under-Secretary-General. Around the same time, he also appointed Edward Luck as the Special Adviser who focuses on the responsibility to protect, on a part-time basis at the level of Assistant Secretary-General.[30]

The Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect leads the conceptual, political, institutional and operational development of the Responsibility to Protect. The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide acts as a catalyst to raise awareness of the causes and dynamics of genocide, to alert relevant actors where there is a risk of genocide, and to advocate and mobilize for appropriate action. The mandates of the two Special Advisers are distinct but complementary. The efforts of their Office include alerting relevant actors to the risk of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, enhancing the capacity of the United Nations to prevent these crimes, including their incitement, and working with Member States, regional and sub-regional arrangements, and civil society to develop more effective means of response when they do occur.[31]

Both Special Advisers Francis Deng and Edward Luck ended their assignments with the Office in July 2012. On 17 July 2012, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Adama Dieng of Senegal as his Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.[32] On 12 July 2013, Jennifer Welsh of Canada was appointed as the Special Advisor on the Responsibility to Protect.[33]

In practice

Kenya 2007/2008

From December 2007 to January 2008, Kenya was swept by a wave of ethnic violence triggered by a disputed presidential election held on 27 December 2007. On 30 December 2007 Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the presidential elections and was sworn in as president a couple of hours later. The announcement of the results triggered widespread and systematic violence resulting in more than 1,000 deaths and the displacement of over 500,000 civilians. Clashes were characterized by the ethnically targeted killings of people aligned with the two major political parties, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and Party of National Unity (PNU).[34]

External intervention was almost immediate. French Foreign and European Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner made an appeal to the United Nations (UN) Security Council in January 2008 to react "in the name of the responsibility to protect" before Kenya plunged into a deadly ethnic conflict. On 31 December 2007, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement expressing concern for the ongoing violence, calling for the population to remain calm and for restraint to be shown by Kenyan security forces. On 10 January 2008, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was accepted by both the ODM and the PNU as the African Union Chief Mediator. mediation efforts led to the signing of a power-sharing agreement on 28 February 2008. The agreement established Mwai Kibaki as President and Raila Odinga as Prime Minister, as well as the creation of three commissions – the Commission of Inquiry on Post-Election Violence (CIPEV), the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission and the Independent Review Commission on the General Elections. This rapid and coordinated reaction by the international community was praised as “a model of diplomatic action under the Responsibility to Protect”.[35]

Côte d’Ivoire 2011

In response to the escalating, post-election violence against the population of Côte d’Ivoire in late 2010 and early 2011, the UN Security Council, on 30 March 2011, unanimously adopted resolution 1975 condemning the gross human rights violations committed by supporters of both ex-President Laurent Gbagbo and President Ouattara. The resolution cited "the primary responsibility of each State to protect civilians," called for the immediate transfer of power to President Ouattara, the victor in the elections, and reaffirmed that the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) could use "all necessary means to protect life and property." In an effort to protect the people of Côte d’Ivoire from further atrocities, UNOCI on 4 April 2011 began a military operation,[36] and President Gbagbo’s hold on power ended on 11 April when he was arrested by President Ouattara’s forces. In November 2011, President Gbagbo was transferred to the International Criminal Court to face charges of crimes against humanity as an “indirect co-perpetrator” of murder, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts.[37] On 26 July 2012, the Council adopted resolution 2062 renewing the mandate of UNOCI until 31 July 2013.

Libya 2011

Libya was the first case, where the UN Security Council authorized a military intervention citing the R2P. Following widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population by the Libyan regime, and language used by Muammar Gaddafi that reminded the international community of the genocide in Rwanda, the UN Security Council, unanimously adopted resolution 1970 on 26 February 2011, making explicit reference to the responsibility to protect. Deploring what it called "the gross and systematic violation of human rights" in strife-torn Libya, the Security Council demanded an end to the violence, "recalling the Libyan authorities’ responsibility to protect its population," and imposed a series of international sanctions. The Council also decided to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court.

In resolution 1973, adopted on 17 March 2011, the Security Council demanded an immediate ceasefire in Libya, including an end to ongoing attacks against civilians, which it said might constitute "crimes against humanity." The Council authorized Member States to take "all necessary measures" to protect civilians under threat of attack in the country, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory. A few days later, acting on the resolution, NATO planes started striking at Gaddafi’s forces.[38] NATO subsequently came under scrutiny for its behavior during the air strikes; concerns included the fact that the intervention quickly moved to regime change and that there were allegations regarding aerial bombardments that may have caused civilian casualties.[39]

Central African Republic (CAR) 2013

In December 2012, a loose rebel coalition named the Séléka initiated a military campaign to overthrow the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and its then-president, Francois Bozizé. The Séléka, composed mostly of factions of armed groups in the northeast of the state, accused Bozizé’s government of neglecting their region. The Séléka rapidly captured several strategic towns and were poised to take the capital city of Bangui. A hasty intervention by Chad and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) persuaded the Séléka to negotiate with Bozizé’s government. The result, the Libreville Agreement of January 2013, installed a three-year power-sharing arrangement.[40]

However, ECCAS failed to monitor the implementation of the Libreville Agreement and Bozizé did not undertake any of the reforms necessary under the transition agreement. Séléka resurged and took control of Bangui and fifteen of CAR’s sixteen provinces on 24 March 2013. Séléka’s leader, Michel Djotodia, proclaimed himself President, set up the National Transitional Council (NTC) and suspended CAR’s constitution. A hurried ECCAS summit on 4 April 2013, which did not yet recognize Djotodia as President, called for the creation of a Transitional National Council (TNC), which would create a new constitution, conduct elections in eighteen months, and select an interim President. On 13 April, the TNC chose the sole candidate vying for interim president position, Michel Djotodia. [41]

From December 2012 onward, Séléka forces, who are predominantly Muslim, committed grave human rights abuses against civilians throughout the country and especially targeted the majority Christian population. In response, Christian civilians formed anti-balaka militias, which have conducted vicious reprisals against Muslims. Extrajudicial killings of Muslim and Christian civilians have been carried out, including "door to door" searches by rival militias and mobs seeking potential victims. [42]

The situation in the Central African Republic rapidly deteriorated after 5 December 2013, after an attack in Bangui by "anti-balaka" (anti-machete) militias and loyalists of ousted President François Bozizé. The attack against former Séléka rebels sparked widespread violence throughout the capital as well as in Ouham province in the northwest. The violence marked a significant escalation of the conflict in CAR. Anti-balaka forces launched another attack against Muslim neighborhoods of Bangui on 20 December, spurring a cycle of renewed violence that led to at least 71 deaths by 24 December. A mass grave of at least 30 people who were reportedly executed and exhibited signs of torture was discovered on 25 December. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates a further 40 civilians were killed on 25 December as violence continued between anti-balaka and ex-Séléka forces. Eight African Union (AU) peacekeepers were also killed between 25 and 26 December. [43]

According to OCHA, by September 2013 there were almost 400,000 internally displaced people and about 65,000 new refugees in neighbouring countries. Humanitarian agencies have alerted public opinion to the critical situation, stressing that 2.3 million CAR citizens, half the population, are in need of humanitarian assistance. [44]

CAR and the R2P

The crisis in the CAR is a case for the Responsibility to Protect, due to mass atrocity crimes being committed by both sides.[45] During a UNSC briefing on 25 November, UN Deputy-Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said that the world faced "a profoundly important test of international solidarity and of our responsibility to protect" in CAR. The UNSC passed Resolution 2127 on 5 December, emphasizing that the NTC has the primary responsibility to protect the civilian population in CAR. The resolution granted a Chapter VII mandate to AU and French forces to protect civilians and restore security, imposed an arms embargo and established a UN Commission of Inquiry. [46]

In the beginning, the international response to the coup was purely diplomatic: members of the International Contact Group insisted that Michel Djotodia respect the principles set out in the Libreville agreement. The African Union was the first to react when it announced a new African-led International Support Mission for CAR (MISCA) in July 2013. However, MISCA has not been effective in reversing the deteriorating security situation. Although its mandate is well-defined, there is general agreement that it does not have the resources to fulfill its mission. The UN General Assembly put the CAR on the international agenda in September. Resolution 2121, adopted on 10 October 2013 and sponsored by France, strengthened and broadened the mandate of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA). Aware that MISCA alone is unable to do anything about the growing insecurity, France has changed its initial position from disengagement to military contribution, as announced by François Hollande on 20 November 2013, who said that French forces would be rein-forced by almost 1,000 troops for a six-month period. [47] France began to deploy troops in CAR after receiving authorization from the UN Security Council on 5 December 2013 with Resolution 2127, which authorizes MISCA and French forces to take “all necessary measures” to protect civilians and restore security in CAR. French soldiers begin to patrol immediately in Bangui. [48]

On 7 February 2014, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda says she opened a preliminary investigation into possible war crimes in the CAR.[49]

Threshold for military interventions

According to the International Commission for Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) report in 2001[50] (which was not adopted by national governments), any form of a military intervention initiated under the premise of responsibility to protect must fulfill the following six criteria in order to be justified as an extraordinary measure of intervention:

  1. Just cause – Is the threat a "serious and irreparable harm occurring to human beings"?[51]
  2. Right intention – Is the main intention of the military action to prevent human suffering or are there other motives?[52]
  3. Final resort – Has every other measure besides military invention been taken into account? (This does not mean that every measurement has to be applied and failed, but that there are reasonable grounds to believe that only military action would work in that situation)[52]
  4. Legitimate authority
  5. Proportional means – Are the minimum necessary military means applied to secure human protection?[52]
  6. Reasonable prospect – Is it likely that military action will succeed in protecting human life, and are the consequences of this action sure not to be worse than no action at all?[52]

How does the responsibility to protect differ from humanitarian intervention?

The Responsibility to Protect differs from humanitarian intervention in four important ways:

First, humanitarian intervention is only military intervention. R2P, on the other hand, is first and foremost a preventative measure, that stresses state responsibilities. Military intervention may only be carried out as a last resort, when all other, non-coercive measures have failed and when it is authorized by the Security Council.[35] R2P is to extend the intervention beyond a purely military intervention and to encompass a whole continuum of obligations:[53]

  1. The responsibility to prevent: addressing root causes of internal conflict. The ICISS considered this to be the most important obligation.
  2. The responsibility to react: responding to situations of compelling human need with appropriate measures that could include sanctions, prosecutions or military intervention.
  3. The responsibility to rebuild: providing full assistance with recovery, reconstruction and reconciliation.

The second point is related to the first and: R2P is firmly rooted in international law, especially the law relating to sovereignty, peace and security, human rights and armed conflict.[54] Humanitarian intervention, on the other hand, regularly violated Article 2.4 of the UN Charter, which outlines the territorial integrity of every sovereign state.[55] R2P avoids this through the fact that a military intervention must either be authorized by the state in question or by the UN Security Council (Chapter VII of the UN Charter gives the Security Council the authority to do this

Third, while humanitarian interventions have in the past been justified through the prevention of human rights abuses, the R2P focuses only on the four mass atrocity crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. The first three crimes are clearly defined in international law and codified in the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court. Ethnic cleansing is not a crime defined under international law, but has been defined by the UN as “a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas”.[56]

Finally, while humanitarian intervention assumes a ‘right to intervene’, the R2P is based on a ‘responsibility to protect’.[35] Humanitarian intervention and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) both agree on the fact that sovereignty is not absolute. However, the R2P doctrine shifts away from state-centered motivations to the interests of victims by focusing not on the right of states to intervene but on a responsibility to protect populations at risk.[53] In addition, it introduces a new way of looking at the essence of sovereignty, moving away from issues of 'control' and emphasising 'responsibility' to one's own citizens and the wider international community.[57]

Criticism

R2P and national sovereignty

One of the main concerns surrounding R2P is that it infringes upon national sovereignty.[58] This concern is rebutted by the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the report Implementing the Responsibility to Protect. According to the first pillar of R2P, the state has the responsibility to protect its populations from mass atrocities and ethnic cleansing, and according to the second pillar the international community has the responsibility to help states fulfill their responsibility. Advocates of R2P claim that the only occasions where the international community will intervene in a state without its consent is when the state is either allowing mass atrocities to occur, or is committing them, in which case the state is no longer upholding its responsibilities as a sovereign. In this sense, R2P can be understood as reinforcing sovereignty.[59] In 2004, the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, set up by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, endorsed the emerging norm of a responsibility to protect stating that there is a collective international responsibility,"exercisable by the Security Council authorizing military intervention as a last resort, in the event of genocide and other large-scale killing, ethnic cleansing and serious violations of humanitarian law which sovereign governments have proved powerless or unwilling to prevent."[38]

Libya, 2011

On March 19, 2011, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approved resolution 1973 which reiterated the responsibility of the Libyan authorities to protect the Libyan population. The UNSC resolution reaffirmed "that parties to armed conflicts bear the primary responsibility to take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of civilians...."[60] It demanded "an immediate ceasefire in Libya, including an end to the current attacks against civilians, which it said might constitute 'crimes against humanity'.... It imposed a ban on all flights in the country's airspace, a no-fly zone, and tightened sanctions on the Gadaffi regime and its supporters."[60] The resolution passed with 10 in favor, 0 against and 5 abstentions. Two of the five permanent members of the council abstained, China and Russia.[60][61] The subsequent military action by NATO resulted in mixed opinions. Detractors of the intervention believe that problems in Libya are best resolved amongst Libyans.[62]

Use of military intervention

The question of military intervention under the third pillar of R2P remains controversial.[63] Several states have argued that R2P should not allow the international community to intervene militarily on states, because to do so is an infringement upon sovereignty. Others argue that this a necessary facet of R2P, and is necessary as a last resort to stop mass atrocities. A related argument surrounds the question as to whether more specific criteria should be developed to determine when the Security Council should authorize military intervention.[64]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Mission Statement". United Nations: Office of the special adviser on the prevention of genocide. Retrieved 2012-01-07. 
  2. ↑ Iqbal, Zareen (April 29, 2010). "Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): MONUC's Impending Withdrawal". International Institute for Justice and Development. Retrieved 2012-01-10. 
  3. ↑ Taylor Owen (5 April 2011). "R2P: More than a slogan". thestar.com. Retrieved 10 September 2013. "Emerging from a Canadian-funded commission in 2001 into how the international community should react when faced with mass atrocity crimes, the concept intends to put a degree of conditionality on the notion of sovereignty. The sovereign rights of states, R2P argues, are conditional on the protection of civilians against large-scale slaughter. If a state is unable or unwilling to protect its people, the international community has a responsibility to step in, using peaceful or coercive means."  Unknown parameter |coauthoer= ignored (help)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "2005 World Summit Outcome". United Nations General Assembly, Sixtieth session, items 48 and 121 of the provisional agenda. A/60/L.1, 40 pages. Retrieved 2012-01-07. 
  5. ↑ Badescu, Cristina G. (2010). Humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect: security and human rights (Google eBook). New York, NY: Taylor and Francis e-Library. p. 110. ISBN 0-203-83454-2. 
  6. ↑ http://otago.ourarchive.ac.nz/handle/10523/2279. (Judson 2012).
  7. ↑ Hehir, Aidan; Cunliffe, Philip, ed. (2011), "Chapter 7, The responsibility to protect and international law", Critical Perspectives on the Responsibility to Protect: Interrogating Theory, Practice, New York, NY: Taylor and Francis e-Library, pp. 84–100, ISBN 0-203-83429-1 
  8. ↑ Perceptions: Journal of International Affairs. Center for Strategic Research. Summer 2013. p. 128.
  9. ↑ http://www.biography.com/people/kofi-annan-9185694
  10. ↑ http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan000923.pdf
  11. ↑ Haines, Steven; Kassimeris, George, ed. (2010), "Chapter 18, Humanitarian Intervention: Genocide, Crimes against Humanity and the Use of Force", The Ashgate research companion to modern warfare, Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Ltd, pp. 307–329, ISBN 978-0-7546-7410-8 
  12. ↑ http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2010/03/25-internal-displacement-cohen
  13. ↑ http://www.nai.uu.se/publications/series/notes/978-91-7106-642-8.pdf
  14. ↑ "Constitutive Acts of the African Union". Documents and speeches. African Union Summit, South Africa 2002. Retrieved 2012-01-07. 
  15. ↑ "The common African position on the proposed reform of the United Nations: "The Ezulwini Consensus"". Executive Council, 7th Extraordinary Session, March 7,8, 2005 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ext/EX.CL/2 (VII). African Union. Retrieved 2012-01-07. 
  16. ↑ http://www.who.int/hiv/universalaccess2010/worldsummit.pdf
  17. ↑ http://us.macmillan.com/responsibilitytoprotect/RichardCooper
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 http://gevans.org/r2pbook.html
  19. ↑ "Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit, Implementing the responsibility to protect: Report of the Secretary-General. A/63/677". General distribution to the media. United Nations General Assembly, Sixty-third session: Agenda items 44 and 107. January 12, 2009. Retrieved 2012-01-07. 
  20. ↑ "Implementing the responsibility to protect. The 2009 General Assembly Debate: An Assessment". GCR2P Report. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies. CUNY. August 2009. Retrieved 2012-01-07. 
  21. ↑ "Report on the General Assembly Plenary Debate on the Responsibility to Protect". International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect, New York, NY. September 15, 2009. Retrieved 2012-01-07. 
  22. ↑ "Resolution adopted by the General Assembly, 63/308. The responsibility to protect. A/RES/63/308". General distribution to the media. United Nations General Assembly, Sixty-third session: Agenda items 44 and 107. October 7, 2009. Retrieved 2012-01-07.  Decides to continue its consideration of the responsibility to protect. 105th plenary meeting, September 14, 2009.
  23. ↑ http://www.globalr2p.org/resources/342
  24. ↑ http://www.un.org/ga/president/64/thematic/r2p.shtml
  25. ↑ http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/ICRtoP%20Report%20on%20RIGO%20GA%20dialogue%20on%20RtoP%20FINAL(1).pdf
  26. ↑ http://www.un.org/en/ga/president/65/initiatives/RtoPdialogue.html
  27. ↑ http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/ga11270.doc.htm
  28. ↑ http://www.globalr2p.org/resources/471
  29. ↑ http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/sgsm15269.doc.htm
  30. ↑ http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/adviser/
  31. ↑ http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/adviser/
  32. ↑ http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/adviser/
  33. ↑ http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/sga1424.doc.htm
  34. ↑ http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/index.php/crises/crisis-in-kenya
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 http://www.globalr2p.org/media/files/libyaandr2poccasionalpaper-1.pdf
  36. ↑ http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/unoci/elections.shtml
  37. ↑ http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/index.php/crises/crisis-in-ivory-coast
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/about/bgresponsibility.shtml
  39. ↑ http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/index.php/crises/crisis-in-libya#violence
  40. ↑ http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/index.php/crises/crisis-in-the-central-african-republic
  41. ↑ http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/index.php/crises/crisis-in-the-central-african-republic
  42. ↑ http://www.globalr2p.org/regions/central_african_republic
  43. ↑ http://www.globalr2p.org/regions/central_african_republic
  44. ↑ http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/central-africa/B096-central-african-republic-better-late-than-never.pdf
  45. ↑ http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/12/18/central-african-republic-sectarian-atrocities-escalate
  46. ↑ http://www.globalrp.org/regions/central_african_republic
  47. ↑ http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/central-africa/B096-central-african-republic-better-late-than-never.pdf
  48. ↑ http://www.globalr2p.org/media/files/car-timeline-22-jan-14.pdf
  49. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26089189
  50. ↑ http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/ICISS%20Report.pdf
  51. ↑ Evans, G. (2006). From Humanitarian Intervention to the Responsibility to Protect, Wisconsin International Law Journal, 3(2), p. 710
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 52.3 Evans, G. (2006). From Humanitarian Intervention to the Responsibility to Protect, Wisconsin International Law Journal, 3(2)
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 GSDRC (2013). International legal frameworks for humanitarian action: Topic guide. Birmingham, UK: GSDRC, University of Birmingham
  54. ↑ http://www.brill.com/responsibility-protect-and-international-law
  55. ↑ http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter1.shtml
  56. ↑ http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/1994/674
  57. ↑ Arbour, 2008; Evans, 2006–7
  58. ↑ Moran, Rick; Horowitz, David, editor (March 28, 2011). "Libya and the Soros Doctrine". FrontPage Mag. Retrieved 2012-January-7. 
  59. ↑ Ban Ki-moon, Implementing the Responsibility to Protect, p. 7-8
  60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 60.2 "Security Council Approves 'No-fly Zone' over Libya, authorizing 'all necessary measures' to protect civilians, by vote of 10 in favour with 5 abstentions. (Includes the full text of resolution 1973)". Security Council SC/10200. United Nations, Department of Public Information, News and Media Division, New York, NY. March 17, 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-07. 
  61. ↑ "Libya: Nigeria votes in favour of no-fly resolution". Vanguard (Nigeria). 18 March 2011. 
  62. ↑ Protests against the 2011 military intervention in Libya
  63. ↑ Seybolt, Taylor B. (2007). '+responsibility+to+protect+civilians+drew+sharp+reactions%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5s0IT6DSBIrX0QGr6rH3Cw&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22The%20concept%20of%20states'%20responsibility%20to%20protect%20civilians%20drew%20sharp%20reactions%22&f=false Humanitarian military intervention: the conditions for success and failure. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Inc. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-19-925243-5. 
  64. ↑ http://www.stwr.org/the-un-people-politics/responsibility-to-protect-the-real-debate-on-r2p.html

Further reading

  • Deng, Francis, Rothchild, Donald, et al. "Sovereignty as Responsibility Conflict Management in Africa". (Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press, September 1996). c. 290pp.
  • Downes, Paul. Melville's Benito Cereno and Humanitarian Intervention South Atlantic Quarterly. 103.2–3. Spring/Summer 2004, pp. 465–488.
  • Hehir, Aidan. "The Responsibility to Protect: Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing?" International Relations. 24/2 2010.
  • Gallagher, Adrian. 'A Clash of Responsibilities: Engaging with Realist Critiques of the R2P', Global Responsibility to Protect, vol. 4, no. 3, 2012, 334–357.
  • Köchler, Hans, Humanitarian Intervention in the Context of Modern Power Politics. Is the Revival of the Doctrine of "Just War" Compatible with the International Rule of Law? (Studies in International Relations, XXVI.) Vienna: International Progress Organization, 2001.
  • Axworthy, Lloyd and Allan Rock (2009) “R2P: A New and Unfinished Agenda.” Global Responsibility to Protect 1(1): 54-69.
  • Bellamy, Alex J. 2006. ‘Whither the Responsibility to Protect: Humanitarian Intervention and the 2005 World Summit’. Ethics and International Affairs 20(2): 143-177.
  • Bellamy, A. J. 2008. ‘Conflict prevention and the responsibility to protect’. Global Governance 14(2): 135-156.
  • Bellamy, Alex J. 2008. ‘The Responsibility to Protect and the problem of military intervention’. International Affairs 84(4): 615-639
  • Bellamy, A. J. 2009. ‘Realizing the Responsibility to Protect’. International Studies Perspectives 10(2): 111-128.
  • Bellamy, Alex J. 2009. Responsibility to Protect: The Global Effort to End Mass Atrocities, Cambridge: Polity.
  • Bellamy, A. J. 2010. ‘The responsibility to protect and Australian foreign policy’. Australian Journal of International Affairs 64(4): 432-448.
  • Bellamy, Alex J. 2010 “The Responsibility to Protect: Five Years On” Ethics and International Affairs 24(2). 143-169
  • Bellamy, Alex J. 2011. Global politics and the responsibility to protect: from words to deeds. Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Bellamy, Alex J. and Sara E. Davies. 2009. ‘The Responsibility to Protect in the Asia-Pacific Region’. Security Dialogue 40(6): 547-574.
  • Breau, Susan C. “The Impact of the Responsibility to Protect on Peacekeeping.” Journal of Conflict & Security Law 11, no. 3 (2006): 429-64
  • Briggs, E. Donald, Walter C. Soderlund and Abdel Salam Sidahmed. 2010. The responsibility to protect in Darfur: the Role of Mass Media. Lanham: Lexington Books.
  • Chandler, David. 2005. ‘The Responsibility to Protect: Imposing the Liberal Peace’. In Peace Operations and Global Order, eds Alex J. Bellamy and Paul D. Williams. London: Routledge.
  • Chataway, Teresa. 2007. ‘Towards normative consensus on responsibility to protect’. Griffith Law Review 16(1): 193.
  • Dallaire, Romeo. 2005. ‘The Responsibility to Protect’. New England Journal of Public Policy 19(2)
  • Davies, Sara, Alex J. Bellamy and Luke Glanville. 2011. The Responsibility to Protect and International Law. Leiden Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
  • Doyle, Michael W. 2011. ‘International Ethics and the Responsibility to Protect’. International Studies Review 13(1): 72-84.
  • Evans, Gareth. 2004. ‘When is it Right to Fight?’. Survival 46(3): 59-82.
  • Evans, Gareth. 2004. ‘The Responsibility to Protect: Rethinking Humanitarian Intervention’. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, reprinted in American Society of International Law 98: 78-89.
  • Evans, G., The Responsibility to Protect: End Mass Atrocity Crimes Once and for All, Washington D.C.: Brookings Institute, 2008
  • Evans, Gareth. 2009. ‘Russia, Georgia and the Responsibility to Protect’. Amsterdam Law Forum 1(2): 25-28.
  • Hunt, Charles T. and Alex J. Bellamy. 2011. ‘Mainstreaming the Responsibility to Protect in Peace Operations’. Civil Wars 13(1): 1-20.
  • Ki-Moon, Ban, The Role of Regional and Sub-Regional Arrangements in Implementing the Responsibility to Protect, A/65/877–S/2011/39, 28 June 2011.
  • Luck, Edward C., ‘The United Nations and the Responsibility to Protect’, Stanley Foundation Policy Analysis Brief, August 2008
  • Luck, Edward C. 2011. ‘The Responsibility to Protect: Growing Pains or Early Promise?’. Ethics & International Affairs 24(4): 34
  • Pattison, James. 2010. Humanitarian Intervention and the Responsibility To Protect. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Paley, Gregory R., 2005. The responsibility to protect: East, West and Southern African perspectives on preventing and responding to humanitarian crises. Waterloo, Ontario: Project Ploughshares.
  • Teitt, Sarah. 2011. ‘The Responsibility to Protect and China’s Peacekeeping Policy’. International Peacekeeping 18(3): 298-312.
  • Thakur, Ramesh. 2003. ‘In defence of the responsibility to protect’. The International Journal of Human Rights 7(3): 160-178
  • Thakur, Ramesh. 2005. ‘A Shared Responsibility for a More Secure World’. Global Governance 11(3): 281-289.
  • Thakur, Ramesh Chandra. 2011. The Responsibility to Protect: Norms, Laws, and the Use of Force in International Politics. New York: Routledge.
  • Voinov Kohler, Juliette and Richard H. Cooper. 2008. The Responsibility to Protect: the Global Moral Compact for the 21st Century. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Weiss, Thomas and Don Hubert. 2001. The Responsibility to Protect: Research, Bibliography, Background. Ottawa: ICISS.
  • Weiss, Thomas G. 2004. ‘The Sunset of Humanitarian Intervention? The Responsibility to Protect in a Unipolar Era’. Security Dialogue 35(2): 135-153.

External links

See also

  • Responsibility while protecting
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