Pdf the responsibility to protect r2p is a new norm or set of principles that. Why did we need intervention in libya while not in syria where the situation seems. In 2011, public demonstrations started in libya seeking political and economic reforms in the country. Libya and the future of the responsibility to protect. Responsibility to protect r2p, which includes the responsibility to prosecute, and they have in. In return, the libyan president maummar alqaddafi threatened mass atrocities in libya.
May 02, 2015 the genesis of the doctrinetheory of the responsibility to protect r2prtop was supposed to resolve some of the problems associated with humanitarian intervention as an additional exception to the nonuse of force in international law. An analysis of factors contributing to the implementation of r2p in libya and its implications for future cases of humanitarian intervention mpp professional paper in partial fulfillment of the master of public policy degree requirements the hubert h. Libya, the security council, and the responsibility to protect aidan hehir international security, volume 38, number 1, summer 20, pp. A critical assessment of the application of responsibility to. The paper shows that important ambivalences in the concept of r2p, such as the.
Responsibility to protect and its applicability in libya and syria erfaun norooz abstract. For 350 years since westphalia, sovereignty functioned as institutionalised indifference. Libya, the responsibility to protect, and the use of military force. Although the intervention and resolutions on libya can be seen as a triumph for the responsibility to protect doctrine, the actors involved still vary widely in their commitment to the doctrine, which is clearly seen in the way the libyan nofly zone was prepared. Currently the united nations includes 193 member states. Revisiting responsibility to protect after libya and syria. At a more prosaic level, there are also some anxieties about the future of r2p and rwp as concepts. In the preamble to resolution 1973, the following determination was added. Gareth evans, the responsibility to protect after libya and syria 2012. May 29, 20 this book critically analyses the 2011 intervention in libya arguing that the manner in which the intervention was sanctioned, prosecuted and justified has a number of troubling implications for the both the future of humanitarian intervention and international peace and security.
Emerging powers and the responsibility to protect after libya. Humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect. Impact of action in libya on the responsibility to protect 1. Revived in libya, buried in syria article pdf available in insight turkey vol. This happened in libya in 2011, when a natoled military intervention. It examines the r2p legal framework in coordination with events on the ground in libya during the early part of 2011 in order to thoroughly explain that r2p was correctly invoked by the united nations security council in order to uphold international law. The evolved human rights law has called for a shift international law with regard to humanitarian intervention. Aug 22, 2014 the development of the responsibility to protect r2p is well documented zifcak 2009, payandeh 2010. The bright side is that r2p has been applied against a government manifestly failing to protect their own citizens. In the last three years, r2p has failed to find a way to syria to stop the most tragic humanitarian catastrophe of recent years, a catastrophe that has seen more than 120,000 syrians already killed, millions more internally displaced or forced to seek refuge in neighboring. Aus responsibility to protect in the libyan crisis 2011. Mar 30, 2011 but whilst the response to libya marks a number of significant milestones, it is important to stress that the responsibility to protect rtop does not begin and end with libya.
In the last three years, r2p has failed to find a way to syria to stop the most tragic humanitarian catastrophe of recent. Emerging powers and the responsibility to protect after libya ramesh thakur summary unauthorized intervention in libya in 2011 was a textbook illustration of r2p principles. Gareth evans, the responsibility to protect after libya. R2p aims at providing human security by protecting citizens from mass atrocities. Apr 06, 2015 responsibility to protect r2p panacea or trojan horse for intervention. Resolutions 1970 26 february, 2011 and 1973 17 march, 2011 on the. The intervention in libya is the best example to date to judge the implementation of the responsibility to protect. First and foremost, r2p reflects the negative duty for states to refrain from committing atrocities against its own people, a responsibility the regime of. Implementing the responsibility to protect 2009 based on the outcome document of the 2005 world summit, a 2009 report by the secretary general outlined a strategy around three pillars of the. The study aims to investigate whether or not the intervention in libya was in line with responsibility to protect, and, in so doing, the study analyses resolution 1973 to ascertain whether or not the interveners went beyond their mandate. The president stated that when our interests and values are at no. Libya and the responsibility to protect united states. May 2011 impact of action in libya on the responsibility to. This occasional paper from the global centre for the responsibility to protect analyzes the debates that have shaped interpretations of the intervention in libya and argues that r2p played a.
From this it may be possible to have a better understanding of how and when the responsibility to protect triggers the responsibility to react and to identify a framework, under the rtop principle, in which. The responsibility to protect after libya and syria the. Faced with escalating violence in libya, the united nations. Declaration i khayalandile lwando mthamo declare that the responsibility to protect in the context of the nato intervention in libya in 2011. First, we recapitulate the emergence of r2p and the. The members of the security council called on the government of libya to meet its responsibility to protect its population. Pdf revisiting responsibility to protect after libya. Debating the responsibility to protect in libya, syria the responsibility to protect has been the subject of considerable debate in recent weeks, particularly as the international community continues to pursue an end to the violent crisis in syria, and the transition in postgaddafi libya moves forward with both uncertainty and concern. They called upon the libyan authorities to act with restraint, to respect human rights and international. Responsibility to protect r2p, which was at the basis of the intervention in libya. International humanitarian law and the responsibility to. The responsibility to protect in libya borjana luburawinchester and reece jones department of geography, university of hawaii at manoa, u. The responsibility to protect and prosecute after libya volume 41 issue 3 jason ralph, adrian gallagher skip to main content we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites.
The emerging principle of the responsibility to protect r2p challenges chinas traditional emphasis on nonintervention in the domestic affairs of other states and nonuse of force. Libya, the responsibility to protect and the future of. The first operational references to the responsibility to protect came against libya in 2011. Libya and the responsibility to protect between opportunistic humanitarianism and valuefree pragmatism the application of the responsibility to protect r2p norm to libya in 2011 was successful but controversial. Humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to. In this article the libyan and syrian cases are analysed with a view to. This development has shown a bright and dark side to the implementation of r2p by military means. The complete book is available for purchase on amazon. Libya and the future of the responsibility to protect african and. This article explores the responsibility to protect rtop in the post libya era to determine whether it is now an accepted norm of international law. Responsibility to protect and its applicability in libya. The responsibility to protect r2p is a new norm or set of principles that redefines sovereignty as a responsibility rather than as a privilege or a means of control, which offers a policy.
This article explores the role that the responsibility to protect r2p played in the 2011 intervention in libya. In the postcold war atmosphere, growing global awareness of human rights violations have captured the atten. According to gareth evans, the international military intervention smh in libya is. Although responsibility to protect r2p is seen as a new idea, it can. Based on this ostensible success, many experts now cite libya as a model for implementing the socalled responsibility to protect r2p. Sixteen months ago, in march 2011, the united nations security council, with no dissenting voices, and expressly invoking the principle of the responsibility to protect, authorized the use of all necessary measures to protect civilians at imminent risk of massacre in benghazi and elsewhere in gaddafis libya. The responsibility to protect r2p doctrine, widely considered a powerful new normative contribution, is being reevaluated from at least two perspectives. Libya and the future of the responsibility to protect 3 by the popularization of the concepts of human security and civilian protection, even though each organization has adopted a somewhat different reading of these concepts. Concept and implementation, opportunity and misuse the r2p attempt failed.
Giselle lopez wrote responsibility to protect at a crossroads. Libya and the responsibility to protect libya reliefweb. But the operation and aftermath also prove the need for legitimacy criteria to guide decisions on authorizing and overseeing international military intervention. Ihl is found in international treaties conventions as well as in customary law rules that develop over time due to. World summit in 2005, more than 150 heads of state and government unanimously adopted a declaration on the responsibility to protect. The united nations position is that the question is not whether but when and how the international community should apply the responsibility to protect r2p.
The research essay was first published in transatlantic perspectives on diplomacy and diversity humanity in action press 2015. Concept and implementation, opportunity and misuse the r2p attempt failed in libya dr. Pdf the responsibility to protect r2p after libya researchgate. A critical assessment of the application of responsibility. A critical assessment of the application of responsibility to protect in libya written by jay crush intervention was a success, with ban kimoon estimating that. The implementation of responsibility to protect in libya, syria, kenya and mali begum gonul may 1, 2014 masters thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of masters of arts in international relations at the city college of new york advisor. The future under international law of the responsibility to. The responsibility to protect united nations university. This article analyzes the geopolitical narratives produced by france, the united kingdom, and the united states from 15 february through 18 march 2011 as a. The military intervention in libya, led by france and the united kingdom uk and based on security council resolution 1973, revived the debate about the protection of civilians in the context of the responsibility to protect rtop doctrine. On the different question who has the responsibility to implement r2p remedially following the failure of the territorial state from exercising its primary responsibility to protect its people, see the secretary general report on implementing the responsibility to protect 2009 a63677, and the secretary general report 2011, the. The responsibility to protect r2p doctrine, after its first ever implementation in libya, has halted in syria. Between opportunistic humanitarianism and valuefree pragmatism ramesh thakur since the treaty of westphalia, sovereignty has been backed by the norm of nonintervention.
Perhaps, in the case of libya, that judgment was made just a little easier because of the gaddafi regimes past record. Responsibility to protect to justify libya intervention steven groves this paper, in its entirety, can be found at. The responsibility to protect in syria and beyond after the 1994 genocide in rwanda, world leaders vowed that such mass atrocities could never be allowed to happen again. By contrast, the responsibility to protect r2p strikes a balance between unauthorised. The responsibility to protect rtop played an important role in shaping the worlds response to actual and threatened atrocities in libya. First and foremost, r2p reflects the negative duty for states to refrain from committing atrocities against its own people, a responsibility the regime of col.
The coalition successfully provided support to ntc forces in benghazi and misrata and then later in libya s capital tripoli, gaddafis hometown sirte, and other loyalist strongholds in libya. Apr 06, 2012 the responsibility to protect has been the subject of considerable debate in recent weeks, particularly as the international community continues to pursue an end to the violent crisis in syria, and the transition in postgaddafi libya moves forward with both uncertainty and concern. Responsibility to protect and its applicability in libya and. The use of force to protect civilians and humanitarian action. Libya is but one of many recent and ongoing examples where international responses to major humanitarian emergencies have been framed by a focus on the victims. The approval of the possibility of military intervention in the case of sovereign states being unable or unwilling to bear their primary responsibility to. The international system is characterized by increased instability, the sharpening of deadly conflicts, mass atrocities and the emergence of transnational extremists armed groups such as the islamic state of iraq and syria isis. The role of regional organisations in implementing the r2p. Reiterating the responsibility of the libyan authorities to protect the libyan population and reaffirming that parties to armed conflicts bear the primary responsibility to take all feasible steps to ensure the protection. The security councils press statement on libya yesterday included a phrase that ought to pique some interest. The responsibility to protect has been the subject of considerable debate, particularly regarding the implementation of the principle by various actors in the context of countryspecific situations, such as libya, syria, sudan and kenya, for example. The libyan intervention, triumph and downfall of the.
Natos 2011 humanitarian military intervention in libya has been hailed as a model for implementing the emerging norm of the responsibility to protect r2p, on grounds that it prevented an impending bloodbath in benghazi and facilitated the ouster of libya s oppressive ruler, muammar alqaddafi, who had targeted peaceful civilian protesters. Genocide and the responsibility to protect issued a press release on the situation in libya in which they reminded the libyan government of its responsibility to protect its population and called for an immediate end to the violence. Initially, there were 51 states which had joined this new intergovernmental institution in 1945. The applicability of the responsibility to protect or r2p principle to the current situation in libya is undeniable. Opinion libya and the responsibility to protect the. It emerged in the report of the international commission on intervention and state sovereignty iciss which reconceptualised state sovereignty to include responsibilities, namely the responsibility to protect civilians from serious human rights abuses. Responsibility to protect after libya jake lynch abstract academic writing about the responsibility to protect r2p frequently adopts a position of advocacy, with researchers concentrating, in recent texts, on prospects for, and modalities of, practical application of this new norm in the international community. Debating the responsibility to protect in libya, syria. June 2016 china and the responsibility to protect from opposition to advocacy courtney j. Before embracing such conclusions, however, it is important to conduct a more rigorous assessment of the net humanitarian impact of nato intervention in libya. Those government leaders most active in implementing. The crisis in libya as part of the 2014 humanity in action diplomacy and diversity fellowship. Arab emirates, took part in implementing the nofly zone over libya mandated by resolution 1973. Implementing the responsibility to protect report of the secretarygeneral summary the present report responds to one of the cardinal challenges of our time, as posed in paragraphs 8 and 9 of the 2005 world summit outcome.
120 1576 1186 639 980 1407 1158 405 645 435 182 1052 1384 369 958 496 1559 495 553 263 1018 1265 659 187 1315 300 405 1368 583 1170 98 1131 734 307 803 716 1506 1106 1085 972 145 453 347 90 931 428 710 642