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Responsibility to protect - Principens betydelse för Libyen och Syrien

Gustafsson, Oskar LU (2013) LAGF03 20132
Faculty of Law
Department of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Under 1990-talet genomfördes flera omdiskuterade humanitära interventioner. De som var kritiska hävdade att interventionerna var en oacceptabel kränkning av suveränitetsprincipen. Förespråkare menade att respekten för mänskliga rättigheter var ett viktigare intresse att skydda. 2001 släpptes en rapport som fick stor betydelse för den globala utvecklingen på området. I rapporten lanserades konceptet Responsibility to protect, som innebär att statssuveräniteten är villkorad och att varje stat har en skyldighet att skydda sin egna befolkning mot massövergrepp. Skulle skyldigheten åsidosättas överflyttas istället ansvaret på det globala samfundet.
Den arabiska våren förde med sig oroligheter i många nordafrikanska länder och i Libyen urartade... (More)
Under 1990-talet genomfördes flera omdiskuterade humanitära interventioner. De som var kritiska hävdade att interventionerna var en oacceptabel kränkning av suveränitetsprincipen. Förespråkare menade att respekten för mänskliga rättigheter var ett viktigare intresse att skydda. 2001 släpptes en rapport som fick stor betydelse för den globala utvecklingen på området. I rapporten lanserades konceptet Responsibility to protect, som innebär att statssuveräniteten är villkorad och att varje stat har en skyldighet att skydda sin egna befolkning mot massövergrepp. Skulle skyldigheten åsidosättas överflyttas istället ansvaret på det globala samfundet.
Den arabiska våren förde med sig oroligheter i många nordafrikanska länder och i Libyen urartade situationen snabbt till ett inbördeskrig. FN agerade snabbt och gav grönt ljus till en humanitär intervention efter bara några veckor av stridigheter. Forskare världen över såg agerandet som ett erkännande av Responsibility to protect och att principen fått fäste. Samtidigt pågår sedan 2011 en konflikt i Syrien där dödssiffran är betydligt högre än den var i Libyen när säkerhetsrådet beslutade om att intervenera.
I den här uppsatsen undersöker jag säkerhetsrådets agerande i förhållande till konflikterna i Libyen respektive Syrien och argumenterar för att Responsibility to protect har konceptuella brister. Brister som innebär att det är betydligt mer sannolikt att vi i framtiden kommer att får se fler situationer som liknar den i Syrien än den i Libyen. (Less)
Abstract
During the 1990s there were several controversial humanitarian interventions. Critics argued that the interventions were an unacceptable violation of the principle of sovereignty. Proponents argued that the respect for human rights was an interest of more importance. In 2001 a report that was of great importance for the continued global development was released. The report launched the concept of the Responsibility to protect, which means that state sovereignty is conditional and that every state has a responsibility to protect its own population from mass atrocities. Should a state fail to do so, the responsibility would fall to the global community.
The Arab Spring brought unrest in many North African countries and in Libya the... (More)
During the 1990s there were several controversial humanitarian interventions. Critics argued that the interventions were an unacceptable violation of the principle of sovereignty. Proponents argued that the respect for human rights was an interest of more importance. In 2001 a report that was of great importance for the continued global development was released. The report launched the concept of the Responsibility to protect, which means that state sovereignty is conditional and that every state has a responsibility to protect its own population from mass atrocities. Should a state fail to do so, the responsibility would fall to the global community.
The Arab Spring brought unrest in many North African countries and in Libya the situation soon degenerated into civil war. The UN acted quickly and gave the green light to a humanitarian intervention after only a few weeks of fighting. Researchers worldwide saw the action as an acknowledgment of Responsibility to protect and that the principle has taken hold. Simultaneously there is since 2011 a conflict in Syria, where the death toll is much higher than it was in Libya when the Security Council decided to intervene.
In this paper, I examine the Security Council’s actions in relation to the conflicts in Libya and Syria and argue that Responsibility to protect is conceptually flawed. A weakness which means it is far more likely that in the future we will see more situations like the one in Syria than in Libya. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Gustafsson, Oskar LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20132
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Folkrätt, Responsibility to protect, Humanitär intervention
language
Swedish
id
4228723
date added to LUP
2014-01-28 17:37:14
date last changed
2014-01-28 17:37:14
@misc{4228723,
  abstract     = {{During the 1990s there were several controversial humanitarian interventions. Critics argued that the interventions were an unacceptable violation of the principle of sovereignty. Proponents argued that the respect for human rights was an interest of more importance. In 2001 a report that was of great importance for the continued global development was released. The report launched the concept of the Responsibility to protect, which means that state sovereignty is conditional and that every state has a responsibility to protect its own population from mass atrocities. Should a state fail to do so, the responsibility would fall to the global community.
The Arab Spring brought unrest in many North African countries and in Libya the situation soon degenerated into civil war. The UN acted quickly and gave the green light to a humanitarian intervention after only a few weeks of fighting. Researchers worldwide saw the action as an acknowledgment of Responsibility to protect and that the principle has taken hold. Simultaneously there is since 2011 a conflict in Syria, where the death toll is much higher than it was in Libya when the Security Council decided to intervene.
In this paper, I examine the Security Council’s actions in relation to the conflicts in Libya and Syria and argue that Responsibility to protect is conceptually flawed. A weakness which means it is far more likely that in the future we will see more situations like the one in Syria than in Libya.}},
  author       = {{Gustafsson, Oskar}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Responsibility to protect - Principens betydelse för Libyen och Syrien}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}