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Responsibility to protect - En redogörelse för staters skyldighet att skydda vid humanitära katastrofer

Rama, Mirlinda LU (2017) LAGF03 20171
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
De humanitära interventionerna i slutet på 90-talet gav upphov till en mängd diskussioner och skapade skiljaktigheter mellan världens nationer. Till följd av detta inrättades The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) som i december 2001 introducerade The Responsibility to Protect (R2P). Förslaget som utarbetades omfattar flera aspekter av staters ansvar att agera vid humanitära katastrofer. I rapporten föreslogs även att den traditionella synen på staters suveränitet skulle förändras. Detta har resulterat i att det numera finns en allmän uppfattning, bland de flesta stater, att staters suveränitet även omfattar skyddet av mänskliga rättigheter. Trots kommissionens utarbetade förslag och generalförsamlingens... (More)
De humanitära interventionerna i slutet på 90-talet gav upphov till en mängd diskussioner och skapade skiljaktigheter mellan världens nationer. Till följd av detta inrättades The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) som i december 2001 introducerade The Responsibility to Protect (R2P). Förslaget som utarbetades omfattar flera aspekter av staters ansvar att agera vid humanitära katastrofer. I rapporten föreslogs även att den traditionella synen på staters suveränitet skulle förändras. Detta har resulterat i att det numera finns en allmän uppfattning, bland de flesta stater, att staters suveränitet även omfattar skyddet av mänskliga rättigheter. Trots kommissionens utarbetade förslag och generalförsamlingens antagande av principen råder det fortfarande brist på staters agerande vid humanitära katastrofer.

Denna uppsats har haft till syfte att undersöka vad R2P egentligen innebär, hur principen kommit att växa fram och hur den har formulerats. Uppsatsen behandlar även problematiken med R2P:s vaga utformning och dess rättsliga ställning i internationell rätt. Detta har visat sig vara problematiskt då R2P inte betraktas som en rättsligt bindande regel för stater att följa. Principen återfinns i nuläget varken i något traktat eller utgör en sedvanerättslig norm då både statspraxis och opinio juris saknas. I uppsatsen redogörs även för tillämningen av R2P i praktiken. Då säkerhetsrådet är det enda organ som har behörighet att auktorisera våld har en redogörelse för organets agerande, eller snarare icke-agerande, i förhållande till Syrienkonflikten gjorts.

Slutsatsen av denna redogörelse är att principens nuvarande utformningen är problematisk. Trots att det finns ett klart syfte med R2P är det en vagt formulerad princip som ger stater en möjlighet att beakta sina personliga intressen vid en konflikt. Det blir tämligen problematiskt för säkerhetsrådet att enas om auktoriserandet av en militär intervention då det finns många intressen att beakta. Visserligen kan det konstateras att den antagna versionen av principen utgör en stark moralisk förpliktelse för stater att agera. Däremot har detta visat sig vara otillräckligt. För att principen i framtiden ska kunna tillämpas i större utsträckning och fylla en funktion krävs det att den tydliggörs och uppnår en rättslig status som är av tvingande karaktär. (Less)
Abstract
The humanitarian interventions that occurred in the late 90’s gave rise to a variety of discussions and caused divergence between the world nations. Following this the Canadian government formed The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) which later in December 2001 introduced The Responsibility to Protect (R2P). The presented proposal by the commission comprises several aspects of how states’ in the international community should act in conflicts where there occurs humanitarian disasters. The report also suggested that the traditional view of state sovereignty should change. Nowadays there is a general perception among several states that state sovereignty also comprises the protection of human rights.... (More)
The humanitarian interventions that occurred in the late 90’s gave rise to a variety of discussions and caused divergence between the world nations. Following this the Canadian government formed The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) which later in December 2001 introduced The Responsibility to Protect (R2P). The presented proposal by the commission comprises several aspects of how states’ in the international community should act in conflicts where there occurs humanitarian disasters. The report also suggested that the traditional view of state sovereignty should change. Nowadays there is a general perception among several states that state sovereignty also comprises the protection of human rights. However, despite the commission’s proposal and the General Assembly’s adoption of the principle, there is still a lack of action against humanitarian disasters.

The aim of this study has been to focus on describing what R2P means, how the principle has evolved and how it has been formed. This report addresses the problem with the vague formulation of the principle and how it relates to international law. This has been proven to be problematic due to the fact that R2P is not considered as a legal obligation for states to follow. The principle cannot be found in any treaty nor does it constitute a customary norm since both state practice and opinio juris are missing. Furthermore, this study investigates the implementation and the interpretation of R2P since it has been questioned whether to be set to practice in the humanitarian disaster occurring in Syria.

The conclusion of this report is that the current formulation of the principle is problematic. Although the purpose with R2P is very explicit it is a vague principle that gives states the option to take their own personal interests into account in a conflict. It will be problematic for the Security Council to agree and authorize a military intervention since there are many interests to take into account. The adopted version of the principle constitutes a strong moral obligation for states to take action, which has not been enough. In order for the principle to be applied in a greater extent in the future, the principle needs to be clarified and achieve a legal status that is of a compelling nature. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Rama, Mirlinda LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20171
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
R2P, Responsibility to protect, skyldigheten att skydda, Syrien, folkrätt
language
Swedish
id
8908279
date added to LUP
2017-06-29 16:15:05
date last changed
2017-06-29 16:15:05
@misc{8908279,
  abstract     = {{The humanitarian interventions that occurred in the late 90’s gave rise to a variety of discussions and caused divergence between the world nations. Following this the Canadian government formed The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) which later in December 2001 introduced The Responsibility to Protect (R2P). The presented proposal by the commission comprises several aspects of how states’ in the international community should act in conflicts where there occurs humanitarian disasters. The report also suggested that the traditional view of state sovereignty should change. Nowadays there is a general perception among several states that state sovereignty also comprises the protection of human rights. However, despite the commission’s proposal and the General Assembly’s adoption of the principle, there is still a lack of action against humanitarian disasters. 

The aim of this study has been to focus on describing what R2P means, how the principle has evolved and how it has been formed. This report addresses the problem with the vague formulation of the principle and how it relates to international law. This has been proven to be problematic due to the fact that R2P is not considered as a legal obligation for states to follow. The principle cannot be found in any treaty nor does it constitute a customary norm since both state practice and opinio juris are missing. Furthermore, this study investigates the implementation and the interpretation of R2P since it has been questioned whether to be set to practice in the humanitarian disaster occurring in Syria. 

The conclusion of this report is that the current formulation of the principle is problematic. Although the purpose with R2P is very explicit it is a vague principle that gives states the option to take their own personal interests into account in a conflict. It will be problematic for the Security Council to agree and authorize a military intervention since there are many interests to take into account. The adopted version of the principle constitutes a strong moral obligation for states to take action, which has not been enough. In order for the principle to be applied in a greater extent in the future, the principle needs to be clarified and achieve a legal status that is of a compelling nature.}},
  author       = {{Rama, Mirlinda}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Responsibility to protect - En redogörelse för staters skyldighet att skydda vid humanitära katastrofer}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}