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R2P - potential för skydd av civilbefolkning eller missbruk av stater?

Mattisson, Hugo LU (2023) LAGF03 20231
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
To solve the problem of humanitarian crises of the 20th century, the international community started the process of developing a new principle. This principle came to fruition in 2001 in the report of the ICISS named Responsibility to Protect. Responsibility to Protect (R2P) was unanimously adopted in the 2005 World Summit where heads of states and governments participated to, among other things, solve the issue of humanitarian intervention.
R2P aims to stop civilians being object of genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes. What this paper aims to do is to identify possible problem areas with the norm and examine whether it is suitable for fulfilling its purpose.
The main responsibility relating to R2P lies... (More)
To solve the problem of humanitarian crises of the 20th century, the international community started the process of developing a new principle. This principle came to fruition in 2001 in the report of the ICISS named Responsibility to Protect. Responsibility to Protect (R2P) was unanimously adopted in the 2005 World Summit where heads of states and governments participated to, among other things, solve the issue of humanitarian intervention.
R2P aims to stop civilians being object of genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes. What this paper aims to do is to identify possible problem areas with the norm and examine whether it is suitable for fulfilling its purpose.
The main responsibility relating to R2P lies with the state and is included in state sovereignty. If the state fails to protect the civilian population, whether it is because of a lack of will or lack of ability, the international community can acquire the right to fulfil the duty in their stead. To do this, the Security Council can mandate states and organizations to intervene and do what is necessary to protect the population from mass atrocities.
However, the principle comes with issues. In 2011, the Security Council mandated the international community to use all means necessary to protect the civilian population in Libya. NATO reinterpreted, or more bluntly interpreted the resolution to their own interest and put a target on the regime as well. This resulted in widespread criticism which further resulted in issues that very same year. In the Syria conflict, Russia among others used this abuse of the principle to warrant their use of veto in the Security Council to stop intervention.
Sovereignty, abuse, authority, and veto are important issues relating to R2P. Is R2P suitable for protecting civilians against the previously mentioned four crimes? To solve this the international community must continue their work with the principle for it to fulfil its potential. It demands further development, especially in case of miliary intervention. This should start with eliminating unilateral intervention and abuse of the principle of sovereignty, control the process of intervention and secure the most amount of transparency going through the UN. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
För att lösa problemet som kom med de humanitära kriser som förelåg un-der 1900-talet, började det internationella samfundet arbeta fram en ny princip. Principen föddes 2001 genom rapporten Responsibility to Protect skriven av ICISS. Responsibility to Protect (R2P) blev enhälligt antaget vid 2005 World Summit där världens statsöverhuvuden och regeringar deltog för att, bland annat, lösa problemet med humanitär intervention.
R2P syftar till att stoppa att civilbefolkning blir föremål för folkmord, brott mot mänskligheten, etnisk rensning och krigsbrott. Uppsatsen siktar på att identifiera eventuella problemområden med normen och undersöka ifall den är lämplig för att uppfylla sitt ovan nämnda syfte.
Det huvudsakliga ansvaret inom R2P... (More)
För att lösa problemet som kom med de humanitära kriser som förelåg un-der 1900-talet, började det internationella samfundet arbeta fram en ny princip. Principen föddes 2001 genom rapporten Responsibility to Protect skriven av ICISS. Responsibility to Protect (R2P) blev enhälligt antaget vid 2005 World Summit där världens statsöverhuvuden och regeringar deltog för att, bland annat, lösa problemet med humanitär intervention.
R2P syftar till att stoppa att civilbefolkning blir föremål för folkmord, brott mot mänskligheten, etnisk rensning och krigsbrott. Uppsatsen siktar på att identifiera eventuella problemområden med normen och undersöka ifall den är lämplig för att uppfylla sitt ovan nämnda syfte.
Det huvudsakliga ansvaret inom R2P ligger hos staten, och ingår i suveräni-teten. Misslyckas staten att skydda sin befolkning, oavsett om det är en brist på vilja eller förmåga, kan det internationella samfundet ta över och fullgöra skyldigheten i dess ställe. För att möjliggöra detta ger säkerhetsrå-det mandat till stater eller organisationer att göra vad som krävs för att stoppa grymheterna mot befolkningen. Detta kan dock vara förenat med problem. 2011 gav säkerhetsrådet det internationella samfundet mandat att göra vad som än krävs för att skydda befolkningen i Libyen. NATO omtol-kade, eller rentav tolkade resolutionen utifrån dess egenintresse och satte en måltavla på regimen. Omfattande kritik av agerandet fördes över till en annan konflikt samma år, och resulterade i ytterligare problem. Vid kon-flikten i Syrien använde Ryssland, med flera, detta missbruk av normen till sin fördel för att rättfärdiga sina veton i förhållande till konflikten.
Suveränitet, missbruk, auktoritet och veto är viktiga problemområden som förhåller sig till R2P. Är R2P lämplig som instrument för att stoppa de fyra ovan nämnda brotten? För att hitta en lösning måste det internationella samfundet fortsätta arbeta med principen för att den ska kunna uppfylla sin potential. Vidareutveckling krävs, speciellt i den aspekt som hänför sig till militära ingrepp. Eliminering av ensidiga beslut och missbruk av suveräni-tetsprinciper, kontroll av processen vid intervention och säkerställande av transparens är alla viktiga aspekter som krävs för att komma vidare med normen. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Mattisson, Hugo LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20231
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
folkrätt, R2P
language
Swedish
id
9116499
date added to LUP
2023-06-29 13:28:30
date last changed
2023-06-29 13:28:30
@misc{9116499,
  abstract     = {{To solve the problem of humanitarian crises of the 20th century, the international community started the process of developing a new principle. This principle came to fruition in 2001 in the report of the ICISS named Responsibility to Protect. Responsibility to Protect (R2P) was unanimously adopted in the 2005 World Summit where heads of states and governments participated to, among other things, solve the issue of humanitarian intervention.
R2P aims to stop civilians being object of genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes. What this paper aims to do is to identify possible problem areas with the norm and examine whether it is suitable for fulfilling its purpose.
The main responsibility relating to R2P lies with the state and is included in state sovereignty. If the state fails to protect the civilian population, whether it is because of a lack of will or lack of ability, the international community can acquire the right to fulfil the duty in their stead. To do this, the Security Council can mandate states and organizations to intervene and do what is necessary to protect the population from mass atrocities.
However, the principle comes with issues. In 2011, the Security Council mandated the international community to use all means necessary to protect the civilian population in Libya. NATO reinterpreted, or more bluntly interpreted the resolution to their own interest and put a target on the regime as well. This resulted in widespread criticism which further resulted in issues that very same year. In the Syria conflict, Russia among others used this abuse of the principle to warrant their use of veto in the Security Council to stop intervention. 
Sovereignty, abuse, authority, and veto are important issues relating to R2P. Is R2P suitable for protecting civilians against the previously mentioned four crimes? To solve this the international community must continue their work with the principle for it to fulfil its potential. It demands further development, especially in case of miliary intervention. This should start with eliminating unilateral intervention and abuse of the principle of sovereignty, control the process of intervention and secure the most amount of transparency going through the UN.}},
  author       = {{Mattisson, Hugo}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{R2P - potential för skydd av civilbefolkning eller missbruk av stater?}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}