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The Concepts of Responsibility to Protect and Protection of Civilians:
‘Sisters, but not Twins’
Author: Vesselin Popovski
Volume 7, Number 4 (Summer 2011), pp. 1-12.
Abstract
This article examines the differences and commonalities between the concepts ‘Protection of Civilians’ (PoC) and ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) in terms of their origins, evolution and applicability to various situations. Such comparative analysis is necessary as to avoid confusion and misinterpretation. The main argument is that the two can be regarded as ‘sister’ concepts, reinforcing each other, particularly when it comes to critical situations, the most recent example being the international responses to the deadly threats to civilians in Libya in February-March 2011 and the measures imposed by the UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973. The article also assesses whether the responses to the crisis in Libya represent a triumph or a failure of the ’sister’ concepts.
About the Author
Vesselin Popovski is Senior Academic Programme Officer at the Institute for Sustainability and Peace, United Nations University in Tokyo. He develops research, teaches and publishes in peace and security, international law, human rights and global governance. He co-edited the books: International Criminal Accountability and the Rights of Children (2006); World Religions and Norms of War (2009); Democracy in the South (2010); Human Rights Regimes in the Americas (2010); Blood and Borders (2011). He has completed a trilogy on modern trends and innovations in governance, co-editing Engaging Civil Society (2010), Building Trust in Government (2010) and Cross-Border Governance (2011). Another major book Legality and Legitimacy in Global Affairs is forthcoming with Oxford University Press. He took part in two major international initiatives: the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, that produced the concept ‘Responsibility to Protect’, and the Princeton Principles of Universal Jurisdiction. popovski@unu.edu.
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