Responsibility to protect

Responsibility to protect (R2P) is a political commitment that states should protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. It also assigns the international community a role when a state manifestly fails to protect its population.

Pillar One of R2P: The R2P pillar stating that each state must protect its population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. This pillar makes domestic protection the first responsibility, not an automatic international intervention.
International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty: A commission established by Canada in 2000 to examine state sovereignty and intervention in response to mass suffering. Its 2001 report introduced the responsibility-to-protect framework.
Humanitarian intervention: The use of force by one or more states in another state, claimed to prevent or end severe human suffering. R2P is broader than intervention and does not itself authorize unilateral force.
Libya intervention: The 2011 international military operation in Libya, authorized by the Security Council to protect civilians amid civil conflict. It was the first military intervention explicitly authorized by the Council with reference to R2P.
Pillar Two of R2P: The R2P pillar committing the international community to help states meet their protection responsibilities. It covers assistance before a crisis requires coercive measures.
The Responsibility to Protect: The 2001 report by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty that formulated the responsibility-to-protect framework. It recast sovereignty as including responsibilities toward a state's population.
State sovereignty: The principle that a state exercises supreme authority over its territory and is independent of external control. R2P treats sovereignty as carrying protection duties, rather than simply shielding governments from scrutiny.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973: A 2011 Security Council resolution authorizing necessary measures to protect civilians in Libya, while excluding foreign occupation. Its implementation became a focal point in disputes over the limits of R2P.
Pillar Three of R2P: The R2P pillar concerning timely and decisive collective action when a state manifestly fails to protect its population. It addresses international response, including action through the United Nations.
2005 World Summit: A meeting of UN member states that adopted the World Summit Outcome Document in September 2005. Paragraphs 138 and 139 established the agreed political commitment to R2P.

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