The United Nations Security Council and the Responsibility to Protect: Policy, Process, and Practice

Abstract:     
This is the opening chapter of the first entire academic journal issue devoted to the specific role of the UN Security Council in implementing the responsibility to protect. The Security Council’s role in implementing the responsibility to protect is not limited to taking collective action against mass atrocities (pillar three). The Council can also make important contributions to structural and operational prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity (pillar two). It regularly mandates UN peace operations to support security sector reform and the establishment of effective judicial authorities in post-conflict countries. By doing so, it strengthens the national protection capability of states that typically face a high risk of relapse into mass violence. When the Security Council mandates peace operations to support the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of former combatants it also strengthens the fabric of a post-conflict society. In addition, the Council can conduct preventive diplomacy under Chapter VI of the UN Charter to encourage states to fulfill their responsibility to protect as they confront a crisis. The contributions by the Security Council to the implementation of the responsibility to protect complement the important roles of the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, the Peacebuilding Commission and other United Nations bodies. All contributions of the Security Council to the implementation of the responsibility to protect have to occur within the scope of the authority granted to the Security Council by the UN Charter.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 32

Keywords: conflict prevention, conflict resolution, conflict management, responsibility to protect, genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity

Accepted Paper Series