CIAO DATE: 07/2011

The Relationship between the Responsibility to Protect and the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict

May 2011

The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Abstract

In recent years, the United Nations Security Council has held an open debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict (POC) twice yearly. Following the Council's reaffirmation of the World Summit agreement on the responsibility to protect populations from four specific crimes: genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity (abbreviated as R2P) in Resolution 1674 (2006) and 1894 (2009) on POC, discussion of R2P has been an important component of these debates. This is reflected in government statements, presentations by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, and in the Secretary-General’s report on POC where he in 2007 referred to the agreement on R2P as a "cardinal achievement."

Resource link: The Relationship between the Responsibility to Protect and the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict [PDF] - 124K