The Responsibility to Protect: The Report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (Responsibility to Protect)

The international community faces no more critical issue than how to protect people caught in new and large-scale humanitarian crises - humanitarian intervention has been controversial both when it has happened, as in Kosovo, and when it has failed to happen, as in Rwanda. While there is general agreement internationally that we should not stand by in the face of massive violations of human rights, respect for the sovereign rights of states maintains a central place among the principles governing relations between states. In his Millennium Report to the UN General Assembly, Secretary-General Kofi Annan challenged the international community to address the real dilemmas posed by intervention and sovereignty. The independent International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) was established by the Canadian government in September 2000 to respond to that challenge. After a year of intense worldwide consultations and debate, the Commission now presents this path-breaking report. With its central theme of the "responsibility to protect," the report underlines the primary responsibility of sovereign states to protect their own citizens from avoidable catastrophe - from mass murder, from large scale loss of life and rape, from starvation. But when they are unwilling or unable to do so, that responsibility must be borne by the broader community of states - there must be no more Rwandas or Srebrenicas. The Commission has also produced a companion volume, written by Thomas Weiss and Don Hubert with input from an outstanding group of international specialists. This volume represents a comprehensive, balanced and up-to-date summary of the key political, ethical, legal, and operational issues and will be of particular interest to scholars. It also contains an exhaustive, thematic bibliography. The ICISS Report includes a CD-ROM, containing PDF versions of the report, research essays from the companion volume, and an electronic, searchable bibliography. The international community faces no more critical issue currently than how to protect people caught in new and large-scale humanitarian crises — humanitarian intervention has been controversial both when it has happened, as in Kosovo, and when it has failed to happen, as in Rwanda. While there is general agreement internationally that we should not stand by in the face of massive violations of human rights, respect for the sovereign rights of states maintains a central place among the principles governing relations between states. In his Millennium Report to the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary-General Kofi Annan challenged the international community to address the real dilemmas posed by intervention and sovereignty. The independent International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) was established by the Canadian government in September 2000 to respond to that challenge. After a year of intense worldwide consultations and debate, the Commission now presents its path-breaking report. With its central theme of the “responsibility to protect,” the report underlines the primary responsibility of sovereign states to protect their own citizens from avoidable catastrophe — from mass murder, from large-scale loss of life and rape, from starvation. But when they are unwilling or unable to do so, that responsibility must be borne by the broader community of states — there must be no more Rwandas or Srebrenicas. This volume, written by Thomas G. Weiss and Don Hubert with input from an outstanding group of international specialists, is a companion to the Commission’s main report. It represents a comprehensive, balanced and up-to-date summary of the key political, ethical, legal ,and operational issues and will be of particular interest to scholars. It also contains an exhaustive, thematic bibliography. TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 6 FOREWORD......Page 8 SYNOPSIS......Page 12 The Intervention Dilemma......Page 16 The Changing International Environment......Page 18 The Implications for State Sovereignty......Page 22 The Meaning of Intervention......Page 23 2. A NEW APPROACH: “THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT”......Page 26 The Meaning of Sovereignty......Page 27 Human Rights, Human Security and Emerging Practice......Page 29 Shifting the Terms of the Debate......Page 31 A Commitment to Prevention......Page 34 Early Warning and Analysis......Page 36 Root Cause Prevention Efforts......Page 37 Direct Prevention Efforts......Page 38 Measures Short of Military Action......Page 44 The Decision to Intervene......Page 46 Threshold Criteria: Just Cause......Page 47 Other Precautionary Criteria......Page 50 Post-Intervention Obligations......Page 54 Administration under UN Authority......Page 58 Local Ownership and the Limits to Occupation......Page 59 Sources of Authority under the UN Charter......Page 62 The Security Council’s Role – and Responsibility......Page 64 When the Security Council Fails to Act......Page 68 Preventive Operations......Page 72 Planning for Military Intervention......Page 73 Carrying Out Military Intervention......Page 76 Following Up Military Intervention......Page 79 A Doctrine For Human Protection Operations......Page 81 From Analysis to Action......Page 84 Mobilizing Domestic Political Will......Page 85 Mobilizing International Political Will......Page 87 Next Steps......Page 88 Meeting the Challenge......Page 90 APPENDIX A: MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION......Page 92 APPENDIX B: HOW THE COMMISSION WORKED......Page 96 E......Page 102 L......Page 103 R......Page 104 U......Page 105 Z......Page 106 Report Of The International Commission On Intervention And State Sovereignty ; December 2001.--t.p. The Policy Challenge -- A New Approach : The Responsibility To Protect -- The Responsibility To Prevent -- The Responsibility To React -- The Responsibility To Rebuild -- The Question Of Authority -- The Operational Dimension -- The Responsibility To Protect : The Way Forward. [co-chairs, Gareth Evans, Mohamed Sahnoun]. December 2001. Issued Also In French Under Title: La Responsabilité De Protéger. Accompanied By Supplementary Volume Entitled: Research, Bibliography, Background (xiv, 410 P.). Supplement Also On Cd-rom. At Head Of Title: Iciss. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Also Available Via The Internet. "This report is about the so-called "right of humanitarian intervention": the question of when, if ever, it is appropriate for states for take coercive - and in particular military - action, against another state for the purpose of protecting people at risk in that other state." 1.1 "Humanitarian intervention" has been controversial both when it happens, and when it has failed to happen.