Unsc resolution 1973 is considered by many see garwoodgowers, 20 to be a key example of r2p in action. The responsibility to protect after libya and syria the. Although there is no doubt that the intervention was significant, the implications of resolution 1973. Dec 08, 2015 a few weeks later, the council passed resolution 1973, which evoked the language of r2p even more substantively by reiterating the responsibility of the libyan authorities to protect the. China, russia, india, brazil and germany abstained from the vote. Recalling its resolution 1970 2011 of 26 february 2011, deploring the failure of the libyan authorities to comply with resolution 1970 2011, expressing grave concern at the deteriorating situation, the escalation of violence, and the heavy civilian casualties, reiterating the responsibility of the libyan authorities to protect the libyan. With security council resolution 1973 on libya, the u. Furthermore it will be discussed whether the coalition forces have carried out the military operations in libya within the scope of resolution 1973. The responsibility to protect the cases of libya and.
Ii critique of implementation of scr 1973 on libya. It was not the first time that the security council approved enforcement measures with reference to the responsibility to protect. This is apparent from a number of provisions found in resolution 1973 2011, to be combined with those contained in resolution 1970 2011. The law of politics author biography monica naime is currently a graduate student of international law at the graduate institute of international and development studies geneva as a recipient of a scholarship from the state of mexico. Post libya opposition to the responsibility to protect. Unscr 1973, was expressly conducted with the aim of protecting. Responsibility to protect and its applicability in libya. Pdf the impact of the libya intervention debates on norms. In its resolution 1970 2011, which was adopted unanimously, the security council recalled the libyan authorities responsibility to protect the libyan people and at the same time demanded an immediate end to the violence.
It argues that chinas decision to allow the passage of security council resolution 1973, which. To this end, i will explore the role of the r2p principle with regard to the current challenges. This article explores the role that the responsibility to protect r2p played in the 2011 intervention in libya. It argues that chinas decision to allow the passage of security council resolution 1973, which authorized force in libya, was shaped by an unusual set of political and factual circumstances, and.
Assessing the responsibility to protect success in libya. The complete book is available for purchase on amazon. After resolution 1973, however, the doctrine of responsibility to protect lost substantial support from the international community. Cote divoire, libya and the responsibility to protect pdf, explores the potential longterm impact of these two resolutions on international politics and policies. For discussion of libya as the first exercise of the responsibility to protect, see pinpoint accuracy, supra note 5. Resolution refers only to the responsibility of the libyan authorities to protect the libyan population.
It will conclude with a critical analysis of natos interpretation of unsc resolution 1973. Many observers heralded the security councilsanctioned intervention in libya in march 2011 as evidence of the efficacy of the responsibility to protect r2p. First, critics argue that responsibility to protect does not justify regime change. Council has long authorized peacekeepers to use all necessary means to protect civilians, in contexts including haiti, the democratic republic of congo drc, sudan, liberia, sierra leone, burundi and cote divoire.
Mar 18, 2011 image caption security council members vote on libya 10 states supported, five abstained. Resolution 1973 in response to the escalating civil. Resolution 1973 authorizes chapter vii measures for the protection of civilians in libya, authorizes. Libya was the first case where the security council authorized a military intervention citing the r2p. Following widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population by the libyan regime, and language used by muammar gaddafi that reminded the international community of the genocide in rwanda, the security council unanimously adopted resolution 1970 on 26 february 2011, making. Resolution 1973 authorising the use of force for civilian protection purposes in libya. United nations s security council responsibility to protect. The authors recognize that some scholars address the military action in libya as humanitarian intervention while others address it as the responsibility to protect. Leading from behind the responsibility to protect, the. I will particularly apply r2p to the recent case of libya and the current situation in syria. Reiterating the responsibility of the libyan authorities to protect the libyan population and reaffirming that parties to armed conflicts bear the. Security council resolution 1973 authorised the use of all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilianpopulated areas.
Deploring what it called the gross and systematic violation of human rights in strifetorn libya, the. Security council resolution 1973 on libya case western reserve. United nations security council resolution 1973 and the. Responsibility to protect and responsibility to react from doctrine to practice. Council resolution 1973, which authorized a military intervention in. The use of force to protect civilians and humanitarian action. United nations security council resolution 1973, which authorized force in libya, also invoked the responsibility to protect as part of its argument for action. Responsibility to protect and its applicability in libya and. Mar 06, 2015 post libya opposition to the responsibility to protect. Reiterating the responsibility of the libyan authorities to protect the libyan population and reaffirming that parties to. The libyan crisis is in some respects a turning point in the history of the responsibility to protect doctrine rtop. Her research interests focus on critical approaches to international law. The crisis in libya as part of the 2014 humanity in action diplomacy and diversity fellowship. United nations security council resolution 1973 wikipedia.
The responsibility to protect and prosecute after libya. The responsibility to protect doctrine is faltering. The new politics of protection cte divoire, libya and the. On march 17, security council resolution 1973 authorized the use of all necessary measures short of an invasion and occupation of libya to protect civilians and civilianpopulated areas the first unsanctioned combat operations since the 1991 gulf war. The application of the responsibility to protect r2p norm to libya in 2011 was successful but controversial. Image caption security council members vote on libya 10 states supported, five abstained.
Responsibility to protect, not humanitarian intervention in libya by ian williams. Responsibility to protect to justify libya intervention steven groves this. Oct 12, 2011 cote divoire, libya and the responsibility to protect pdf, explores the potential longterm impact of these two resolutions on international politics and policies. Besides the remarkable fact that the council was responding to arab demands for military intervention unthinkable just a month ago those that criticise the councils foot dragging should remember that this is the first time it has authorised force against a functioning government to protect civilians. Giselle lopez wrote responsibility to protect at a crossroads. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the principle of the responsibility to protect and its application in the united nations security council resolution 1973 on the situation in libya.
May 2011 impact of action in libya on the responsibility to. The responsibility to protect after libya and syria the responsibility to protect after libya and syria spencer zifcak at the united nations world summit in 2005, global political leaders endorsed a new doctrine to govern international political behaviour entitled the responsibility to protect. The united states, france and britain invaded libya with cruise missiles, stealth bombers, fighter jets and attack jets. The adoption came after the qadhafiregime had violently responded to what. Critics of resolution 1973 expressed two major concerns. Resolution 1973, which followed on 17 march, was initially seen as a timely and proportional intervention to ensure the protection of civilians at. Mar 30, 2011 what, then, is special about resolution 1973. Military intervention and the responsibility to protect in. Focusing on protecting the civilian population, resolution 1973 called for.
The responsibility to protect united nations university. But resolution 1973 17 march 2011 on the situation in libya marked the first time the council had. The responsibility to protect rtop played an important role in shaping the worlds response to actual and threatened atrocities in libya. Resolution 1973 authorising the use of force for civilian protection purposes in. Libya and the future of the responsibility to protect peace palace. The responsibility to protect and the structural problems of preventive humanitarian intervention roland paris. While some hailed the resolution and the subsequent intervention in libya as a victory for the concept of the international communitys responsibility to protect r2p, others predicted its. In followup to resolution 1970, the security council met on 17 march to confront the increasing threat to populations and voted on resolution 1973, calling for a nofly zone as well as a ceasefire. The impact of the libya intervention debates on norms of. United nations security council resolution 1973, on the situation in libya, is a measure that was adopted on 17 march 2011. Responsibility to protect r2p, which was at the basis of the intervention in libya.
The authors conclusions are based on an analysis of security council proposals, resolutions and debates calling for similar humanitarian interventions introduced in the. Oct 12, 2011 the president and his advisers invoked the responsibility to protect to defend the decision to intervene in libya and later released the presidential study directive on mass atrocities that defined preventing potential massacres, like the one in libya, as a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the united states. The council then adopted resolution 1973 2011 by a vote of 10 in favour to none against, with 5 abstentions brazil, china, germany, india, russian federation. The indian debate over the responsibility to protect after unsc resolution 1973. Responsibility to protect to justify libya intervention steven groves this paper, in its entirety, can be found at.
Jason ralph and adrian gallagher, university of leeds. In recent years, the doctrine of responsibility to protect had been steadily gaining traction, particularly among scholars and commentators. Pdf this study charts the political, cultural and economic foundations of two intergovernmental bodies intended to emerge in the black sea region find. United nations sres1970 2011 security council distr general 26 february 2011 1124558 e 1124558 resolution 1970 2011 adopted by the security council at its 6491st meeting, on 26 february 2011 the security council, expressing grave concern at the situation in the libyan arab jamahiriya and.
The security council resolution was proposed by france, lebanon, and the united kingdom ten security council members voted in the affirmative bosnia and herzegovina, colombia, gabon, lebanon, nigeria, portugal, south africa, and permanent members france, the united. The impact of the libya intervention debates on norms of protection. The implementation of the united nations security council. The role of regional organisations in implementing the r2p. The study aims to investigate whether or not the intervention in libya was in line with responsibility to protect, and, in so doing, the study analyses resolution 1973 to ascertain whether or not the interveners went beyond their mandate. It examines the r2p legal framework in coordination with events on the ground in libya during the early part of 2011 in order to thoroughly explain that r2p was correctly invoked by the united nations security council in order to uphold international law. Libya and the responsibility to protect libya reliefweb. The responsibility to protect in the libyan intervention. Reiterating the responsibility of the libyan authorities to protect the libyan population and reaffirming that parties to armed conflicts bear the primary responsibility to take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of civilians. The paper shows that important ambivalences in the concept of r2p, such. The concerns over the use of force based on resolution 1973 in libya. The comprehensive resolution also included provisions for a more robust arms embargo and called for travel bans and asset freezes on additional libyan individuals, companies, banks and other entities. The debate on the international communitys responsibility to protect r2p has grown exponen. A year after unscr 1973 e 2 the united nations security council resolution unscr 1973 was not the first time that the international community invoked the principle of responsibility to protect r2p.
In the preamble to resolution 1973, the following determination was added. And while the ultimate adoption of a nofly zone on. Mar 17, 2011 the council then adopted resolution 1973 2011 by a vote of 10 in favour to none against, with 5 abstentions brazil, china, germany, india, russian federation. Resolution 1973, which authorised military intervention in libya, marked the. In addition, the united nations and france have been bombing the ivory coast to protect civilians. The main topic of my thesis is responsibility to protect from libya to syria. The research essay was first published in transatlantic perspectives on diplomacy and diversity humanity in action press 2015. Intervention in libya was authorized in march 2011 kuperman 108 when rebel forces were surrounded in benghazi in order to protect the civilian population keeler. Libya and the future of the responsibility to protect. Prior to the resolution being passed, however, libya and the responsibility to protect r2p did feature prominently in many of the panel discussions. Resolution 1973, which authorised military intervention in libya, marked the first. The president stated that when our interests and values are at no.
Pdf libya, resolution 1973 and the responsibility to protect r2p. The political and military legacies of the 2011 libya campaign, 5362 london. The responsibility to protect doctrine, which is being used to legitimate these attacks, is a slippery slope that should be viewed with extreme caution. Abstract there is a perceived legitimacy deficit in contemporary international society. Although there is no doubt that the intervention was significant, the implications of resolution 1973 are not as profound as some have claimed. This is consistent with earlier council resolutions that had used variants of the phrase, but limited it to that.