Original scientific paper
Implications of the Conflicts in Libya and Syria for the “Responsibility to Protect” Doctrine
Petra Perišić
orcid.org/0000-0002-8529-0152
; Faculty of Law, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Abstract
The article explores the (non)application of the “responsibility to protect” (RtoP) doctrine in crises in Libya and Syria. When violent conflicts between the government and the opposition arose in both countries in 2011, different international bodies reported on mass atrocity crimes committed by the government forces against civilians. As rulers of Libya and Syria showed no intention of halting those atrocities, it was expected that the international community would intervene and act under RtoP, as agreed among the states at the 2005 World Summit. In Libya, the Security Council acted pursuant to the RtoP doctrine and passed the resolution authorizing the use of force aimed at saving civilian lives. In the case of Syria, however, the Security Council was deadlocked by the Russian and Chinese veto and no resolution employing RtoP could have been adopted. The paper thus analyzes these two cases, by paying special emphasis to the reasons behind such a disparate reaction of the Security Council in similar circumstances.
Keywords
responsibility to protect; RtoP; Libya; Syria; Security Council; intervention
Hrčak ID:
189807
URI
Publication date:
17.11.2017.
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