Responsibility to Protect – Engaging Civil Society

WFM is following up on the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty’s report released in December 2001 titled The Responsibility to Protect. WFM contributed to initial broad public discussions on the right of intervention versus the right of state sovereignty. The report addresses the issues of the responsibility of the state to protect its citizens, and, if it fails to do so, the responsibility of the international community to react. The “Responsibility to Protect” is not only a matter of reacting to crises; it is also the responsibility to prevent internal conflicts and other man-made crises as well as the responsibility to rebuild by providing full assistance with recovery, reconstruction and reconciliation. The report proposes that criteria must be applied to limit and legitimize the use of military force for human protection, including that force be used only as a last resort and only with the least intrusive and coercive means necessary to end the crisis.

“The R2PCS project focuses on developing greater NGO cooperation and better coordination to implement the Responsibility to Protect principles.”

WFM launched its Responsibility to Protect – Engaging Civil Society (R2PCS) project primarily to raise awareness of this report and to build a network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that support these principles and subsequently seek their adoption by governments and regional and international organizations.

WFM has consulted with civil society organizations working on related subjects and other experts to solicit different perspectives on the report and its recommendations. In particular, there was a strong interest in ensuring that governments take the responsibility to respond to emerging crises seriously, and do so at an early stage when non-military options are available. These consultations and the ensuing monitoring of governments' responses to outbreaking crises show the need for NGOs to play a role in promoting norms and developing better responses to humanitarian crises. The R2PCS project focuses on developing greater NGO cooperation and better coordination to implement the Responsibility to Protect principles.