Strengthening the Responsibility to Protect: a transitional cosmopolitan approach

In 2005, member states of the United Nations (UN) accepted a ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) against four mass atrocity crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing. Despite this commitment, numerous failures to protect against mass atrocity have been evident since R2P was adopted. Consequently, the current R2P approach would appear to need strengthening. This thesis provides the first ever systematic study of reform measures for strengthening the Responsibility to Protect. To achieve this, the thesis explores potential reform measures aimed at promoting R2P as a cosmopolitan ‘responsibility to act’. This is a demand to act in response to all instances of mass atrocity, to support the conditions in which this is possible, and to promote the goal of atrocity prevention through a coherent and logical approach.

In addressing the issue of R2P reform, the thesis utilises a transitional cosmopolitan lens. The aim of this transitional cosmopolitan approach is to promote incremental progress towards cosmopolitan conditions by operating within particular contexts and practical barriers to change. In doing so, the approach advocates cosmopolitan standards as an end point to work towards in the application of R2P. Four areas for reform are explored in this thesis: alterations to R2P language as a means of rectifying conceptual deficiencies with R2P’s international duties; reform of the UN Security Council P5’s power of veto; the Uniting for Peace mechanism of the UN General Assembly as an alternative means for responding to mass atrocity; and the establishment of an ‘R2P Commission’ to hold states to account for their R2P commitments. These are not advocated as the definitive areas for R2P reform. However, each of these recommendations can contribute at least some positive progress towards a more cosmopolitan application of R2P that would help in curbing mass atrocity and improve the protection of fundamental human rights.