The responsibility to protect and the promise of protecting populations 17 years on

Disillusioned by the practice of humanitarian interventions that preceded it, the international community sought an alternative proposal of how assistance could be provided to those at risk without impinging on state sovereignty.

The Responsibility to Protect was borne out of an international promise that states would firstly protect their own populations, but failing that, the international community will bear this responsibility. This promise is based upon the Three Pillars as stipulated in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, which will be examined in this thesis in terms of their applicability and tenacity. This thesis critically explores how traditional state sovereignty is to be balanced with the concept of the Responsibility to Protect.