Implementing the Concept of the Responsibility to Protect in Libya

Abstract

After the protests that broke out in Libya in February 2011, the Security Council and other UN bodies relied on the concept of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) to address the humanitarian situation resulting from those protests. The Council issued Resolution 1970, which imposed a package of sanctions on Libya, and then issued Resolution 1973, which allowed military intervention there. Shortly after starting to implement the military campaign, it became clear that NATO exploited these decisions to implement its own agenda and worked to overthrow the Libyan regime. Further, its military operations caused the killing and wounding of many civilians, as well as the destruction of civilian and other objects. This experience distorted the concept of the responsibility to protect, deepened discussions about it and produced what is known as the Brazilian initiative “Responsibility to Protect” (RWP) and the Chinese version “Responsible Protection” (RP) as an attempt to overcome the negatives resulting from the implementation of (R2P) in Libya.