The Netherlands and the Responsibility to Protect: The Responsibility to Protect People from Mass Atrocities

Under the principle of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), if a state is itself unable or unwilling to protect its people from mass atrocities, the responsibility to offer protection falls to the international community. Despite a fragile consensus, the AIV believes that R2P is an emerging principle of international law which is a growing source of guidance in thinking on sovereignty, human rights and peace and security. In this report it formulates a number of proposals on this theme.