The Responsibility to Protect- Watershed Or Old Wine in a New Bottle?

Abstract

This article argues that the responsibility to protect (R2P) is not a radical departure on the role ofinternational community regarding mass atrocities, but a codification ofpre-existing concepts of Just war'and humanitarian intervention, and a call to ensure their consistent application. The authors highlights holistic approach of preventing, reacting to, and rebuilding after grave crimes are committed,treating impunity and its redressal as a process rather than stand alone events. This article concludes with political hurdles for R2P to be realised in action and suggest creative ways to overcome them.