ICISS report - International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect

The Responsibility to Protect 67
from the fundamental thesis of this report that any coercive intervention for human
protection purposes is but one element in a continuum of intervention, which begins with
preventive efforts and ends with the responsibility to rebuild, so that respect for human life
and the rule of law will be restored.
7.51 The doctrine should clearly be based on the following principles:
❏ the operation must be based on a precisely defined political objective expressed in a
clear and unambiguous mandate, with matching resources and rules of engagement;
❏ the intervention must be politically controlled, but be conducted by a military
commander with authority to command to the fullest extent possible, who
disposes of adequate resources to execute his mission and with a single chain of
command which reflects unity of command and purpose;
❏ the aim of the human protection operation is to enforce compliance with human
rights and the rule of law as quickly and as comprehensively as possible, but it is
not the defeat of a state; this must properly be reflected in the application of force,
with limitations on the application of force having to be accepted, together with
some incrementalism and gradualism tailored to the objective to protect;
❏ the conduct of the operation must guarantee maximum protection of all elements
of the civilian population;
❏ strict adherence to international humanitarian law must be ensured;
❏ force protection for the intervening force must never have priority over the resolve
to accomplish the mission; and
❏ there must be maximum coordination between military and civilian authorities
and organizations.