Where is R2P grounded in international law? Anne-Marie Judson A ...

World Summit outcome document on R2P, clarifying where R2P is grounded in
international customary law as important for application enforcement issues. This
research is collective in that the developments over the past seventy years from the
principles of the Charter of the United Nations to the interventions in Libya in 2011
clarify these responsibilities and duties. The doctrine that has developed into what is
now recognized as R2P is not new, nor does it add responsibility to states that are
already bound by contractual agreements to other states in the international
community. It does however reinforce these duties by framing international law as
responsibility, justifying the moral and ethical tenets of natural law with the customary
norms of international law.
What it does not mean, as some have suggested, is that states have a right to intervene
in any situation, including grave crimes against humanity without Security Council
approval. 27 R2P reinforces, complements and educates; it does not extend laws that
are primarily customary in nature. International customary laws that are existent are
binding on states; R2P reminds states of these duties. It reminds all that treaties are
not empty gestures; non-performance is a violation of international law and if
derogations equate to a threat to international peace and security, action may mean
intervention and this may extend to intervention by any means necessary.
27 See Bogliolio. (2009). From Humanitarian Intervention to the Responsibility to Protect: The
changing face of conflict. Human Security , 8 (Spring), 20-­‐34.Bogliolio, l. (2009) pages 22-­‐34;
Larrinaga, De & Doucet. (2008). Sovereign Power and the Biopolitics of Human Security. Security
Dialogue, volume 39 page 517
20