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

international organisations he said that the object of internationalization of rights and
freedoms is to ensure the protection of the legitimate interests of the human person
irrespective of his nationality. 76 He recognized there was discrepancy in relation to
protection of nationals and the protection of aliens from another state. He also
recognized the underlying problems associated with the protection of civilians and
citizens alike from whatever country or nation state. However, he did not expand on
this further. He could have considered how civilians can apply international law when
their own governments are violating these principles. Nor did he cover intervention in
regards to violations of aliens in another state that have no apparent legal standing in
international law. On this note, the accuracy and magnitude of the work that Amador
and the International Law Commission proposed over the 25-year period would
today constitute a magnum opus. He must be credited with being a founding father of
R2P on many fronts.
On 16 th December 1961, 77 the General Assembly of the United Nations
recommended that the International Law Commission continue its work on state
responsibility. In 1962 the commission held a debate on its program for future work.
They set up a sub-committee to submit a preliminary report with suggestions on the
scope and approach. The Law Commission in its sixteenth session in 1963 agreed on
certain provisions. These were that priority should be given to the definitions of
general rules governing international responsibility of the state. Second, special
attention should be given to responsibility for injuries to persons or property of aliens.
However, repercussions on state responsibility and the responsibility of international
organisations were not to be discussed. In hindsight this was unfortunate as the
responsibility of states and organisations must inherently be bound by enforcement
policies. The same problem exists nearly 60 years later in international law.
In 1963 the International Law Commission appointed a new special rapporteur,
Roberto Ago. For several years he and the commission worked on the responsibility of
states. In 1967 and 1968 the General Assembly recommended that they expedite the
study. 78 Over the next two years the International Law Commission at their
76 Page 203, section 157
77 See United Nations. Resolution 1686 (xvi).
78 See United Nations. (1963). Resolution 1902 (xviii) . United Nations and Resolution 2272 (xxii)
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