Minerva, Spring 2008 (Volume 32) - Citizens for Global Solutions

Indgrid Harder was a Policy Advisor
on the Responsibility to Protect for the
Government of Canada’s Department of
Foreign Affairs and International Trade,
where she worked on the Canadian-led
campaign to build consensus on the Responsibility
to Protect at the 2005 World
Summit. Ms Harder has participated in
numerous consultations and workshops
on the Responsibility to Protect across
North America, Europe and Africa. She
previously worked in the Department’s
African and Middle East Branch and as
a consultant to the Treasury Board of
Canada. Ms Harder holds an MA from
the Norman Paterson School of International
Affairs in Ottawa, Canada. She
currently works as a Program Officer
at the US Institute of Peace.
This paper, initially commissioned for
the International Women Leaders Global
Security Summit 2007 (a project of the
Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands
in partnership with The White
House Project, the Council of Women
World Leaders and the Women Leaders
Intercultural Forum), has been updated
by the author for Minerva. The views
expressed in it are those of the author
alone, not of the Summit or its partners,
of the Government of Canada, or of the
United States Institute of Peace, which
does not advocate specific policy positions.
The Responsibility to Protect:
Catchphrase or Cornerstone
of International Relations?
Ingrid Harder
October 2007 (updated May 2008)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ~ In September 2005, world leaders unanimously agreed
that states have an individual and collective responsibility to protect civilians from
genocide and other crimes against humanity. This agreement, embodied in the final
document of the 2005 World Summit, advanced the notion that there are indeed situations
where sovereignty is not absolute – particularly when civilians are being attacked
and slaughtered. Essentially, the “responsibility to protect” is the basis on which the
international community can take collective measures – including the use of military
force – in response to genocide and other crimes against humanity. Implementation of
this principle, however, lags behind the rhetoric as crises such as Darfur challenge the
commitment and capability of either governments or the international community to
protect targeted populations.
Closing this gap and giving real meaning to the responsibility to protect will require
concerted effort to deepen the international commitment endorsed by the World Summit
and to establish it firmly as a norm of international law. The international commitment
to the principle remains fragile. There are still deep divisions – among member
states and civil society groups – over exactly what was agreed upon, as well as how and
when it should be applied. Solidifying this commitment and ensuring its implementation
will require sustained advocacy at a high political level. Secondly, capacity needs
to be developed at multiple levels to prevent or respond effectively to genocide and
crimes against humanity. This means supporting institutional mechanisms such as the
office of the United Nations’ Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide as well
as improving operational preparedness to conduct military operations in the event that
civilians require immediate protection.
Women leaders and organizations focused on women and gender equality have succeeded
in raising awareness of both the disproportionate impact of conflict on women
and girls and the unique contribution women can make in the realm of peace and
security. The responsibility to protect strongly complements existing commitments to
protect women’s human rights and security and should be incorporated into existing
work programmes and advocacy efforts.
There is a pressing need for more champions worldwide, and in particular for women
leaders, to add their voices and efforts to those who believe in and advocate for the
protection of civilians from genocide and crimes against humanity.
• Women heads of state can work to galvanize broader political support for the responsibility
to protect through regional and other multilateral organizations, and focus attention
on the responsibility of individual states to protect their own populations;
• Senior officials can work to ensure that commitments to the responsibility to protect
are institutionalized appropriately and incorporated into existing work programmes
focused on women, peace and security; and
• Women leaders in civil society need to help keep the spotlight where it belongs – on
the development of effective strategies to prevent and respond to mass atrocities.
Ultimately, it may be up to women leaders to move the responsibility to protect from
a catchphrase that sounds right to its rightful position as a cornerstone of international
relations in the 21st century.
13 • Minerva #32 • June 2008