Refocus R2P debate on avoiding abuse and debating practical tools for protection, argue researchers in Delhi

To better protect people from genocide and other atrocity crimes, the UN, member states, activists and scholars need to refocus the debate over the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) on three key questions, argued Philipp Rotmann and Gerrit Kurtz this week in Delhi. How to ensure that military intervention for protection is not abused for regime change? How to effectively protect at all, given the grim record of the past? Can the use of force even contribute to protection? Rotmann and Kurtz sought input on the early results of an international research project on ​“global norm evolution and the responsibility to protect” at a half-day seminar at Jawaharlal Nehru University on January 21 and at a roundtable hosted by the Delhi Policy Group on January 22.

The project has also recently released a draft of findings and policy implications for protection from atrocity crimes which is available for consultation.