Should the Responsibility to Protect be Enshrined in International Law?

In: Cornell International Affairs review: CIAR journal, Band 6, Heft 1

Abstract

While states admit a moral responsibility to take action against states that violate human rights and international criminal law, international law does not create any legally binding obligations on states to prevent or punish violators of human rights. Yet, enshrining the "responsibility to protect" in international law will only threaten the stability of the international system that has long operated based on the norm of state sovereignty and the principle of non-interference.