Brazil's Rendition of the 'Responsibility to Protect' Doctrine: Promising or Stillborn Diplomatic Proposal?

Abstract

Brazil has actively participated in the debate around the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) doctrine. More recently, Brazil has even proposed what it believes to be a new approach—the ‘Responsibility while Protecting’ (RwP) corollary to R2P. By launching its own rendition for R2P, Brazil has attempted to reinforce the role of the UN Security Council in two different ways: First, in restricting the use of force on the grounds of ‘Responsibility to Protect,’ which, according to Brazilian diplomatic reasoning, would hinge upon a multilateral assessment of the situation — a condition expected to considerably diminish the arbitrariness in decision making with respect to the use of force. Second, Brazil aimed to highlight the necessity of reform in the UNSC, since, from a Brazilian viewpoint, the decisions of this organ must be representative in order to discharge new tasks assigned to it. Notwithstanding, Brazil's diplomatic proposal has arguably failed to gain massive support from the countries that compose the UN Security Council political establishment and seems now to be forgotten. This paper aims to provide an account on the Brazilian reaction to “Responsibility to Protect” and its first consequences.