Emerging Powers and the Operationalisation of R2P in Africa: The Role of South Africa in the UNSC

Abstract

There is anxiety over the future of the emerging norm of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). This anxiety stems from the controversial nature of the first test case of operationalisation of the ‘responsibility to react’ component of R2P carried out by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Libya in 2011. The article argues that the Libyan crisis reinforced the claims of states who argue that R2P is susceptible to abuse and this has made it difficult to act in Syria. As a way forward, the paper contends that regional organisations in Africa, led by regional hegemons such as South Africa, should take the lead in the implementation of R2P on the Continent. Drawing illustrations from Libya, the author maintains that South Africa should leverage its membership of brics and other multilateral frameworks to advance the African Agenda at the United Nations Security Council particularly with reference to the operationalisation of R2P in Africa. In order to be able to do this, the paper suggests a reappraisal and recalibration of the R2P implementation framework to give emphasis to regional organisations.