The Responsibility To Protect and the Conflict in Darfur: The Big Let-Down

Abstract

This article discusses the international response to the conflict in Darfur from 2003 onwards in order to explore some of the key challenges related to implementing the responsibility to protect (R2P). First, we show that the debates on R2P in connection to Darfur translated into little more substantive action than the pragmatic decision to deploy peace operations with mandates that included civilian protection, as suggested by the African Union (AU) Mission in Sudan (AMIS), and later by the hybrid UN—AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). Second, we argue that the international response to Darfur illustrates three major challenges to R2P implementation. These are: political limitations inherent in the R2P framework; moral dilemmas emerging from military action; and tactical challenges, as exemplified by the struggles faced by the AU and the UN in Darfur. We conclude that the international failure to offer meaningful protection in Darfur highlights the need for continued caution and critical analysis of the ways in which R2P is conceptualized and implemented.

Redefining Humanitarian Intervention: The Historical Challenge of R2P

“…Measures were taken by the United Nations and the African Union including political sanctions, peace enforcement mechanisms, and referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC). None of these strategies was able to fully stem the violence, however (Badescu and Bergholm 2009). The Security Council referred to R2P in relation to Darfur in Resolution 1706, yet subsequent resolutions shied away from referring to the doctrine (Bellamy 2010).…”

Beyond the ‘RtoP’: Responsibility as doing, being and sharing

“…Rather than criticizing the norm as such, most scholars problematize its practicality by referring to the lack of political will and obligation inherent to the norm (Badescu and Bergholm, 2009;Bain, 2010;Carvin, 2010;Reinold, 2010). For example, NATO's intervention in Libya in 2011 yielded suggestions on how to modify RtoP and its application (Burges, 2013;de Waal, 2013;Hehir, 2013;Kuperman, 2013;Morris, 2013).…”

The Withering of the Welfare State

“…Crucially, amongst such states US and UK military capacity was swallowed up in Iraq and Afghanistan, and neither country was politically or militarily prepared to again use force against a Muslim country. In addition, there were significant logistical challenges in mounting a rescue mission, and the wider fears that such an operation would undermine the fragile peace process between North and South Sudan (in whose civil war millions had died) provided further reasons for caution (Badescu and Bergholm, 2009;Bellamy, 2005;Dagne, 2011).…”