Protection of Civilians: Lessons from Darfur

Darfur is one of the first situations in which the diplomatic communities have invoked the “responsibility to protect” concept as an aspect of the Protection of Civilians doctrine.

By Oriano Micaletti

During his tenure, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan stressed time and again that the principle of state sovereignty cannot be used as a shield for human rights abuses. Indeed, it is now generally accepted that the UN Security Council can authorize forceful humanitarian intervention when it determines that widespread domestic human rights abuses are a threat to international peace and security.

Within this context, the Protection of Civilians (PoC) doctrine emerged as a means to locate an appropriate legal balance between state sovereignty, humanitarian law and human rights. In doing so, the PoC doctrine makes considerable contributions to defining state responsibilities under both human rights and international law.

Darfur is one of the first situations in which the media and diplomatic communities have invoked the “responsibility to protect” concept, which has yet to evolve to achieve its maximum potential as an aspect of the PoC doctrine. The emergence and evolution of the “responsibility to protect” concept reflects the ongoing transformation of traditional international law norms in that the concept enables international law to address a moral imperative regardless of international borders.

The situation in Darfur represents one of the first successful tests of the PoC doctrine. With the recognition and consent of Sudan, UNAMID began in 2008 with a protection mandate that adheres to fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. In coordination with the Humanitarian Country Team and in consultation with Sudan, UNAMID has articulated a PoC strategy that not only includes humanitarian intervention, but also includes conflict-prevention, response, justice, recovery and development.

Read the full article in the August issue of Voices of Darfur. Download the magazine (PDF) here.