The Evolution of International Responsibility: from Responsibility to Protect to Responsibility While Protecting

This paper examines the evolution of the Responsibility to Protect(R2P) framework in the past twelve years to show the potential of expanded concepts of international responsibility and their role in today’s crisis situations. First, a theoretical discussion of the evolution of legal concepts related to responsibility and the use of force outlines a shift in perceptions of sovereignty that translated into a multilayered structure of responsibility. A brief history covering the key milestones along R2P’s trajectoryillustratesits tangible conceptual and political advances to date. Second, the paper discusses one of the key misconception related to R2P, namely that it is synonymous with intervention. This section of the paper explains the range of tools available to implement R2P, both coercive and non-coercive. The last section introduces the “responsibility while protecting” (RWP) initiative, which is the latest attempt to improve the R2P framework, with respect to its pillar three formulation. RWP emerged as a key interpretation of the legal implications of international responsibility, particularly after the use of force in Libya in the name of R2P. The paper concludes with a discussion of itsmeritstoward clarifying the most contentious aspects of R2Pas opposed to the right to access information in military conflicts.