Description
While the United Nations (UN) General Assembly has been the main milieu of the debates on the implementation of the responsibility to protect (R2P), the Human Rights Council (HRC), as the main human rights body of the UN has been at the core of monitoring (and to a certain extent steering) related developments and states’ behavior as to upholding their responsibilities. Various HRC resolutions referencing R2P in a diverse number of cases allow us to compare and contrast the practical approach to R2P crises in the HRC and the Security Council—which is the main authority to carry out the responsibility of the international community. With its Universal Periodic review process as well as decisions on ongoing humanitarian crises, the HRC stands out as an important body for ensuring the implementation of R2P especially at the state level under Pillar 1, as well as international assistance and capacity-building under Pillar 2. Accordingly, this work focuses on R2P’s implementation on the basis of select and representative case studies to reflect on the role of the HRC in realizing the States’ and the international community’s responsibility to protect populations from mass atrocity crimes.
