In a letter to The Observer on Sunday (Comment, 12 May), UNA-UK’s Peace and Security Programmes Manager, James Kearney, defended the United Nations and, specifically, the responsibility to protect (R2P) principle.
Writing in response to an editorial of 4 May – Yes, the UN has a duty to intervene. But when, where and how? – Kearney clarified R2P as a guide and tool for the prevention of violence and atrocities against civilian populations, iterating that the editorial had wrongly equated the internationally endorsed responsibility to protect norm “with what was once termed ‘humanitarian intervention’”.
James Kearney concluded the letter by emphasising that “R2P is as much a tool for prevention as intervention and, like the United Nations itself, is only as effective as the member states that support it”.
UNA-UK’s R2P programme continues to gather pace and, through the UN All-Party Parliamentary Group, we are delighted to be hosting talks this week by former Australian Foreign Minister Hon. Gareth Evans, and Professor Alex Bellamy, secretary to the High Level Panel on the responsibility to protect in Southeast Asia.
For further information, please contact Alex Buskie, R2P programme officer, at buskie@una.org.uk or on 020 7766 3445.
