Operationalising the Responsibility to Protect. The Continuing Debate over where Authority should be Located for the Use of Force

Abstract

This report focuses on the question of where authority should be located for the use of force. This question has been a matter of considerable controversy since NATO unilaterally employed force to protect the Kosovars in March 1999. At the heart of this debate has been the question of whether the UN Security Council should be the only body that can authorise the use of force for humanitarian purposes. Or alternatively, are there substitutes for Security Council authority that can and should be invoked – both legally and morally – in cases where the Council is either unable (because of the power of the veto) or unwilling (because of the lack of majority support in the Council) to act to prevent or end mass atrocities.