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Canada’s Engagement in Libya: The “Responsibility to Rebuild”  (September / septembre 2011)

In advance of Parliament's discussion and vote on Canada's ongoing engagement in Libya, WFMC distributed a series of observations and recommendations on the issue to all Members of Parliament.

The international community’s engagement in Libya is an example of the application of the doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect. WFMC supported the passing of UN Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973 as necessary (though imperfect) measures to prevent imminent mass atrocities in the city of Benghazi and to protect civilians at risk in a civil conflict. WFMC encourages the Government of Canada and all Canadian parliamentarians to support robust measures by Canada to help implement UN Security Council resolution 2009.

Read the complete document (in English and French).

Parliamentary debate regarding Canada's engagement in Libya:
Benchmarks for Success (June / juin 2011)

The international community's engagement in Libya is an example of the application of the doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect. The World Federalist Movement - Canada supported the passing of UN SC 1973 as a necessary measure to prevent imminent mass atrocities in the city of Benghazi. However, there are significant concerns over the permissive language of many of the resolution's provisions, and the manner in which they are being implemented. Canadian parliamentarians, and any renewed House of Commons motion, should support continued implementation of UN SC 1973, while taking into account several key "benchmarks" for a more successful engagement by Canada, NATO and the international community in Libya.

Read more of the document which was distributed to all Canadian Members of Parliament in early June.

Demystifying the third pillar of the responsibility to protect

• "The third pillar defines the responsibility of the international community to take collective action in a timely and decisive manner, on a case-by-case basis, and in accordance with the UN Charter. This pillar remains consistently misunderstood as solely sanctioning the use of force or authorizing unilateral military intervention."
• "The international community has a wide range of options under the third pillar, including preventive diplomacy, fact-finding missions, economic sanctions and embargoes, and military operations such as no-fly zones, monitoring and civilian defense missions."
• Concerns include: "Security Council Member selectivity and use of veto ... which lead to inconsistent implementation", "mobilizing political will both in the UN and in regional and sub-regional organizations, the need to develop effective collaboration among relevant actors, and the lack of specific guidelines for implementing the use of force."

UN General Assembly dialogue on responsibility to protect

On July 12th there was an informal dialogue of the UN General Assembly on the responsibility to protect and the role of regional and sub-regional organizations.

Ahead of the dialogue, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released a report on the topic.

At the meeting, statements were made by representatives of regional organizations, civil society, UN officials and member states. The International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP) has collected the available statements here.

From the meeting arose two key points of interest. Firstly, fewer governments continue to see R2P as a controversial concept. Secondly, concerns were raised regarding the manner in which NATO is using force to implement the Security Council resolution in Libya.

Member States also emphasized the preventive aspect of RtoP and the critical importance of strengthening early warning, mediation and other tools for prevention.

A complete summary of the meeting can be found on ICRtoP’s web site. There is also a summary document of the half-day panel discussion on civil society perspectives on R2P.

As mentioned in last month’s enewsletter, a global sign-on letter supporting a United Nations Emergency Peace Service (UNEPS) was sent to UN Missions prior to the July 12th meeting.Efforts were moderately successful in raising awareness of the need for a UNEPS. The specific topic of next year’s dialogue may offer more opportunity for advocating UNEPS in an R2P context than did this year’s theme of the role of regional organizations.

WFMC’s UNEPS page has the final version of the letter, background paper and a brief report on outcomes.

Evan Cinq-Mars, a WFMC council member, is blogging for ICRtoP. Recent articles have covered the above General Assembly dialogue on R2P.

Impact of Action in Libya on the Responsibility to Protect (from the International Coalition on the Responsibility to Protect), May 2011

Further information can be found on ICRtoP's Crisis in Libya page.