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PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE “RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT”: A BUMPY JOURNEY

Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa (Portugal) and Member and Visiting College Research Associate of Wolfson College, University of Cambridge. Between 2015 and 2016, he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Politics and International Studies. He holds a PhD in International Relations from the Universidade Nova de Lisboa; a Master’s in Economics (University of Kent, Canterbury, UK) and in Business Management (ISCTE-IUL); and a degree in Economics (Faculty of Economics, Universidade Nova de Lisboa). He is also a graduate of the National Defence Course of the National Defence Institute. He was a Vice President at the bank J.P. Morgan, initially as an economist in Paris, at the Global Markets Division, and later, at the Corporate Finance Department in Madrid. He was also an Associate Consultant at McKinsey & Co, in Lisbon, and a director of several companies, including OGMA – Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal, SA; IDD, SA, in the area of defence; and Diário de Notícias, SA, in the area of media. He is the author of the book Peace and War in Raymond Aron: Ontology and Epistemology of the International Order, published by the Edições Instituto da Defesa Nacional in 2016.

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Resumo

The aim of this article is to study the “Responsibility to Protect”, its evolution since 2000 and what can be expected for its future. Concurrently, the paper takes into account the need to protect populations, victims of certain types of aggression and to preserve the international order. Major criticisms of this doctrine are highlighted, as well as some of its impacts on the international community and, significantly, some of the difficulties that have arisen during its development – a process that has been controversial and troubled. Some of the main risks and uncertainties that affect its future are investigated, considering that a set of emerging countries who do not agree with the Western liberal order intends to be more active in international affairs. The fundamental argument is that the future of this doctrine might continue to be troubled and full of uncertainties. Thus, for RtoP to evolve in a favourable way, it will be necessary, on the one hand, that the members of the Security Council of the United Nations engage in genuine multilateral cooperation in order to safeguard the changes taking place in the international order; and, on the other hand, that the States consider such crimes to be an essential issue of international security and part of their interests.

O presente artigo pretende rever a temática da ‘Responsabilidade de Proteger’ em termos do que tem sido a sua evolução desde o ano de 2000 e do que se pode esperar em relação ao seu futuro, tendo em consideração, simultaneamente, a necessidade de proteger populações vítimas de determinado tipo de agressões e a necessidade de preservar a ordem internacional. O artigo analisa também as principais críticas de que esta doutrina tem sido alvo, bem como alguns dos seus impactos na comunidade internacional e, significativamente, algumas das dificuldades que têm surgido no seu desenvolvimento, num processo que tem sido controverso e atribulado. São analisados alguns dos principais riscos e incertezas que pesam sobre o seu futuro, particularmente considerando que um conjunto de países emergentes discordantes da ordem liberal ocidental pretende ter uma participação mais ativa nos assuntos internacionais. O argumento fundamental é que, o futuro desta doutrina deverá continuar a ser conturbado e repleto de incertezas, e que para que ocorra uma evolução favorável será necessário que, por um lado, exista uma cooperação multilateral genuína por parte dos membros do Conselho de Segurança da Organização das Nações Unidas, por forma a acautelar as alterações que se estão a operar na ordem internacional e, por outro, os Estados considerem este tipo de crimes como uma questão essencial de segurança internacional e como uma parte integrante dos seus interesses.

Palavras-chave

Humanitarian interventionICISSResponsibility to ProtectsovereigntyUNSC

CSNUICISSIntervenção HumanitáriaResponsabilidade de ProtegerSoberania

Como citar este artigo

Fernandes, Vitor Manuel Ramon (2017). “Past, present and future of the «Responsibility to protect»: a bumpy journey”. JANUS.NET e-journal of International Relations, Vol. 8, Nº. 2, November 2017-April 2018. Consulted [online] on the date of last consultation, DOI: https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.8.2.1

Article received on 29 May, 2017 and accepted for publication on 3 September, 2017