Ian Davis, Director NATO Watch
Governments around the world are preparing for the General Assembly informal interactive dialogue on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) to be held on 5 September (and webcast live here). The dialogue will provide an opportunity for Member States, regional organizations, and civil society to reflect on the Report of the UN Secretary-General which examines the various dimensions of the R2P’s third pillar, which includes a broad range of non-coercive and coercive measures that actors at the national, regional, and international level can utilize for the protection of populations.
This provides an opening for the NATO Secretary General to speak in support of R2P, to relate NATO’s experiences from the Libya intervention of the importance of responding in a timely and decisive manner, and to convey how the alliance might further contribute towards UN efforts to strengthen the mechanisms available to protect populations from mass atrocities.
The Secretary General could also reflect on the importance of how to protect responsibly at every stage of the implementation of R2P and how best to operationalize the norm within the alliance.
As someone who regularly speaks about the need to engage in dialogue on collaborative security efforts, this is a golden opportunity for Anders Fogh Rasmussen to make an important statement of intent – what do you say, Mr Secretary General?