UNF Insights: CFR Foreign Policy Expert on Spurring Action in Darfur

Fast on the heels of the report commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council on Darfur, the United Nations Foundation today published “UNF Insights: Darfur and Beyond,” an essay written by Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Lee Feinstein on a revolutionary principle adopted by the United Nations — the “responsibility to protect” — and the steps that could be taken to translate that principle into action — both in Darfur and in preventing future mass atrocities.

Darfur and the Responsibility to Protect
One year ago the United Nations formally endorsed a principle known as the “responsibility to protect,” the idea that mass atrocities that take place in one state are the concern of all states. The universal adoption of this principle at the United Nations World Summit in 2005 went relatively unnoticed. Yet it was a turning point in how states define their rights and responsibilities….The question now is whether this pledge was humanitarian hypocrisy, or did they have something serious in mind? Read more…