GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT AND PREVAILING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE
Author :- SHUBHAM SHARMA, STUDENT AT VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
Humanity has suffered enough bloodshed since its inception. The beginning of modern times resulted in the invention of lethal weapons capable of causing mass destruction and death. The end of the Second World War encouraged leaders of powerful nations to unite and cooperate in efforts to alleviate human suffering and protect communities from bloodshed. However, a global commitment to undertake such a task never materialized until the world witnessed the horrors of mass atrocities in Rwanda and the erstwhile state of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The notion of respecting the sovereignty of a nation came to be reassessed following the horrific episodes of genocide. Multinational organizations like the United Nations along with scholars and diplomats realized the importance of striking a balance between the preservation of countries’ sovereignty and the goal of protecting human rights
Therefore, the Responsibility to Protect was unanimously adopted by heads of state at the UN World Summit in 2005 as an international norm that sought to ensure that the global community never again fails to prevent crimes of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. This doctrine is based on three pillars which assigns several responsibilities to all states.
Pillar I - Every state has the responsibility to Protect its populations from four mass atrocity crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
Pillar II - The wider international community has the responsibility to encourage and assist individual states in meeting that responsibility.
Pillar III - If a state is manifestly failing to protect its populations, the international community must be prepared to take appropriate collective action, in a timely and decisive manner and in accordance with the UN Charter.
The concept of R2P has often been invoked through multiple UNSC resolutions for the resolution of crises in states like Libya, Liberia, Syria, and Sudan which has demonstrated the ability to proceed with collective action to protect communities. Although this protocol does offer the promise of peace and security to ethnic minorities across the world, its implementation is largely dependent on consensus among other states notwithstanding other crucial factors. Many countries refrain from condemning other states for violating basic human rights and freedoms fearing backlash in the form of trade or economic repercussions. The United Nations Security Council, the body responsible for organizing a global response to such atrocities, finds itself increasingly divided with the United States along with other Western powers in one camp and Russia and China in another.
The People’s Republic of China, a permanent member of the UNSC, is accused of committing possible crimes against humanity and genocide by systemically oppressing Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province. The Chinese government attempts to mask its actions under the pretext of countering religious fanaticism and terrorism. It is stated that over a million people have been detained and pushed into “re-education camps” to rid them of their Islamic beliefs. It is also reported that these facilities are home to instances of forced abortions and sterilizations. It can be said that the Chinese government is enabling the systemic destruction of Uyghur cultural heritage by targeting their shrines and other structures of religious importance.
After the UN Human Rights Office released its report in 2022, foreign governments in the West have responded with restrictions to address this concern. The US govt has essentially banned all imports from the region through its Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. It is imperative that the world unanimously takes note of such excesses regardless of a country’s economic stature to fulfil the ideals of the international norm and uphold the spirit of rule of law.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-xinjiang-uyghurs-muslims-repression-genocide-human-rights
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