Is There a Responsibility to Protect in International Law Essay

Is There a Responsibility to Protect in International Law - Essay Example The paper "Is There a Responsibility to Protect in International Law?" evaluates the responsibility to protect and how it reflects the collective interests of the international community thereby emerging as a principle of international law since it is argued that the responsibility to protect is defined by and limited by customary international law. Underlying these two principles is the UN’s founding premise to foster an international community where all states are equal and act for the collective goal of peace within the UN Charter. Efforts on the part of the UN to promote peace will always be tempered by the need to respect the territorial sovereignty and the doctrine of non-intervention. This is so even in instances where the UN seeks to promote the protection of the environment and development. There is a responsibility to protect in international law particularly since the latter is a reflection of the collective â€Å"interests of the international community.† Th e International law follows from the needs of the international community.Historically, the UN has been predisposed to narrow state resort to unilateral action and for states to settle the dispute by virtue of peaceful means. There has long been a disposition toward tolerance of state intervention for democratic change. Clausewitz’s theory on the need for revolutionary change in Europe back in the early 1800s reflects this. In recent years the international customary law has developed a concept of state responsibility.