Hoagland and Others Sound the Alarm on R2P

Washington Post columnist Jim Hoagland recently sounded the alarm on the international community's failure to protect civilians in the eastern Congo's outbreak of violence, warning it could herald the death of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle. R2P, adopted by the UN in 2005, asserts the responsibility of the international community to intervene in countries to protect civilians from mass atrocities when their own governments cannot or will not. But, Hoagland worried, the principle is "being buried in the killing fields of eastern Congo... 'never again' has become 'sorry about that.'" Coming on the heels of the international community's failure to act on the Darfur tragedy in Sudan, he continued, "eastern Congo may be the final nail in the coffin of R2P."

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner echoed Hoagland's concern, calling the situation a "very damaging... turning point." The silver lining may be that the recent violence highlights the need to resuscitate the principle. Analyses from around the world are making the case. The Financial Times argued for sending an EU force to assist the UN peacekeepers and send a message of intent. Kenya's Business Daily urged the international community to "step in and disarm all the combatants." A recent report by the Council on Foreign Relations declared that the UN peacekeepers are "the only plausible force" to secure the region.

On a more promising note, Hoagland and Kouchner acknowledge that an attentive Obama administration could help resuscitate R2P. His administration "could change everything," Kouchner said, "and not only for America. You Americans have just held a world election. President Obama should not wait to show what that means."