The concept of the  Responsibility to Protect (R2P) affirms that states and governments have a right to sovereignty, but also a responsibility to protect their populations, and that the international community must take action when states do not exercise that responsibility.  This report by the Global Policy Forum and the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung argues that R2P does not fully answer the question of how best to prevent, and, if prevention fails, to respond to, large-scale human rights violations and killings. It argues that the legal instruments and institutions that enable R2P must be strengthened, without undermining peaceful dispute settlement or state sovereignty.  This paper ends with an overview of alternatives that deserve reflection and action.

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