Non-Intervention and the Responsibility to Protect in Humanitarian Crisis: The Role of UN Permanent Members

Abstract

The study focused on examining the United Nations Security Council permanent member's behavior towards decisions to intervene in internal affairs of states for humanitarian purposes. Rational Actor Model of Decision-Making Theory was adopted to explain the matrix of this activity, using secondary data and content analysis methods. Nonintervention in internal affairs has been the practice of states before late 20th Century when the internal crisis became recurrent phenomena with its horrifying consequences, thus gravitating towards Responsibility to Protect in humanitarian crisis. The study identified that the method and manner the UNSC permanent members implement the mandate shows selectivity, violation of R2P norm and aiding internal wars and crisis. A Syria and Ukraine crisis was used to illustrate the postures of U.S and Russia towards R2P. The study concludes that the UNSC is overwhelmed by politics of national interest by its permanent veto wielding members and it affects the form of decisions it makes on intervention in humanitarian crisis.