Samenvatting

The past century has been a century characterized by human suffering and conflict. The establishment of the United Nations in the aftermath of World War II has brought the pressing issue of human rights to the attention of the international world. However, the UN’s reluctance to act on occasions of utter adversity has resulted in a major loss of its credibility as the guardian of human rights in the international sphere.

This paper will explore in depth the idea of a new concept that has made its way into the international scope only in recent years. The responsibility to protect â€" or R2P â€" constitutes a groundbreaking concept that could revolutionize human rights as we know them. Focusing on the legal paradigm this new system has to adjust to and the conceptual hindrances it experiences, this paper will further elaborate on the question whether R2P constitutes a desirable and feasible concept in the contemporary international political environment. It finds that the concept will have to experience major alterations as well as general international acceptance in order to make it a desirable advocate of modern human rights. In the light of the feasibility of this ambitious concept, this paper will conclude that conceptual hindrances, institutional impediments as well as the omnipresent issue of political self-interest have to be overcome in order to make this concept prosper.