EXTRATERRITORIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT CIVILIANS IN A SITUATION OF ARMED CONFLICT – CONCEPTS, JURISDICTION AND APPLICABILITY

Abstract

The international community’s inability to protect the rights of civilians during the horrendous atrocities of the 20th century acknowledged the vulnerable position of civilians in the midst of an armed conflict. In the conduct towards respect of the rights of civilians, the two international norms of protection, namely Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and Protection of Civilians (POC) have emerged. These two concepts demonstrate the view on respect of human rights through both international human rights law and international humanitarian law. This research concerns the extraterritorial responsibility to protect civilians in a situation of armed conflict, where both R2P and POC are essential norms and likewise, both norms have contributed to the increased responsibility for human rights.

Since the 20th century, the view on sovereignty has changed, which has facilitated the shift from sovereignty as control to sovereignty as responsibility. International intervention is stated to be controversial, nevertheless both R2P and POC allow for international intervention in order to protect civilians. The extraterritorial responsibility to protect civilians is founded on the humanitarian principle to protect the most vulnerable and on jurisdiction as responsibility, as states bear an obligation to ensure protection of human rights within their jurisdiction. Contrary to the principle of non-intervention, extraterritorial R2P and POC rely upon the universal commitment to protect and on the view that sovereignty equals to responsibility

The legal foundation for extraterritorial responsibility to protect civilians in a situation of armed conflict, lies first and foremost in the hands of the national state and where the national state fails to protect, the international community is to intervene and assist in providing protection for civilians. Through international human rights treaties, states have a constant obligation to protect. This obligation to protect includes extraterritorial protection, as states have an obligation to respect and secure human rights at all times, which has been interpreted to comply also to situations of extraterritoriality. Consequently, when a state is in a position of effective control over an area, that state has human rights obligations towards the civilian population in that specific area, be it nationals or non-nationals.