The Responsibility to Rebuild and Its Potential for Law-Creation: Good Governance, Accountability and Judicial Control

Abstract

The Report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) on Responsibility to Protect (R2P) rests on three pillars (prevent, react, and rebuild). In a legal sense the latter pillar may be more innovative than the former two. Looking into the most crucial areas of post-conflict peacebuilding as addressed in the Report-security, justice, and economic development-the Article evaluates existing law, identifies lacunae, and comments on the obligation to cooperate, the protection of human rights, and the need for judicial control in peace operations. In this context the new UN Peacebuilding Commission could be an essential tool for implementing the ICISS Report in practice. The proposals of the Report related to peacebuilding are progressive, but fully compatible with the existing Charter architecture. R2P might successfully contribute to law-creation in that a future engagement in peace operations or transitional administration could be considered unlawful, if activities for post-conflict peacebuilding would not be seriously considered, effectively planned and fully implemented.

Is the Responsibility to Protect an Accepted Norm of International Law in the post-Libya Era?

“…It is an important aspect of RtoP and has the potential to be the innovative aspect of RtoP. 97 It is therefore focused on here not because it is more important, but because it has not been given the attention it deserves and ought to be playing a larger role for a variety of reasons as will be discussed.…”

“…This entails a number of issues including making the area safe so as to allow refugees and internally displaced people to return. 131 It is also about disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of all armed forces occur. 132 Integrating all forces into one national force, if done in a way that does not give rise to the perception by some that they have been unfairly treated, will go a long way in ensuring security.…”