In addition to arguing that the responsibility to protect can justify military intervention, the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty recommended a set of precautionary principles. For example, military intervention should be a last resort, and the consequences of action should not be likely to be worse than the consequences of inaction.
不少机构对保护责任是否能转化为实际行动忧心忡忡，纽约城市大学全球保护责任中心(Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect)便是其中之一。该中心呼吁联合国成员国担起2005年所承诺的职责，将保护责任在利比亚付诸实践。该中心敦促联合国实施一系列措施，不仅包括安理会决议中的各项动作，也包括设立禁飞区。