The United Nations Security Council and the Responsibility to
Protect: Policy, Process, and Practice January 15, 2010 Favorita
Papers 1/2010 This is the opening chapter of the first entire
academic journal issue devoted to the specific role of the UN
Security Council in implementing the responsibility to protect.
The Security Council’s role in implementing the responsibility
to protect is not limited to taking collective action against
mass atrocities (pillar three). The Council can also make
important contributions to structural and operational prevention
of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against
humanity (pillar two). It regularly mandates UN peace operations
to support security sector reform and the establishment of
effective judicial authorities in post-conflict countries. By
doing so, it strengthens the national protection capability of
states that typically face a high risk of relapse into mass
violence. When the Security Council mandates peace operations to
support the disarmament,