Activities of Philippe BOULLAND related to 2012/2143(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the Recommendation to the Council on the UN principle of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P)
Amendments (5)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the development of the UN concept of ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P), which clarifies and strengthens the existing obligations of states to ensure the protection of civilians against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, where necessary with the assistance of the international community; stresses that this concept, born from the international community’s failures in Rwanda in 1994, is critical for the survival of the community of nations;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls, however, that international humanitarian law (IHL) is the prime body of law in times of armed conflict and that its improved implementation should be the focus of the international community; emphasises that, although R2P is not a legal concept, it is grounded in international law and is narrowly focused on the four crimes of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, whether in armed conflicts or in peacetime;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reiterates that in situations where R2P is applied it is of the utmost importance to maintain thea very clear distinction of mandates between military and humanitarian actors, in order to safeguard the perception of the neutrality and impartiality of all humanitarian actors and to avoid putting at risk the effective delivery of aid, access to beneficiaries and the personal safety of field-based humanitarian personnel, including European Humanitarian Aid Corps volunteers; points out, in this connection, that R2P remains closely linked to developments in humanitarian law;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that effective regional cooperation in preventing the occurrence of these four crimes and protecting civilians against them is of crucial importance to the implementation of R2P; calls, therefore, for steps to be taken to enhance regional capacity for identifying and implementing effective policies for the prevention of these four crimes;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that R2P is primarily a preventive doctrine and that military intervention should be the last recourse in R2P situations; calls for R2P, whenever possible, to be carried out first and foremost through diplomatic and long-term developmental activities that focus on capacity-building in the fields of human rights, good governance, the rule of law, conflict prevention through education and the expansion of trade, and the strengthening of early warning systems; furthermore, recalls that there are many non-military coercive alternatives, such as sanctions, accountability mechanisms and mediation; emphasises that the EU must continue to play a leadership role in the field of conflict prevention;