The Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) lacks a distinct strategy of implementation in German politics – in contrast to all positive commitments made by politics. Additionally, the public debate is highly focused on the military components of the RtoP. In this debate, one could easily miss the high potential of peaceful, preventive measures the Responsibility to Protect offers, whereas the use of military power is considered to be the last resort.
In HSFK-Standpunkt No. 6/2013,“Politische Bekenntnisse ohne Folgen – Die deutsche Politik und die zögerliche Umsetzung der internationalen Schutzverantwortung“, Gregor Hofmann analyzes the current public debate on the RtoP, focussing on its implementation in German foreign policy.
He argues that Germany has not only a historical responsibility, but also the power to be at the forefront of international efforts to reach binding standards. Therefore, he provides a set of measures that would strengthen the RtoP norm - emphasizing preventive means, for they are internationally accepted already.
This HSFK-Standpunkt is available as a free download.