IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN'S RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT PRINCIPLE IN HANDLING HUMANITARIAN CRISES IN AFRICA (CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, SUDAN & NIGERIA)

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN'S RESPONSIBILITY TO

PROTECT PRINCIPLE IN HANDLING HUMANITARIAN CRISES

IN AFRICA (CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, SUDAN &

NIGERIA)

Introduction

The changing nature of conflicts after the end of the Cold War from interstate wars to

internal wars has created new humanitarian problems. Issues of territorial expansion and

hegemony shifted to internal issues related to nationalism, ethnicity, religion, separatism,

civil war, and so on, which ended with many human rights violations, both committed by the

state and opposition groups. Humanitarian crises have become unavoidable. This condition is

exacerbated by the emergence of other problems such as environmental damage, natural

disasters, refugees and migration, health and others.

Crisis humanity push emergence efforts to overcome human rights violations, especially as a

result of armed conflict or mass atrocities, collectively within the state system, both

regionally and globally. The issue of respecting the rights of individuals from mass crimes is

as old as the establishment of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights. The preamble of the Universal Declaration explains that disregard and

contempt for human rights occur in the form of barbaric acts that go against the conscience

of mankind. Therefore, the declaration promises a world in which all living beings enjoy

freedom of speech and belief, and freedom from fear. The means by which this is to be

achieved The purpose of safeguarding human rights is through the rule of law (Rishmawi,

2010: 87).

Since the 1980s, the UN has established additional mechanisms to examine, monitor, advise

and publicly report on the human rights situation in specific territories and regions known as

country mandates, or on the larger phenomenon of broad human rights violations known as

thematic mandates. Through this system, independent experts supported by states engage in

dialogue with governments, carry out missions, make important demands with respect to

specific violations and advocate for institutional change. The experts' reports then become an

early warning mechanism for the international community about human rights violations that

may be escalating towards genocide, war crimes and other crimes against humanity

(Rishmawi, 2010: 87).

In 1993 Amnesty International called on the UN to establish a system to deal quickly with

humanitarian crises. In December 1993, the UN General Assembly finally established the

High Commissioner for Human Rights. The commission aims to promote and safeguard all

human rights and is particularly active in preventing human rights violations, and engaging

in dialog with member governments on the issue.

The institutionalization of these efforts coincided with the humanitarian crisis in the 20th

century until 21. Humanitarian crises have come to the attention of the international

community, especially after events such as the Cambodia Genocide in the 1970s, Sierra

Leone in 1991, the Rwanda Genocide in 1994, and the Balkan Conflicts in the 1990s.

Furthermore, efforts to address this issue have intensified after the Libyan Conflict in 2011,

the latest Congo Conflict in 2017/18, the Côte d'Ivoire Conflict in 2010/2011, the South

Sudan Conflict in 2011 and so on.

It was these humanitarian tragedies that prompted the emergence of UN humanitarian

intervention. However, the implementation of humanitarian interventions used is considered

not effective enough to handle it. In addition, the debate on the legality of humanitarian

intervention is also a problem. The core of the problem about humanitarian intervention is

whether the state has unconditional sovereignty over all its problems, or whether the

international community has the right to intervene in a state for humanitarian purposes (The

Responsibility to protect. www.un.org).

In the Millennium Report of 2000, UN General Secretary Kofi Annan explained the failures

of the Security Council when acting in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Annan

emphasized that if humanitarian intervention was a violation of state sovereignty then how

should states respond to the systematic violations of human rights in Somalia in 1992/3,

Rwanda in 1994 and Sebrenica in 1995 that challenged humanity (Gagro, 2014: 61).

Finally, to strengthen the position of humanitarian intervention, the concept of

"responsibility to protect" It was introduced in the December 2001 report of the

International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) in Canada. The

essence of the concept is that sovereignty not only gives a state the right to control its

affairs, but also gives the state the primary responsibility for safeguarding the people within

its territory. It also states that if a state fails to protect its people - either through inability or

unwillingness - then the responsibility shifts to the international community.

In 2004, the UN High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, encouraged the

emergence of the norms of responsibility to protect, later known as R2P as an international

collective responsibility. This norm will be implemented by the UN Security Council with

the instrument of military intervention as a final option in cases of genocide and other large-

scale killings, ethnic cleansing and other serious violations of humanitarian law where the

state concerned has proven to have no ability and willingness to address it.

According to UNOCHA and ICRtoP reports, among many humanitarian crises, Africa was

the region with the highest number of crises from the 1990s to 2000s. In addition, the

characteristics of humanitarian crises in this region are more complex compared to other

regions. Some of these characteristics include civil war or armed conflict, political crisis,

terrorism, natural disasters and famine. This has led to the concept of R2P is implemented in

different forms and by different actors. This article will describe humanitarian crises in

Africa, crisis response efforts, and the implementation of the R2P concept in the cases of the

Republic of South Africa, Sudan and Nigeria.

Research Methods

This research is a qualitative study that uses primary data sourced from reports and

documents of the UN and its agencies, and secondary data derived from books, journals, and

others that are the result of interpretation of primary data. This research uses literature

review techniques in data collection and data analysis techniques of the Miles, Huberman

and Saldana interactive model. This interactive model begins with data collection which

then proceeds through three streams, namely (1) data condensation, (2) data display, and (3)

drawing and verifying conclusions (Miles, Huberman and Saldana, 2014).

Discussion

Humanitarian Crisis in Africa

With the end of the Cold War, internal conflicts developed as a form of popular resistance

against authoritarian regimes in many regions. As international institutions sought to address

these issues, humanitarian action often became an alternative or even a substitute for

political action and even became part of the political and military agenda, including the "war

on terror" (Petersen, 2011).

Missions in Yugoslavia (early 1990s), Kosovo (1999), Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003)

not only tested the principles of humanitarian action but also jeopardized its integrity. In the

conduct of these missions, the distinction between humanitarian missions and military

operations became blurred, and the underlying principles of independence, justice and

neutrality were eroded and ignored. The lack of a clear political objective in Yugoslavia, the

absence of a mandate in the military interventions in Iraq and Congo, and the one-sided

missions in the Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts were the main problems.

Collectively, these missions leave humanitarian action in crisis. The militarization and

politicization of humanitarian efforts leads to ineffective implementation on the ground and

further endangers humanitarian workers. Without a clear foundation of humanitarian

principles, humanitarian action remains in crisis and remains a weapon of the powerful and

fails in its global mission to preserve and improve the dignity of human life.

Humanitarian actions are essentially dealing with many dimensions of humanitarian crises

such as conflict, natural disasters, and human displacement due to security threats. The world

has experienced unprecedented natural disasters in all their complexity and dimensions.

Conflicts have increased the growth of competition among ethnic, religious, and social

groups over important and limited resources. Displacement and migration will increase both

in terms of borders over crossing national boundaries.

According to the Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO), between 2005 and 2017,

humanitarian crises to which the international community responded increased from 16 to

30 cases. In 2017, approximately 16.2 million people were displaced by conflict and

violence, and 18.8 million people were displaced by natural disasters. Nearly 70 million

people in various parts of the world had to move from their homes but still within the

territory of their country. Syria has the highest number of people displaced by conflict in the

world at 6.8 million, followed by Colombia with 6.5 million, the Democratic Republic of

Congo with 4.5 million, Sudan with 2.1 and Iraq with 2 million. This problem in turn also

impacts hunger and malnutrition. In 2017, 821 million people were living in food crisis,

with Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen being the worst affected countries. In

addition, 2.1 billion people lack clean water, and 1.9 billion live in barren areas (Global

Humanitarian Overview, 2019).

The next factors are economic and political crises, natural disasters and international

isolation. On the other hand, the region that contributes the most to conflict armed are the

Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes and Central Africa. The humanitarian crisis in southern

Africa was caused by prolonged crop failures, droughts and epidemics that led to economic

and political instability. This political instability has led to international distrust in providing

aid humanitarian aid, such as from UNOCHA, FAO, the European Union and UNHCR. The

food crisis affected 3.4 million people in Madagascar and 2.8 million people in Zimbabwe in

2009.

The West African region is faced with the problems of natural disasters that result in food

crises, disease, political economic instability (Guinea, Mauritania and Niger), one of which is

caused by the problem of drug trafficking networks and illegal arms sales of Guinea-Bissau).

As a result, around 139 million people live in poverty.

The Horn of Africa region suffers from armed conflict, natural disasters and displacement.

Violence, drought and food crises have made it the most critical region in Africa. Attacks on

humanitarian workers in Somalia and Sudan make it difficult to access aid to address

violence and poverty.

In Somalia, the Al Shabab movement caused all humanitarian aid from all NGOs to be

halted, resulting in an increasing wave of refugees passing through the Gulf of Aden to

Yemen. The UN noted that 18 years of violent conflict in Somalia had displaced 4,000,000

people, which doubled in 2010 (Martlew, 2009).

In the case of Sudan, the detention of President Omar Hassan Bashir in 2009 for the genocide

of the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa tribes in the Darfur region. As a result of the detention, 16

NGOs that provided humanitarian assistance in Darfur were expelled. As a result 350,000

people had to leave Darfur for other parts of the country. Sudan, which is also experiencing a

food crisis (Martlew, 2009).

Humanitarian crimes are also a major problem in the Great Lakes and Central Africa. The

region experiences border conflicts between governments and armed groups such as the

Ugandan government and the Ugandan LRA, conflicts between armed groups on the borders

of Chad and Sudan, and joint Rwandan FDLR operations in Congo. These problems led to a

wave of displaced people of around 1.4 million in 2006. In Chad there has been an increase

in the number of killings of humanitarian workers from 100 in 2008 to 192 in 2009.

Conflicts in Central Africa contributed 70,000 refugees in 2008, Congo contributed 540,000

displaced people (UNOCHA, 2010).

On the other hand, the drought that led to the food crisis in Kenya has caused 3.5 million

people to suffer from hunger in 2009 (Human Rights Watch, 2009). This condition is similar

to that in Burundi, which also has to deal with armed conflict. The number of refugees in

2009 reached 31,562 (United Nations, 2009).

Humanitarian Crisis Response Efforts: From Humanitarian Intervention to the

Responsibility to Protect Principle To overcome the humanitarian crisis, the initiative to

conduct humanitarian intervention emerged. Although the implementation of humanitarian

intervention is doubted by many for its effectiveness in overcoming the crisis. The unclear

legal basis for implementation and its implications for violations of humanitarian law.

State sovereignty is an issue that always arises when this instrument is used. This happens

because humanitarian intervention is still a reason for a state to interfere in the internal

affairs of another country. Many countries do not want humanitarian interventions carried

out in their countries because they interfere with their legal sovereignty rights over their

territory.

Nonetheless, some states or regional and supra-national organizations still view humanitarian

intervention as necessary due to the inability of the conflicting state to resolve their internal

problems. Researchers and states have yet to define exactly what humanitarian intervention

is, so many do not want a state to interfere or disturb the sovereignty of another state through

humanitarian intervention.

While many have yet to define humanitarian intervention, many define humanitarian

intervention as a concept that is based on humanity and recognizes the right of a state to

exercise international control over its actions regarding its internal sovereignty when they

conflict with international law (Ryniker, 2001: 528). Another definition states that

humanitarian intervention is a coercive action of a state that involves the use of armed forces

in another state without the permission of the government of the state to be intervened, either

with or without the use of armed forces.

The authority of the UN Security Council is intended to prevent broader human rights

crimes and violations of applicable international humanitarian law (Ryniker, 2001: 528).

J.L. Holzgrefe defines humanitarian intervention as the threat or use of armed force across

national boundaries by either a state or a group of states aimed at preventing or ending the

expansion of violations of the fundamental rights of individuals other than its own citizens,

without the permission of the state where the rights violations occur (Holzgrefe and

Keohane, 2003: 18). Humanitarian intervention which are used to address humanitarian

crises stemming from war or armed conflict.

Violent conflict is a common cause of humanitarian crises. The nature of modern conflicts

has also become more complex. There are fewer inter-state conflicts but an increase in long-

term internal conflicts that affect the entire region. Non-state belligerents are increasing,

such as local militias, guerrilla movements and terrorist organizations. Violence is often

encouraged by foreign powers. Wars are supported by illegal trade in minerals, people and

illicit goods, including migration (Speckhard, 2020).

In the perspective of the English School or International Society, the implementation of

humanitarian intervention through the concept of R2P basically raises the tug of war

between two values in international relations explained by Headley Bull, 1995, namely

international order and international justice (Burchill, et.al, 2005: 84-109). These two

values are the same as those described by John Vincent, 1986 (Jackson & Sørensen, 2010:

133) on state sovereignty and human rights, and Stivachtis (Mcglinchey, et.al, 2017: 31-2)

on the debate between pluralist and solidarist approaches. On the one hand, pluralism holds

the importance of state sovereignty that adheres to the values of international order. The

consequence is that state intervention should not be done since state sovereignty is

something that must be respected by all states. On the other hand, solidarism focuses on the

importance of the individual as a core part of international society. It emphasizes the value

of international justice underlining the notion that it is the right and duty of states to

intervene to mitigate violations of basic human rights.

Humanitarian intervention was practiced even before the term humanitarian intervention was

first used by William Edward Hall in 1880 (Hehir, 2010: 168). The Greek war of

independence from 1821 to 1832 was the first act of humanitarian intervention carried out by

other countries, namely by Great Britain, France and Russia to the Ottoman Empire. This

war was triggered by the beginning of the "Neo- Hellenic Enlightment" which was influenced

by the French Revolution and the development of the Enlightenment in Europe (Heraclides

and Dialla, 2015: 106).

This practice evolved after the Second World War, acquired an international legal framework

since the establishment of the UN Charter. CHAPTER 7 Article 42 The UN Charter clarifies

that Security Council interventions can take military action. In addition, Article 51 also

guarantees the right to individual or collective self-defense (Article 51). The right to self-

determination is another possible justification for humanitarian intervention (Ryniker, 2001:

530).

Humanitarian interventions can be categorized into two types: unilateral humanitarian

interventions carried out without prior instruction from the UN Security Council, such as

NATO's 1999 intervention in Kosovo. The second type of intervention occurs as a result of

UN Security Council resolutions such as those in Somalia and Rwanda in the 1990s

(Kirdim, 2017). Article VII of the UN Charter, which is the legal source of a state's

humanitarian intervention, has failed to be applied because it was often used by states during

the Cold War. On the other hand, the UN Security Council, which cannot be separated from

the interests of the Big 5, makes every humanitarian intervention inseparable from the

influence of the veto right and the Security Council is considered to have failed to resolve

the conflicts that occurred in Rwanda and Srebrenica (Hehir, 2010: 102).

The failure of humanitarian interventions to resolve human rights violations in some cases

forced the UN as a global organization to find a way out so that efforts to fight for human

values do not end. In September 1998, Kofi Annan, in his annual report to the UN General

Assembly, challenged the state UN members to create a common ground to uphold the

principles in the UN charter in defending humanitarian interests together and he emphasized

in the 2000 Millennium Report that humanitarian intervention is an unacceptable attack on

sovereignty as it was in Rwanda and Srebrenica.

In late December 2001 in Canada, the Canadian government's International Commission on

Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) produced a report entitled The Responsibility to

Protect. The R2P principle was inspired by Francis Deng's idea of "state sovereignty as a

responsibility" and that sovereignty is not just a safeguard against interference from other

states but rather a positive responsibility to provide for the welfare of the population and to

help each other. The corollary of this idea is that the ultimate sovereignty to protect its

people is the state itself and if the state is unwilling or unable to carry out its responsibility to

protect or is a perpetrator of human rights crimes then the responsibility lies with the

international community.

In the 2005 High-Level UN World Summit Meeting UN member states finally committed to

the R2P principle by incorporating it into the meeting's outcome document. Although the

adopted concept omitted some of the aspects originally proposed by the ICISS, the However,

UN members maintain the fundamental aspects of prevention and response to the most

serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (Responsibility to

Protect. www.un.org). From the results of the meeting, the rules governing the R2P principle

were created in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document in paragraphs 138 - 140, which

later became the three pillars of the R2P Principle, namely:



Pillar One (Article 138): Every state has the Responsibility to Protect its population

from four mass crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic

cleansing.



Pillar Two (Article 139): The wider international community has a responsibility to

encourage and assist individual states in fulfilling their responsibilities.



Pillar Three (Article 140): If a state manifestly fails to protect its population, the

international community must be prepared to take appropriate collective action, in a

timely and decisive manner and in accordance with the UN Charter.

Implementation of R2P Principles in Humanitarian Crises in Africa

The humanitarian crisis in Africa has captured the attention of the international community,

especially UN agencies, such as the Security Council, UNHCR, UNCHR, FAO, UNOCHA,

ICC and others. In addition, several international non-governmental organizations engaged

in the humanitarian field are also actively involved in efforts to handle it, such as Human

Rights Watch, International Commission of Red Cross, African Union, ECOWAS, and

others. When the first pillar of the R2P Principle cannot be implemented, the second and

third principles are implemented. This is in accordance with the principle put forward by

Solidary theorists in the International Community Approach which states that respect for

human rights becomes an international responsibility. Therefore, it is the responsibility of

the state and the international community to reduce human suffering in various parts of the

world.

The character of humanitarian crises seen in various cases in the region affects the type of

assistance provided. Humanitarian crises provided to deal with victims of natural disasters,

food crises, and disease outbreaks are handled by providing humanitarian assistance, such as

UNHCR, FAO, ICRC, HRC and others. On the other hand, the treatment provided for

victims of armed conflict including displaced people and refugees is carried out by the use of

military force in accordance with the mandate or resolution of the UN Security Council

which is derived by special missions, if the national government of the country concerned

fails to deal with the problem or becomes a human rights violator. It is the missions that

implement Security Council resolutions in conflict areas.

Here is some of the implementation of R2P in handling humanitarian crises as a consequence

of armed conflict in Africa:

R2P in Central African Republic

The armed conflict in the Central African Republic is considered a forgotten case of

violence. This is due to the country's long-standing problems dating back to 1965, after

5 years of independence from France. Political instability due to coups lasted from 1965

until the most recent coup in 2013. Even these political problems led to sectarian violence.

Mass killings of ethnic Muslims by the government and Ex-Seleka and Anti-Balaka groups

required the UN to deploy a peace mission in the country (ICR2P. The Crisis in Central of

Africa Republic).

The implementation of R2P is based on Resolution 2127 of December 5, 2013. The essence

of this resolution is:



Recognize the RAT transitional authority to be responsible for civilians in the RAT and

assign its soldiers to assist the French military to protect civilians, stabilize security, and

restore state authority.



Sanction the RAT regime by imposing travel embargoes and asset freezes on all parties

involved in actions that disrupt the peace, stability and security of the country (ICR2P.

The Crisis in Central of Africa Republic).

This UN mandate is carried out by the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated

Stabilization Mission in the Central Africa Republic (MINUSCA) serving under Resolution

2149 of 2014, as a continuation of Resolution 2134 of 2014 that tasked EU troops with

peacekeeping duties in the RAT. MINUSCA works with the assistance of the African Union

(AU), the UN Office of the Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide (UN-OSAPG),

the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the UN Office for

Commissioners for Human Rights (UNOHCHR), and the International Criminal Court

(ICC) (ICR2P. The Crisis in Central of Africa Republic).

R2P in Darfur, Sudan

The 2003 genocide in Darfur, Western Sudan, was a continuation of previous conflicts from

the 1980s to 2000s. In this case the Sudanese government faced two rebel groups, the Sudan

Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), assisted by the

Sudanese People's Libeeration Army (SPLA). These rebel groups occupied important public

facilities such as airports. As a result, the Sudanese government carried out indiscriminate

attacks in Darfur against the Fur, Zaghawa, and Masalit ethnicities. This conflict became

known as the Second Sudanese Civil War after the 1985 conflict (ICR2P. The Crisis in

Darfur).

According to HRC, as a result of this conflict, the destruction of Darfur occurred

systematically. Mass killings of the three ethnicities occurred in 14 incidents from September

2003 to February 2004 with a total of 770 victims. By the Spring of 2004, 30,000 people had

been killed, 1.4 people were displaced, and 1.5 million people were killed 100,000 people

fled Sudan for Chad (ICR2P. The Crisis in Darfur).

The international community reacted negatively to these events. The US Congress declared

it a genocide on June 1, 2005. However, the term genocide was opposed by the AU and the

Arab League who did not see ethnic cleansing in this event. Nevertheless, the UN still

considers this issue a humanitarian crisis in the form of crimes against humanity so the UN

Security Council passed several resolutions, namely Resolution 1556 July 2004 which

contains sanctions against the Sudanese government; and Resolution 1564 September 2004

which demands the Government of Sudan to fulfill its obligations to protect civilians

accordingly. However, none of these were implemented by the Government of Sudan

(ICR2P. The Crisis in Darfur).

To control this conflict, the UN urged was agreed upon the Comprehensive Peace

Agreement (CPA) by the parties to the conflict, which was signed on January 9, 2005.

However, this agreement was again violated, the ceasefire ended, and the conflict continued.

The next agreement that was forced to be concluded was the Darfur Peace Agreement

(DPA), also known as the Abuja Agreement. This agreement was signed on May 5, 2006 by

the Government of Sudan and the SLA and Minni Minawa (MM). However, this agreement

failed to be implemented because it did not involve other rebel groups, namely JEM, which

continued to carry out its acts of terror (ICR2P. The Crisis in Darfur).

The continuing humanitarian crisis caused by this conflict has led to the formation of a

coalition of various world organizations as a response to solving the problem by

implementing R2P principles. The four main organizations involved are the AU, EU, UNSC

and ICC. The AU established the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to monitor the

implementation of UNSC Resolution 1556 of 2004 by putting in place 150 troops in August

2004 and increased to 7,700 troops in April 2005. On April 6, 2006 and July 12, 2007, the

EU urged the UN to address the humanitarian crisis in Darfur due to war crimes and crimes

against humanity, under the banner of R2P (ICR2P. The Crisis in Darfur).

During year 2005 - 2013, there were at least 6 resolutions issued by the UN Security Council

as a continuation of previous resolutions (https://unamid.unmissions.org/), namely:



On March 24, 2005 Resolution 1590 was approved to establish the UN Mission in

Sudan (UNMIS) to carry out a peace mission in Sudan.



On August 31, 2006 Resolution 1706 was adopted to expand the mandate of UNMIS

and increase the number of UNMIS armed forces. This resolution builds on the

outcome of the 2005 World Summit which established the implementation of R2P

principles in Darfur.



On July 31, 2007 Resolution 1769 was approved to merge the UNMIS mission with

the AMIS mission into the United Nations - African Union Mission in Darfur

(UNAMID) bringing the total number of troops to 25,987 and serving until December

2007.



In 2010 Resolution 1935 was passed to expand UNAMID's mission.



In 2012 Resolution 2063 increased the number of personnel to 26,167.



In 2013 Resolution 2113 was passed to expand UNAMID's mandate and increase the

number of personnel.

Complementing the work of these institutions, the ICC is tasked with bringing individuals

deemed to have contributed to the humanitarian crisis to war crimes status. One such case

was the designation of Al Bashir as a war criminal on March 4, 2009 for causing murder,

violence, rape, extermination and forced displacement of people (ICR2P. The Crisis in

Darfur).

R2P in Nigeria

UNHCR and Amnesty International reported that armed conflict arising from political and

inter-communal decay in Nigeria reached a critical point when 400 people were killed and

18,000 displaced in the January 2010 mass riots. The horizontal conflict between the

Muslim population in the north and the Muslim population in the south caused a security

crisis in Nigeria (ICR2P. The Crisis in Nigeria).

In 2010, HRW noted that the Nigerian military and police were also involved in violence

against civilians. Mass killings in southern Jos left 200 Christians dead. The International

Crisis Group even recorded the number of victims reaching 500 due to attacks by Fulani

Muslim groups. In 2013, HRW again reported that this inter-communal violence resulted in

360 people killed in 2012 in Plateu and Kanduna regions. In April 2014, Amnesty

International noted that Islamic militant groups, Boko Haram, has committed crimes against

humanity by abducting 276 school students (ICR2P. The Crisis in Nigeria).

To address this problem, President Jonathan signed the Terrorism (Prevention) Act in 2011

and amended it in 2012. The essence of the Act is to legalize the death penalty for all those

who are declared terrorists. However, the implementation of this law has been ineffective

and the violence perpetrated by Boko Haram continues and the group's territory extends to

neighboring countries such as Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin (ICR2P. The Crisis in

Nigeria).

Regional and international efforts finally stepped in to address the problem. Unlike some

cases in Africa, in this case the UNSC did not issue a resolution or mandate, but provided

support for the formation of a joint regional and international effort to assist Nigeria. In

January 2015, the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) was formed as a combination of

AU and UNSC forces. This joint effort has a daunting task due to the large area of operation

and the resulting refugee crisis. Boko Haram terror caused 3.2 million people to flee Nigeria.

About 1.6 million internally displaced persons, 1.6 million refugees (ICR2P. The Crisis in

Nigeria).

Conclusion

Africa is a focus area for R2P implementation as it has the most cases compared to other

regions. Humanitarian crises that occur in this region have a complex character due to the

causes that are various. Crises are caused by at least several factors such as economic and

political instability, armed conflict, crimes against humanity, natural disasters, disease and

famine or food crises. Of these factors, R2P is more targeted at crises caused by armed

conflicts that result in waves of displacement and refugees, and other crises.

From the three cases described above, the implementation of R2P in the Central African

Republic, Sudan and Nigeria, is carried out on the basis of a mandate or resolution of the

UN Security Council carried out by a special mission, or with the approval of the UN

Security Council without a mandate but carried out by a joint effort in the form of a joint

task force, both between states, institutions, or states and humanitarian agencies. The AU is

a vital regional institution that is ensured to always be present in the implementation of R2P

principles along with the presence of the UN Security Council. The ICC also plays an

important role in resolving the legal status of the parties involved in humanitarian crises.

Military force is the first and main tool in addressing humanitarian crises caused by war

crimes, genocide and other crimes against humanity that result in the loss of human life.