Responsibility to protect and human security in Southeast Asia: Rohingya case

Humanitarian crises in recent years have brought up debates about the responsibility of the international community on the protection of human rights. The inclusion of the R2P principle in this process has brought new dimensions to the current debates. Developed as one of the implementation strategies of human security, R2P stipulates that every sovereign state has a primary responsibility to protect its population from mass atrocity crisis; however, if the state is clearly failing to fulfill its responsibility, the international community has the responsibility to protect the people of that state. In this context, the concept of responsibility also includes international humanitarian intervention and other forms of coercive measures. At first glance, it seams that there is a contradiction between the views put forward by the R2P and the basic principles of international law such as state sovereignty and non-interference in domestic affairs. This thesis provides a case study analysis on the implementation of the R2P in Southeast Asia, as well as the regional approach to human crisis management through the Rohingya case. Colonial past of the countries in the region made them very sensitive to the principles of sovereignty and non-interference and have led to the formation of special political culture and values for the Southeast Asia region. On the other hand, the adoption of R2P principle has been widely supported and accepted by the countries in the region. In this case, the question arises as to how the Southeast Asian states will reconcile these principles with their political traditions. This study argues that R2P doesn't contradict the idea of state sovereignty, which implies the responsibility to provide peace and stability, as well. However, this is the fact that sovereignty means a right of political independence for the post-colonial countries, where humanitarian crises usually take place. The analysis of the Southeast Asian case demonstrates that due to the political conditions of the region, any form of the coercive measures must be avoided; and, R2P can be implemented only in the framework of its second pillar, which articulates the international responsibility to assist and encourage the state to fulfill its responsibilities. Key words: Human security, R2P, state sovereignty, international community, Southeast Asia, Rohingya crisis