The Dilemma of Responsibility to Protect in the Great Lakes Region

Abstract

This paper examines the underlying complexities that constitute a dilemma for the responsibility to protect in Africa most specifically the Great Lakes Region. I argue that clarifying the meaning and intention of the doctrine in any given context is predicated on understanding the distinct and complex environment in which the doctrine is invoked. These complexities and their differentiation on a case by case basis construe the doctrine as progressive; with political, legal and moral significance making it fit for its purpose. On the other hand the variation of prevention and protection amounts to the denunciation of it as being selective, complicit, inconsistent and even imperialistic.