(RtoP), a test that the international community cannot pass in the face of ongoing crimes in Iran

Now that the Iranian government is losing its responsibility, the responsibility to provide protection (RtoP) and protect the lives of the people lies with the international community.

The Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) principle, adopted by consensus by the international community at the United Nations in 2005, was a response to the world’s moral and political failures to prevent tragedies such as the Rwandan genocide and the Srebrenica massacre. It is based on a fundamental principle: “The sovereignty of states is not a privilege, but a responsibility; a responsibility to protect the lives and dignity of citizens.”

Today, with the proliferation of documented reports of the killing of protesters, systematic repression, mass arrests, torture, political executions, and widespread human rights violations in Iran, the RtoP principle has once again returned to the spotlight.

Under the principle of the responsibility to protect, states are obliged to protect their populations from the four gravest international crimes: “genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, ethnic cleansing.” If a state fails or deliberately fails to fulfill this duty, responsibility shifts to the international community. This intervention is not necessarily military and includes a range of diplomatic, legal, political and humanitarian measures. The use of force is only a last resort and within the framework of international law.

RtoP challenges the traditional notion of absolute sovereignty. According to this principle, states cannot justify or conceal widespread crimes against their citizens by invoking non-interference in internal affairs; in fact, gross human rights violations erode the legitimacy of sovereignty from within.

The experience of Libya in 2011 is a warning for Iran’s current situation. The international intervention in Libya in 2011, which was initiated in reliance on RtoP and Security Council Resolution 1973, led to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. Although the stated goal was to protect civilians, the expansion of military operations to regime change led to serious distrust and criticism of the RtoP principle.

This same experience has led many governments today to be cautious or passive about taking any decisive action within the RtoP framework, a caution that has in some cases led to inaction against crime.

In the current situation in Iran, extensive evidence from international human rights bodies, UN special rapporteurs, and independent institutions shows that the systematic use of lethal violence against protesters, widespread arbitrary detentions, torture and forced confessions, summary and politicized executions have formed not isolated incidents but sustained patterns of crimes against humanity. In such circumstances, the Iranian government has not only failed to fulfill its primary responsibility, but has itself become the main perpetrator of gross violations of citizens’ rights.

Now the question is: What is the duty of governments and the international community towards Iran?

According to the RtoP principle, the international community has not only authority but also responsibility regarding the situation in Iran. This responsibility includes the following:

1. Recognizing the crisis: Silence or reducing the Iranian situation to an “internal matter” violates the spirit of RtoP. Targeted diplomatic and legal measures, activating international investigative mechanisms, supporting truth-finding committees, and referring cases of serious human rights violators to international judicial institutions should be on the agenda.
2. Political pressure and smart sanctions: Sanction specific human rights violators, not the Iranian people.
3. Support for civil society and victims: Support for free media, human rights activists, and refugees.
4. Preventing the normalization of crime: Continuing normal political and economic relations without accountability means indirect participation in human rights violations.

The principle of the responsibility to protect is not designed for easy moments, but for times when states become a threat to their own people. The current situation in Iran is a serious test of the integrity of the international community in its commitment to RtoP. If RtoP is reduced to silence towards Iran, it will no longer be a global norm, but an empty slogan.