THE UN’S NEW NORM ON HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION (R2P) AND JOHN PAUL II’S EVANGELIUM VITAE

The study provides a historical overview of the reform in the UN's new norm for humanitarian intervention or Responsibility to Protect (R2P). Its moral legitimacy is evaluated mainly in light of John Paul II's Evangelium Vitae's “culture of life,” and the Church's teachings on Just War and legitimate defense. The study uses a case-study approach to demonstrate and subsequently evaluate the concrete application of R2P in Libya during the humanitarian crisis and flagrant human rights violations which resulted against the Ghadafi regime and its response thereto in 2011. The study finds that while R2P can cause death and suffering (since it allows armed humanitarian intervention), this system still promotes Evangelium Vitae's culture of life. This is because R2P considers humanitarian intervention not as means to violate state sovereignty or wage war but as duty to protect life and dignity of populations. The development of R2P and its basis showed that it ultimately seeks to promote human dignity in the activities of its member states. In the exhaustion of all peaceful means to end the conflict in Libya, R2P faithfully observed the criteria of authorization, the means of the force used, and proportionality. It also manifests solidarity because the UNauthorized intervention is done collectively by states cooperating with each other. Finally R2P promotes life because part of its goals include post-crisis management activities to help Libya and its citizens recover. Thus, the Libyan case was found to be justified.