The responsibility to protect and the root causes of conflicts

The increase in humanitarian crises due to states failing to observe the human rights of their citizens led to the establishment of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. Whilst all agree with the need for concerted action to protect innocent civilians from human rights abuses the focus must be on prevention; the use of military force creates further problems. An analysis of failed states, such as Rwanda, shows how the actions of the international community, especially the most powerful states, contribute to conditions creating the abuse and how appropriate actions by the external players could have prevented these abuses.