On the Complementary Attribute of the Right to Protect Undertaken by International Community

Sovereignty is not only the control and capacity of a country to make authoritative decisions about the people and resources within its territory, but also a responsibility of the country to protect its people. If a country cannot or will not protect its citizens, the international community should offer and undertake the responsibility to protect. The R2P system comprises two levels: the internal one and the international one. A sovereignty state undertakes the chief and dominant responsibility, while the international community bears complementary and assistant responsibility. Strong and legitimate sovereignty power is the basic means and guarantee for a state to fulfill its R2P, but in lack of sovereignty power the international community should provide complementary protection with the final aim of fostering and enhancing the legitimate power of the target state. As sovereignty is a kind of special self-evolutionary arrangement of self-identity and order, the international community should offer protection according to the complementary principle, maintaining therefore the sovereignty status of the target state. The protection practices of the international community in Sudan Darfur prove the appropriateness of the complementary principle.