How / why did the Syrian Civil War start?
“The responsibility to protect” is a principle the United Nations has endorsed since 2005. This principle declares that the UN has an “obligation to prevent mass atrocities,” this was adopted due to the previous failures in Rwanda and Srebrenica, (Gladstone, 2013). However it would be thought this is a fundamental principle, used prior the Rwanda genocide and after the Holocaust. This implies the UN has recognized their failures in Rwanda and Srebrenica as they have not protected civilians and have not prevented mass murders. However they have still allowed various conflicts in the Middle East to arise causing destruction, deaths and violations of human rights since 1947. The United Nations has been involved in the Middle East since the proposal of Resolution 181 also known as ‘The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine’ intended to create independent Arab and Jewish states. However leave Jerusalem under UN control, (W.Laqueur, 1984). Since this declaration the UN have failed to prevent the conflict and keep peace, as the fighting is still occurring today.