Norms of Protection: Difference and Interaction between R2P and POC (12 March 2013)
On 12 March 2013, the 17th interactive seminar on global issues was held at United Nations University, Tokyo. It was entitled “Civilians in Harm’s Way: A Tale of Two Protection Norms”. In this seminar, the participants discussed the two complex concepts: Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and Protection of Civilian (POC). First of all, Dr. Sampford, Professor of Law and Research Professor of Ethics at Griffith University, made a presentation about his analysis on their development of R2P and POC as international norms. Then, Dr. Popovski, Senior Academic Programme Officer of UNU-ISP, made a presentation about their difference between R2P and POC and the “myth” of R2P. He compared R2P with POC in the way of their legal sources and actors. After their presentation, three guests: His Excellency Dr. Charles Murigande, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Rwanda to Japan, Mr. Reiichiro Takahashi, Director-General, International Peace Cooperation Headquarters, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, and Dr. Johan Cels, Representative in Japan, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), made a few comments. Finally, some audiences asked several interesting questions of the presenters and commentators. (Shogo Yoshida)