Right to Protect - R2P, how about US using that argument? And not to throw a curveball in this but there has been some sabre rattling of recent between Venezuela and Guyana after discovery of oil in Western Guyana... could also turn into a "ensuring protection of another member state" argument both under IATRA and UN in general.
So, both R2P and humanitarian intervention have the same goal of protecting civilians in State B from large-scale atrocities committed by State B itself. But the difference is that humanitarian intervention is where one country just decides to unilaterally go for it, whereas R2P is a collective decision of many states and authorised by the UN Security Council (so it's seen as more legitimate). The US could certainly take the R2P route - after all, it is (surprisingly) going through the UN Security Council to greenlight the Gaza peace plan so why not this too? - but will likely be blocked by some members of the UN Security Council.
Your second point is excellent! If Venezuela were to attack Guyana, the US (or other states) could justify intervening as defending an ally, both under regional agreements (IATRA) and under general UN rules. This could complicate any discussion about the legality of the US attacking Venezuela!
Right to Protect - R2P, how about US using that argument? And not to throw a curveball in this but there has been some sabre rattling of recent between Venezuela and Guyana after discovery of oil in Western Guyana... could also turn into a "ensuring protection of another member state" argument both under IATRA and UN in general.
Thanks for your comment!
So, both R2P and humanitarian intervention have the same goal of protecting civilians in State B from large-scale atrocities committed by State B itself. But the difference is that humanitarian intervention is where one country just decides to unilaterally go for it, whereas R2P is a collective decision of many states and authorised by the UN Security Council (so it's seen as more legitimate). The US could certainly take the R2P route - after all, it is (surprisingly) going through the UN Security Council to greenlight the Gaza peace plan so why not this too? - but will likely be blocked by some members of the UN Security Council.
Your second point is excellent! If Venezuela were to attack Guyana, the US (or other states) could justify intervening as defending an ally, both under regional agreements (IATRA) and under general UN rules. This could complicate any discussion about the legality of the US attacking Venezuela!