Genocide, obligations erga omnes, and the responsibility to protect: remarks on a complex convergence

In 2007, the International Court of Justice declared that states have a duty to prevent genocide from occurring in another state since the prevention and punishment of genocide is a concern of every state and of the international community as a whole. The doctrine of the responsibility to protect will be analysed in the light of the erga omnes and erga omnes partes character of the rules embodied in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. It is argued that, even though there are differences between the court's decisions about genocide and the applicable regime regarding the consequences of serious violations of erga omnes obligations, they are both consonant with the doctrine of the responsibility to protect since they are both inspired by the need to guarantee the protection of fundamental legal values