Nordic Journal of Human Rights Special Issue: Small States, R2P, and atrocity prevention
Nordic Journal of Human Rights cover page
What is the role small states play on the international atrocity prevention arena?
What attitudes do they have towards R2P, and can they ensure its implementation?
This special issue of the Nordic Journal of Human Rights explores multiple cases of the relationship between small states of the United Nations and the responsibility to protect (R2P) doctrine. It is available here.
Although R2P has been struggling for a decade due to an increasingly tense geopolitical climate and limited will among member states to support this norm, small states are taking steps to promote the doctrine further. The states investigated within this special issue strongly advocate in favor of human rights and a multilateral system, and all support the rhetoric of R2P.
Even so, the analyses of Ghana, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia clearly shows that small states approach R2P differently. In spite of a shared sense of support for the norm, they cannot be seen as guarantors of the norm. The analyses further shows that promoting R2P may be achievable outside the UN Security Council, in spite of the Council’s singular authority to implement R2P by force.
Here is a summary of the Special Issues’ contributions:
“Bringing Realism to the Idealism of Small States: Norway and Atrocity Prevention at the UN Security Council” - Ellen Emilie Stensrud: The article focuses on Norway’s approach to atrocity prevention during its membership on the UN Security Council (2021–2022). Although in support of multilateral approaches and with high ambitions for human rights and humanitarian efforts, Norway’s approach to R2P and atrocity prevention is conservative in its efforts. Norway’s foreign policy priorities aim to solidify its presence and status among small states within the UN Security Council, primarily focusing on enforcing and securing the rule of law, its own interests, and its image as a diplomatic mediator. Preventing atrocities and human rights abuses requires more concrete actions, however, especially when invoking R2P, leading small states to avoid taking overtly active stances in intervention in order to safeguard their interests. Supporting and enforcing R2P norms, then, require securing the international promotion of R2P through other avenues.
“Denmark, R2P and the UN Human Rights Council – the Perfect Match” - Martin Mennecke: In his article on Denmark, Mennecke explores its continuous yet unstable support of the R2P norm, focusing on the Human Rights Council and Denmark’s UNSC membership in 2025–2026. The much understudied HRC has been considered by the UN Secretary General as a key forum for atrocity prevention, due to its mandate to prevent human rights violations and respond to human rights emergencies. Despite its long-standing support and advancement of R2P, as well as its recent term on the HRC (2019-2021), Denmark has yet to explicitly prioritize the norm. Still, Mennecke concludes that Denmark has continued to advance the R2P norm, by explicitly invoking it in 2020 and by implicitly including it in its dialogs on special procedures, its involvement in special sessions of the Council, and its work toward accountability mechanisms. Denmark’s support of R2P is inconsistent, however, due to a lack of national policy on R2P promotion and a lack of allocated resources. Overall, however, its experience from the HRC shows that R2P can still be implemented once on the Security Council.
“Finland’s role in the promotion of Responsibility to Protect at the United Nations” - Hanna Tuominen: In her study of Finland, Tuominen investigates how Finland has operationalized the R2P norm in the Security Council, the General Assembly, and the HRC. Although focused on coordination within the EU and collaboration among the Nordic and Baltic states, Finland’s profile at the UN is unique among its peers due to its more eager approach to EU integration. Finnish policies are cautious in their support of R2P, although its promotion is a one of the country’s priorities at the United Nations, in order to avoid confrontation due to the norm’s contested status. Finland’s position as a small state requires it to prioritize which policies to implement, and its support for R2P, while rhetorically strong, is not a key foreign policy concern. This can be changed in the HRC by participating more actively in the development of its prevention mandate, strengthening the connection between human rights issues and Security Council work. As such, Tuominen identifies a gap between ambitious Finnish rhetoric and norm implementation, considering Finland to be a norm supporter rather than a norm entrepreneur.
“R2P Niche Diplomacy and Norm Development in Times of Politicization: A Look at Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden” - Jonas Fritzler: In this comparative study of Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, Fritzler makes use of a critical constructivist lens and investigates the countries’ respective approaches to R2P within the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. His article demonstrates that approaches to R2P can differ even between similar liberal states. Denmark, for instance, has become a key R2P supporter with its co-chair role of the Group of Friends of R2P and involvement in diplomatic initiatives at the UN, focusing on including R2P and its language in the UNGA agenda and in debates at the HRC. Sweden and the Netherlands have instead advanced R2P more inconsistently, working towards ensuring accountability for human rights violations (such as atrocities committed in Myanmar and Syria) but more cautiously avoiding explicit R2P diplomacy. While both states have continued their human protection agendas, they have become less involved in R2P initiatives in favor of other issues within that norm cluster. Fritzler discusses how the varying approaches to R2P reflect different “meanings-in-use”, as while Swedish and Dutch diplomats will more likely avoid debates R2P to achieve policy outcomes aligned with the norm, Denmark supports it more directly, potentially due to the commitment and expertise of individual diplomats, good timing and cooperation with peers.
“The Czech Republic: Human Rights Defender, Yet No R2P Champion” - Sarka Kolmasova: In her analysis of the Czech Republic, Kolmasova highlights the country’s history as a human rights defender, of political repression, of the 1989 Velvet Revolution, and its experience with democratization, arguing that they may act as the foundation for the consideration of R2P. However, as R2P is a different type of normative framework, it has not had a strong influence on Czech policy strategies and foreign policy. Kolmasova finds that focus on human rights and their advancement does not automatically translate into promotion of R2P, as demonstrated by the case of Myanmar, where Czech foreign policy focused on positive prospects of the democratization process rather than responding to the ongoing genocidal violence against the Rohingya. Challenging the dichotomy of champions versus antagonists, Kolmasova argues that the Czech Republic, while not a norm entrepreneur for R2P, may still view R2P as useful.
“UN Security Council Membership as a Litmus Test for Slovenia’s Commitment to R2P” - Vasilka Sancin: Sancin’s study of Slovenia similarly addresses the influence of a country’s historical background by highlighting Slovenia’s involvement with conflict and atrocity prevention following the atrocities in former Yugoslavia. Being actively actively involved in R2P’s formation and continuously supporting it through its own normative development, Slovenia persistently appoints its R2P National Focal Points and actively promotes R2P’s operationalization domestically, regionally, and globally level. The country’s support of R2P can be attested at the HRC and the UN General Assembly, as well as outside the UN system with the organization of European R2P Focal Points Meetings and interdisciplinary conferences on R2P. Challenging the common disavowal of R2P, Slovenia’s approach to R2P suggests an optimistic future, with innovative and creative ways to implement R2P. Its 2024–2025 UNSC membership will thus serve as a litmus test for Slovenia’s commitment to R2P, revealing whether Slovenia will promote R2P beyond simple rhetoric.
“Small States as Norm Entrepreneurs: Unveiling Ghana's Agency in Atrocity Prevention” - Frank Okyere Osei: Okyere’s study on Ghana’s role regarding R2P is grounded in Ghana's historical commitment to and advocacy for atrocity prevention as a norm entrepreneur, analyzing its efforts in institutionalizing atrocity prevention nationally through Ghana’s National Peace Council. This article addresses how small states are constrained by shifting priorities caused by global and regional concerns, encompassing matters of security and limited resources, but offers localization as a potential solution. Highlighting the importance of localized atrocity prevention efforts, such as the grassroots approach of Ghana’s National Peace Council, Okyere argues we ought to pay closer attention to the domestic capabilities of small states, which play a vital role in advancing the atrocity prevention agenda.