UN General Assembly
2011

intervene in situations in which Governments on their own cannot — or do not wish to — comply with their primary responsibility to protect their populations against grave violations of human rights and the effects of humanitarian crises. If States are no longer capable of guaranteeing that protection, the international community must intervene with the juridical means foreseen in the United Nations Charter and other international instruments. However, it must be recalled that there is a risk that that principle may be invoked in certain circumstances as a pretext to use military force. It is good to recall that even the use of force in keeping with the United Nations rules should be a temporary solution, a true emergency measure, accompanied and followed by a concrete commitment to pacification. For that reason, in taking up the challenge of the responsibility to protect, we must engage in a deeper search for the means to prevent and manage conflicts, exploring all possible diplomatic avenues through negotiation and constructive dialogue, noting and encouraging even the weakest signs of willingness to