아프리카ㆍ중동

The Libyan situation which broke out on 15 February 2011 provides international legal implications in various respects. First of all, it seems to be a good example of actual application of the evolving concept of “Responsibility to Protect (R2P)”. Basically, the Libyan authorities have the primary responsibility to protect its own populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. However, when the State concerned manifestly fails in fulfilling its responsibility like Libya in the current situation, the international community instead, through the United Nations, may －and even should－ take necessary collective actions, including some military operations, like the current multi-national intervention in Libya that was formally authorised by the UN Security Council through its resolutions. Secondly, the Libyan situation provides another probability of prosecuting current leaders of a State at the International Criminal Court for reasons of their serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, such as crimes against humanity. Thirdly, the possible mass influx of the Libyan displaced persons and the related European concern may ask us somewhat special legal understanding of various concepts of refugees, especially in the regional context. Those legal issues relating to the Libyan case may give people living on the Korean peninsula some practical and legal implications. Many of them can also be applied to the current and possible future contingency situation in North Korea. For example, the large-scale existence of prison camps in North Korea could be a strong case for the application of ‘crimes against humanity’. As explained, ‘crimes against humanity’ is connected not only with ‘R2P’ of the international community, but individual criminal responsibility as well. Starting with this paper, further research should be done in more detail regarding developments and limits of international law (especially ‘R2P’) through the situation in Libya, and their implications for the Korean peninsula.