The international norms of the Protection of Civilians (POC) and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) emerged as a response to the failures to adequately protect populations during the 1990s in both Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The emergence of POC and R2P was a recognition of the fact that the international community and the United Nations needed to do more to protect populations in conflict zones from atrocity crimes in order to fulfill the promise of the United Nations Charter.

Relationship between R2P and POC