The Responsibility to Protect doctrine was born from the global failure to prevent mass atrocities in Rwanda and the Balkans during the 1990s.

During the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, the international community stood by, paralyzed. These horrific events shook the global conscience. In response, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan helped establish the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. Their work redefined sovereignty itself, shifting it from an absolute right of rulers to a conditional duty to protect citizens from atrocities.