After many failed attempts to protect civilians from mass atrocities, in September 2005 the international community, through the United Nations, endorsed a new norm called the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) which commits the international community to protect populations from genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. Three years later, much remains to be done to make R2P a reality.

This paper aims to answer the question: what are the next steps to implement R2P in the UN system, regional and subregional organizations, governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)? It begins by examining briefly the evolution of the norm. It then assesses to what extent the new norm represents something new, to what extent R2P is viable and realistic, and what are the major challenges to implementing it. The paper argues that there are three next steps to implementing R2P: 1) strengthening the understanding of R2P; 2) operationalizing it; and 3) building political will. The methodology of the paper is to survey the numerous books, journal articles, policy papers, and UN documents and statements which examine R2P, prevention, early warning and the use of force to protect civilians, and provide recommendations for next steps.