1/23/2024 0 Comments Define coherence synonym![]() ![]() It is difficult to ascertain what, precisely, the consistent invocation and application of protection norms actually entails, given that ‘consistency’ means different things in different contexts. 9 Scholars, policymakers, and practitioners alike, while lamenting the absence of consistency, have had little to say about the meaning of consistency, and how it could be measured. What matters here is how the concept of ‘consistency’ relates to practices of protection and the discourse.ĭespite the fact that ‘consistency’ is inscribed into our moral grammar as a precondition for legitimacy and justice (indeed, it is so obvious that legal philosophy hardly engages with the concept), the concept has received limited attention in the literature. 8 However, policy labels are less salient in the discussion that follows below. 7 The concept thus departs from a narrower understanding conflating protection with military intervention designed to prevent atrocities and mitigate humanitarian suffering, deflecting some of the critique levelled against similar concepts, including ‘humanitarian intervention’, and the ‘responsibility to protect’. A range of measures is at the disposal of states and other actors in discharging protection duties, including preventive diplomacy, sanctions, the provision of humanitarian relief, or peacekeeping. 6 The concept refers to the role of international actors in protecting civilian populations at risk of harm through direct violence as a consequence of conflict, as well as from the indirect consequences of conflict, such as displacement and a lack of access to food, shelter, and medication. The regime encompasses norms and institutions associated with international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law. However, as the regime and the norms associated with it begin to consolidate, more consistency, in future, in the application of norms of protection might be expected. The protection regime is still in its infancy and, as is the case for other emergent regimes, inconsistent practice is therefore to be expected. ![]() Interventions in Kosovo, Libya, or Darfur illustrate this problem – a ‘logical trap’ 4 that plagues the international human protection regime. Sometimes interests align in a way that permits consistency of practice in compliance with substantive and procedural norms, but in many cases they do not. The protection regime is presently constituted in such a way that consistent compliance with norms is not always congruent with consistent protection across cases. When states fail to discharge protection duties because of inaction in some cases, but not all, they are again seen to act inconsistently. When states violate rules of international society in the pursuit of protection, through inaction where it is imperative, or unilateral action not sanctioned by other states, they are seen to act inconsistently. 3 In either case, consistency is implicitly regarded as a standard against which the legitimacy of protective responses is assessed. 2 Alternatively, consistency can refer to the degree of evenness in the provision of protection across cases, the extent to which protective agents succeed at avoiding the ‘insufficient, inconsistent, or ineffective’ application of these norms. What does ‘consistency’ mean in the context of human protection? Consistency can refer to the adherence to principles, for example, when relevant actors suggest that ‘humanitarian intervention must only be used exceptionally within tightly defined and consistently applied criteria’. However, the international human protection regime remains incoherent: it is ambiguous and it is insufficiently integrated with other regimes and across institutions.Ģ a: agreement or harmony of parts or features to one another or a wholeī: harmony of conduct or practice with past performance or stated aims ![]() I argue that consistency understood as coherence facilitates protection responses in line with international law, and, second, that a coherent protection framework encourages the even and invariable application of norms of protection by assigning responsibilities to individual protection agents. Third, ‘consistency’ can mean the absence of variability and unevenness in the application of norms. Second, consistency can refer to the degree to which protection responses adhere to international law and conform with international norms. First, ‘consistency’ can refer to the coherence of the human protection framework. This article conceptualises consistency – a basic premise for the legitimacy of norms, both procedurally as well as substantively. ‘Consistency’ has a range of meanings in the context of human protection practice. ![]()
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