“What would we do if tomorrow there was another [genocide in] Rwanda?” asked  former U.N.  Secretary-General Kofi Annan, at an event hosted by the U.N. Bookstore. “It’s something that haunted me.”

He posed a similar question to the General Assembly in 1999, which led to a debate pitting state sovereignty against humanitarian intervention.  “I was using the term ‘humanitarian intervention’. And the term ‘intervention’ scares,” said Annan.

During the ensuing General Assembly debate, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria expressed his fears that humanitarian intervention would transform into an excuse for the powerful to interfere in the affairs of the global south, said  Annan.

Canada picked up the issue and created a commission that gave birth to the term R2P, or the Responsibility to Protect, he added.  “Responsibility to Protect was more palatable,” said Annan. “Which head of state was going to argue that he did not want to protect his population?”

But Russia and China believed that R2P doctrines morphed quickly into regime change, especially after what resulted in Libya. “They see it as a slippery slope,” explained Annan.

This issue resurfaced during the crisis in Syria and divided the Council. “I lost my team on the road to Damascus,” said Annan, who was the then U.N.-Arab League special envoy to Syria. “I had told the Council they needed to remain united… and that together we can put pressure on the region and the protagonists to stop fighting.”

Annan explained that during initial discussions, all five nations of the Security Council agreed on a political settlement in Syria, and that they would build upon that goal. “I turned around, and they were fighting, calling each other names rather than focusing on the issue,” he said.

Despite the Council’s balk over Syria, “when it comes to broader issues of peace and security, only the Security Council can offer the legitimacy that is required”, he said, citing the U.S.’ failure in Iraq.

After 9/11, “you had this sense that America was going to lash out – a vengeful America, a big elephant, angry and going after people”, said Annan.  “Could you imagine if the Council had voted for war in Iraq, given what we know today?” he added.

The event, chaired by Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, celebrated the release of Annan’s memoir, Interventions: A Life in War and Peace.