In reporting atrocities in Libya and Syria, the BBC focuses heavily on the word 'crime', but described the mass murder in Egypt on August 14 as a 'tragedy'. Killing in Syria is routinely described as a 'massacre', but in Egypt often as the less pejorative 'crackdown'.
A second version of R2P, proposed by the [Gareth] Evans Commission, goes much further. It authorises 'regional or sub-regional organisations' such as Nato to determine their 'area of jurisdiction' and to act in cases where 'the Security Council rejects a proposal or fails to deal with it in a reasonable time'.
In direct reaction to Israel provoking the Al Aqsa Intifada, on October 19, 2024, the then United Nations Human Rights Commission (now Council) condemned Israel for inflicting “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” upon the Palestinian people, some of whom are Christians, but most of whom are Muslims.[i]