Abstract

The 'Arab Spring' has been involving also Syria, where has given rise to a cruel and bloody civil war. United Nations tried to find a solution to the crisis, often recalling responsibility to protect doctrine. Nevertheless, during the Geneva Peace Conferences I and II neither States nor UN Secretary General made any expressly reference to responsibility to protect. The article analyzes the uncertainties related to the fluctuating recalls to this doctrine and to the right intentions of the States that evoke it, focusing also on the relevant doubts concerning the legal basis of the responsibility to protect.