摘要： 短短数年间，“保护的责任”（R2P）概念在国际社会中获得普遍接受，这表明国际社会在某些特殊情形下追求保护平民这一非国家价值的趋势。R2P议题的主要甚至真正价值不在于强调国家履行R2P的责任，而在于强调国际社会，尤其作为其代表的联合国承担履行R2P的责任。迄今为止，联合国只负有政治责任，而不负有法律义务实施R2P。之所以如此，原因是复杂的。但无论如何，既有的政治责任进路不可能充分克服阻碍联合国有效履行R2P的一个重要原因，即政治意愿障碍，从而确保联合国有效履行R2P；必要的新进路是，针对少数特定的情形规定联合国负有法律义务履行R2P，并为不履行R2P承担法律责任。

关键词: 保护的责任, 联合国, 政治责任, 法律义务

Abstract: The conception of Responsibility to Protect （R2P） has been widely accepted in several years after its birth,demonstrating the trend that the international society pursues the non-state value of the protection of civilians insome distinct circumstances. The main or real merit of the emergence of R2P agenda does not lie in the emphasison states' responsibility to protect, but international society's, especially its representative, the United Nations'responsibility to protect. However, due to several complicated factors, up to date, the United Nations can be alsoimposed upon a political responsibility, rather than a legal obligation to protect in terms of R2P. Therefore, theexisting approach of political responsibility can not surmount the impediment of political willing, which is an im-portant reason to prevent the United Nations from enforcing R2P effectively, while a new approach of legal obliga-tion is necessary under which the United Nations under limited circumstances is legally obliged to enforce R2Pand is legally responsible for the failure to do so.

Key words: Responsibility to Protection, The United Nations, Political Responsibility, Legal Obligation