R2P as defined in Wikipedia:
I would argue the United States has bypassed the spirit of the concept R2P and used it for geopolitical purposes at the expense of the regions in question.
1. The first example would be the break up of Yugoslavia where ethnic cleansing was cited as the reason for intervention. In this case, there were serious crimes being committed, however the US and NATO introduced depleted uranium into the conflict which will contaminate areas for eternity, bombed hundreds of communities, destroyed infrastructure, and augmented (knowingly or unknowingly) the training of radical Muslims which would later use this training to fight wars in Chechnya and later in the Middle East.
2. The destruction of Libya was justified using R2P as a pretext to bomb the country into the stone age and implement regime change. The reason given for the intervention was that Ghaddafi was killing his own people and committing genocide. The truth of the matter is that outside forces (the Saudis, Quatar, and the CIA) were funding dissension within Libya, importing armaments, and also supplying foreign fighters. When Ghadaffi moved to put down the rebellion he was accused of genocide and mass slaughter of his own people. NATO, under the leadership of France and cheer-leading of Hillary Clinton proceeded to destroy the infrastructure of the country which unleashed a wave of refugees fleeing the country and created a haven for ISIS which fueled ongoing crises in sub-Saharan Africa. In light of the objective of R2P, to protect the civilian population, the intervention accomplished precisely the opposite. Law and order broke down, the country became a failed state, hundreds of thousands fled to Europe, and terrorism gained a stronger foothold.
3. The pattern was repeated in Syria. Over several years, NGOs and foreign funded dissenters worked to create a movement to remove Assad and overturn the government. The protests grew violent and the press put the blame on the government. Just as with Libya, the US and its Gulf Allies supplied armament, training, and funding to Muslim groups in order to overthrow the government under the pretext of R2P. Just as in Libya, much of the infrastructure was destroyed, tens of thousands of civilians were killed, and tens of thousands more fled the country. Only the intervention of Russia, Hezbollah, and Iran saved the government from being overthrown and allowed Syria to remain a sovereign state. R2P was once again shown to be a disaster for the people intended to be helped, and the narrative justifying the intervention was disingenuous and based on deception of the global public.
In another thread (Putin Interviews) my man Joe Fan posted the following image.
I find it ironic that the intent is to satirize the Russians for not respecting territorial integrity in light of the three instances of the US doing just that, as summarized above. Obviously the graphic is alluding to the annexation of Crimea when it satirizes Russia's respect for neighbors territorial integrity. This is actually Orwellian when you think about it.
Following the coup at Maidan, immediately the new power structure attempted to promote laws such as prohibiting the Russian language, and similar restrictions which threatened the Russian population living in Crimea and the Eastern part of Ukraine. Fearing reprisal, Crimea collaborated with the Russians to protect the population and to evict elements of the new pro-Ukrainian regime from the peninsula. The Russians intervened successfully without bloodshed and without destruction of infrastructure, or a massive flow of refugees out of Crimea. In other words, what the US press and government has wrongly identified as a Russian invasion was simply the appropriate execution of R2P.
However the pot continues to call the kettle black, the support for the Saudi war crimes against Yemen continues, and the American population, to the extent they pay any attention at all, continue to blame Russia for the crimes actually committed by the US government.