Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Saturday $2.5 billion in humanitarian and development aid for the Middle East as he launched a regional tour that includes visits to Jordan and Israel.

The upcoming summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia ( CICA ) will promote preventive action , UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday .As far as CICA is concerned , UN is an observer , Ban said , stressing the principles enshrined in the UN charter , such as peaceful resolution of crisis , promoting dialogue and trust , promoting development and upholding human rights , which are fully respected by CICA .

When Nigerian Islamic militant group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 girls in Chibok, it galvanized world opinion and inspired one of the biggest social media campaigns ever – #BringBackOurGirls.

The responsibility to protect is a bad idea. But it could be worse. President Obama’s speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday hinted how. At the conclusion of remarks that focused heavily on the Middle East, the president offered a strong endorsement of the doctrine.

The U.N. Charter advises that “the Security Council shall, where appropriate, utilize such regional arrangements or agencies for enforcement action under its authority.” The degree to which regional cooperation represents a sine qua non for international action was made abundantly clear in the recent uprising against Muammar al-Qaddafi, as the Arab League sanctioned a no-fly zone over Libya, followed promptly by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973. But are regional organizations the future of humanitarian intervention?