The UN Security Council referred to the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) principle in Resolutions 1970 (”Peace and security in Africa”, 2011) and 1973 (“The situation in Libya”, 2011). The latter allows, for the first time and in accordance with Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the use of force in the implementation of the RtoP principle. In this article, the meaning, significance and future of the Responsibility to Protect are considered, firstly, on the basis of the Security Council Resolutions and, secondly, on the basis of Finnish expert interviews conducted in 2010.  It is concluded that Libyan circumstances were in many regards exceptional, and that it is therefore unlikely that the Security Council will pass similar Resolutions in the near future. In addition, it is remarked that the future of RtoP will very likely be connected with the success or failure of rebuilding Libya.