Humanitarian action in international humanitarian law kate mackintosh hpg report 5 march 2000 overseas development institute hpg report humanitarian policy group the humanitarian policy group at the overseas development institute is europes leading team of independent policy researchers dedicated to improving humanitarian policy and practice. Humanitarian intervention, the responsibility to protect. Humanitarian intervention in the long nineteenth century. Or are the longterm results produced worse than the consequences of inaction. Humanitarian intervention after syria legal studies. View humanitarian intervention research papers on academia. The postcold war international debate, which is the central concern here, has. A singular development in the postcold war era is the use of military force to protect human beings. It is a pleasure to be at the brussels forum in partnership with the german marshall fund.
Humanitarian intervention doshisha international conference. There is nothing new about human disasters caused by human beings. Humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect considers who should undertake humanitarian intervention in response to an ongoing or impending humanitarian crisis, such as found in rwanda in early 1994, kosovo in 1999, and darfur more recently. Humanitarian intervention is morally and legally justified in response to internal atrocities, even at the expense of national sovereignty. Today we live in a world where many atrocities and horrors exist within states that have failed in protecting its own people from harm. You can see a new episode of up for debate every sunday at 9 a. In the center of the debate on the legality of humanitarian intervention are a number of legal principles on which is built the united nations system, which has provided a certain degree of stability after the end of the war world ii. State practice evidence of the humanitarian intervention. Affaires courantes et commentaires current issues and comments.
This article examines factors that motivate major powers to participate in humanitarian interventions, with a case study of us intervention in somalia during the period 199293. Humanitarian intervention under existing international law 80 2. The just war tradition just war is the name for a diverse literature on the morality of war and warfare. Whether it be civil war, genocide, starvation or a massive.
An armed intervention in a state, without that states consent, to address the threat of a humanitarian disaster, in particular caused by grave and largescale violations of fundamental human rights. Given appropriate circum stances, the impetus to urge and support such armed intervention among many of those sincerely concerned with continuing human rights violations and persecutions will surely reemerge. Why humanitarian intervention goes horribly wrong aeon ideas. May 22, 2016 on 6 april 1994, president habyarimana of rwanda and several top government officials were killed when their plane was shot down by a surfacetoair missile on its approach to kigali airport. Humanitarian intervention head to head debate oxford. When hirsh wrote that the debate over humanitarian intervention was for the most part, a phony debate, 5 he was merely questioning the utility of a debate focusing on the role of the united states and the u. Our foreign policy decisions should be based on hard evidence. Fundamentally, the r2p debate is about whether intervention can achieve its explicit humanitarian objective, which is the main focus of this article. Humanitarian intervention is a postcold war activity. The ongoing violence in syria has raised the specter of intervention by external forces in order to address the growing humanitarian crisis. Could humanitarian intervention be legally justified in extreme cases. Harold kohs case for humanitarian intervention just security. This essay begins with definitional discussions of the key terms of any such debate. Yet the us, france and britain are once again gearing up for military intervention, having initially wanted to arm the rebels.
When confronted with the brutal practices of organizations such as the islamic state, many feel that it may be permissible, perhaps even obligatory, for outsiders to use force in order to prevent extreme and persistent human rights violations. While it is certainly true that the language of humanitarian intervention can be significantly abused, this does not disqualify the legitimate use of humanitarian intervention all together. It has been enhanced through consultation and fieldtesting involving a wide range of users in different contexts. R ecent events are reopening longstanding debates about the moral justification of military humanitarian intervention.
Humanitarian intervention is generally understood to be the transboundary use of military force in order to halt or avert largescale and grave human suffering, and is a subject that has attracted much scholarly attention in recent decades. Chs guidance notes and indicators 3 the chs guidance notes and indicators were developed by a working group made up of representatives of international ngos, networks, unocha, groupe urd, the sphere project and the chs alliance. In the wake of the 11 september 2001 attacks on the us, the topic has come under even more discussion. Drawing on a wide range of case studies and providing a persuasive overview of the theory and practice of humanitarian intervention in the modern world, he examines its political, ethical, legal, strategic, economic, and operational dimensions to highlight key debates and controversies. Is military intervention on humanitarian grounds a good thing. Oct 07, 20 the week before last, harold koh posted a defense of president obamas authority to use force in syria without congressional authorization. Humanitarian intervention that is, military intervention aimed at saving innocent people in other countries from massive violations of human rights primarily the right to life entered public consciousness around 1990 as never before in the course of the twentieth century. The position of the international court of justice 83 2.
Humanitarian intervention and civilmilitary cooperation 11 4. Overall, i argue that these principles are i more important and ii more stringent in the context of humanitarian intervention. Jan 30, 2012 the debate surrounding humanitarian intervention will always be contentious, as the discussion has implications for the value that the international community places on human life. The debating matters competitions acclaimed topic guide series, created for sixthform student debaters. Kevin heller responded to several of kohs points in a strong post. It is analogous to banning driving because some people abuse the privilege and drive recklessly.
Ngos roles in humanitarian interventions and peace support operations article pdf available january 2010 with 12,337 reads how we measure reads. Michigan journal of international law humanitarian. While many humanitarian interventions have been successful and have achieved their respective goals, they did not ensure continuous support, or many simply fell apart after the dire needs were lessen. Harvard university and harvard law school shifted to remote teaching and learning, as of monday, march 23. As ignatieff asserts, the inability of the global community to respond to every violation of human rights means that intervention to stop genocide will never rest.
The legality of humanitarian intervention in customary. In the first vote on the resolution humanitarian intervention does more harm than good, before the debate, in polling you here in brussels, 30 percent of you agreed with this motion, 51 percent were against the motion, and 19 percent were undecided. The concentration of evaluation is to establish a link or lack of a link between programmatic resource finance, equipment, personnel, etc investment into a given humanitarian intervention with the results thereof. Proponents of the doctrine, like jeanpierre fonteyne, michael bazyler, and ved nanda,24 arrive at the realization of the doctrine in a few pages after abbreviated 20. Consequently, humanitarian intervention can be compared intellectually to 120 affaires courantes et commentaires current issues and comments. The international community currently faces a global refugee crisis. The dilemma of humanitarian intervention council on foreign.
Humanitarian intervention can lead to the rescue of human lives, but can also be abusive. Second, jurists on both sides of the debate have been too quick to judge the existence of the humanitarian intervention doctrine. Live debate humanitarian intervention does more harm than. The origins of the doctrine can be traced to the inception of the modem period and finds its support in the writings of such. Stephen van evera professor of political science, massachusetts institute of technology.
Humanitarian intervention and the distribution of sovereignty in international law patrick macklem september 2006 draft abstract legal debates about humanitarian intervention military intervention by one or more states to curb gross human rights violations occurring in another state tend to assume that its legitimacy. Apr 30, 2018 the motion given four debaters was, humanitarian intervention does more harm than good. Last week professor koh turned to international law, making a lengthy case for the legality of humanitarian intervention without security council approval. The legal status of humanitarian interventionand its relationship to international humanitarian law humanitarian intervention is a jus ad bellumquestion. Humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect. Humanitarianrefers principally to the motives for the intervention, namely, to save foreigners from the ills inflicted upon. Humanitarian intervention comes of age foreign affairs. The argument about humanitarian intervention dissent magazine. We have always been, if not our own, certainly each others worst enemies. The principles of humanitarian action in international. Human rights and humanitarian action hpg background paper.
Does military intervention in the service of humanitarian goals yield too many unintended consequences and put too many civilians at risk. But their targets are usually the early, ugly missions of the 1990s. Inthreeshort months,asmanyas1milliontutsiswereshot,burned,starved,tortured, stabbed,orhackedtodeath. It is the leading study on when humanitarian intervention will produce humanitarian results, and when it will only make things worse. I agree that humanitarian interventions have been successful. Indeed, internal conflicts are difficult to ignore in a globalizing world. Mar 09, 2018 this debate is presented in partnership with the german marshall funds brussels forum, broadcast live from brussels, belgium. Has humanitarian intervention become an exception to the. Affaires courantes et commentaires current issues and. Humanitarian intervention remains a troubled, yet necessary concept that is impeded by a continuing schism between its legal nature and real world application. Humanitarian intervention does more harm than good all. The myanmar regimes resistance to international aid following a devastating cyclone in may 2008 spurred a debate about whether forced humanitarian intervention was warranted. However, to minimise the chances of abuse of the principle, certain conditions on humanitarian intervention are needed. Humanitarian intervention has become a major focus of debate within governments, international organizations, and think tanks and across a variety of academic fields, including international and comparative law, international relations, political science, and moral and political philosophy.
The history of humanitarian intervention in theory and practice seminar 2nd term 20142015 organized by dirk moses hec and jennifer welsh sps mondays 11. Wheeler, tociteonlyoneexample,concludethatnoninterventionistsareunable. Secondarily, however, the debate extends to the impact of humanitarian intervention on other interests, including the security and prosperity of intervening states and the spread of democracy. Evaluation of the african unions right of intervention dan kuwali abstract the right to intervene under the au act is a radical departure from, and in stark contrast with, the principle of state sovereignty and nonintervention, the very cornerstones of the erstwhile oau. This wording also serves to emphasize the fact that the forces engaged in the intervention are bound by humanitarian law in their military operations. Faced with these dilemmas, should intervention continue to be seen as the appropriate solution for humanitarian crises. In his book entitled, the united nations and the politics of selective humanitarian intervention,2 martin binder suggests an explanation for the security councils selective politics of humanitarian intervention. In tracing the history of the doctrine up to the beginning of the syria crisis, it asserts that the negative reaction to the abortive use of force has reinforced the unlawfulness of humanitarian intervention. At the heart of the debate lies the tension between the principle of state. Is military intervention on humanitar ian grounds a good thing. Lastly, it is not exactly clear what moral justifications and motivational drivers we have for humanitarian intervention in the first place. In addition, the debate on the subject has been spurred by the strong sense that there were crises most notably, the genocide in rwanda in 1994 in which the international community should have intervened promptly but failed to do so. The debate on humanitarian intervention watanabe koji china jia qingguo japan murata koji south korea kim sunghan india jasjit singh asean simon s. Pdf humanitarian intervention and state sovereignty.
Humanitarian intervention war and conflict in the modern. Humanitarian intervention does more harm than good. Well, we think this has the makings of a debate, so lets have it. Since then as libya has shown the international community has learned its lessons and grown much more adept at using military force to save lives. Abuse of humanitarian intervention does not disqualify it. There is not an exact definition of humanitarian intervention and it is still a continuing debate about to which extend it is legal and necessary to make a humanitarian intervention especially since north atlantic treaty organization natos semiillegal intervention on kosovo in 1999, without the permission of united nations security. This paper examines the legal status of humanitarian intervention in the aftermath of the abortive military operation in syria. The primary obligation of states is to the interests and wellbeing of their own citizens, not that of the citizens of other states.
Humanitarian intervention research papers academia. I claim that consequentialist justifications of these principles cannot fully grasp their moral significance and, in particular, the difference between doing and allowing. Humanitarian intervention as a responsibility to protect. The conflict between principles such as sovereignty and nonintervention on one hand and human rights on the other hand is furthermore evident in the debate on humanitarian intervention. Humanitarian intervention definition of humanitarian. If the international community is to respond to this challenge, the whole debate must be. Humanitarian intervention on its face incompatible with article 24 81 2.
Humanitarian intervention, the responsibility to protect, and. The history of humanitarian intervention in theory and practice. An excerpt from the debate humanitarian intervention does more harm than good. Debating whether humanitarian intervention works video. Global support for the responsibility to protect doctrine weakened after the unendorsed nofly zone that helped topple libyas regime, and debate.
All this generated very fierce debate about what came to be called humanitarian intervention. Humanitarian intervention and state sovereignty article pdf available in the international journal of human rights 61. For more information and the latest updates, please visit the hls coronavirus information page. To these ends, the intervening forces may undertake a variety of peace operations aimed at creating security and suppressing conflict. Pros and cons itarian intervention as the proportionate transboundary help, including forcible help, provided by governments to individuals in another state who are being denied basic human rights and who themselves would be rationally willing to revolt against their. Gibbs university of arizona, tucson, arizona, usa abstract. Taylor seybolts book is essential reading for anyone interested in humanitarian intervention. For more information and the latest updates, please visit the hls coronavirus information page tweet this. Despite the fall of the qaddafi regime in libya, humanitarian intervention still has plenty of critics.
985 434 1456 1312 367 1528 795 1521 1198 1330 52 1287 59 160 36 955 373 1477 269 563 1067 840 620 77 862 817 439 778 295 632 1030 495 76 1441