Humanitarian Intervention Essay - 1198 Words

Humanitarian intervention is the act when states intervene in the affairs of another state because that state is violating the basic human rights of its civilians or because it is in the intervening state’s self interest to get involved. (Humanitarian, 2008) These interventions are not specifically aimed at violating the sovereignty of a state, but rather their purpose is to protect the basic human rights of civilians during civil wars and during crime against humanity. (Humanitarian, 2008) Realism explains that humanitarian intervention came about during the genocide in Bosnia but not in Rwanda because even though it might have been the correct moral action to take, intervention in Rwanda was not in the national interest of other†¦show more content†¦This could have been one of the reasons why there was a large amount of humanitarian intervention in Bosnia. (Snow, 2008) The United Nations (UN), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the United States ( US) all made multiple attempts at intervention in Bosnia. A large number of them were not completely successful. The war ended when with a peace agreement mediated by the US. Beginning April of 2004, the Rwandan Hutu started mass murders of Tutsi. This genocide is believed to have spawned from the civil war that was taking place at that time. This civil war was based on issues over power and resentment between the Tutsi and the Hutu. (Rwanda, 2008) Eventually the war escalated to the point where the Hutu began genocide of the Tutsi and anybody who opposed the ideas of the Hutu. The killing of the Tutsis became so common—in a very short amount of time—that it was practically acceptable amongst the Rwandans. (Hintjens, 1999) This was a very brutal and gruesome genocide. In just five weeks, approximately half a million Tutsi and innocent civilians had been murdered. (Hintjens, 1999) This is an astounding number of people, especially because the Hutu murdered the Tutsi at knife point—usually with a machete. (Snow, 2008) Seeing that there was a civil war occurring the time of theShow MoreRelatedHumanitarian Intervention Essay1869 Words   |  8 PagesThe key objections to humanitarian intervention include the conflict of interests with the self-interested state and sovereignty, the difficulty of internal legitimacy, the problematical Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine, and the debate over legality of intervention. The issue of morality stands as an overarching issue which touches on all of these. Overall, one finds that despite a moral imperative to intervene, humanitarian intervention should not occur but is perhaps the lesser of a seriesRead MoreThe History of Humanitarian Intervention1187 Words   |  5 PagesThe history of Humanitarian intervention is a controversial one. In March 1999 the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) justified the use of force against Yugoslavia, a country that at this time was having a number of atrocities being committed within it. This act welcomed by tho se that thought that the veto of the permanent five in the United Nations Security Council sometimes block necessary cases of intervention. According to Sarooshi (2001) they believe morality should trump legality whereRead MoreHumanitarian Intervention At The 2005 World Summit1460 Words   |  6 Pagesof humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect is rooted in the belief that ought to fulfill certain standards of protection for its own citizens. When that standard is not met or the government itself poses a threat to its own people, foreign nations have a right and obligation to protect those citizens from crimes against humanity. This idea arose in the 1990s (which would later be known as the decade of humanitarian intervention) when the US was leading several humanitarian interventionsRead More Humanitarian Intervention Essay992 Words   |  4 PagesHumanitarian Intervention Hypothesis: That despite the incidents where humanitarian interventions have proved seemingly unsuccessful, they are, nonetheless, a vital tool in alleviating the human suffering that so plagues contemporary society. The post-Cold war world is one that has been riddled with conflict, suffering and war. In the face of such times, the issue of humanitarian intervention and about who, when and how it should be employed, has become hotly debated. While some critics declareRead MoreTo what extent is humanitarian intervention an abandoned project1565 Words   |  7 Pages â€Å" To what extent is Humanitarian Intervention an abandoned project? â€Å" Humanitarian Intervention is military intervention that is carried out in pursuit of humanitarian rather than strategic objectives. This term is controversial and therefore often debated, as it is an evaluative and subjective term. The common use of the term itself is the desire to come in help to other people, however according to some other opinions, it is the outcome of the intervention that defines it. Firstly, it is essentialRead MoreArgument Against Military Intervention For Humanitarian Relief1693 Words   |  7 PagesAGAINST MILITARY INTERVENTION FOR HUMANITARIAN RELIEF An understanding of where the Syrian healthcare system stood before the civil war, the toll of the fighting and intentional targeting of medical personnel/infrastructure, ongoing humanitarian efforts, and America’s actions to date enable an informed evaluation of whether or not to use American military forces in a humanitarian assistance role in Syria. This context allows for an examination of the limitations of humanitarian aid, the advantages/disadvantagesRead MoreThe Intervention Of The Usa Into Somali The Causes Of Humanitarian Failure3239 Words   |  13 PagesThe American Intervention in Somalia: The Causes of Humanitarian Failure Abstract: This paper is an analysis of the 1991 humanitarian intervention of the USA into Somalia. The concept of the â€Å"humanitarian† mission is embedded into the analyses of the American rhetoric concerning their newfound concern for the area. The military and cultural reasons for the failure are mentioned, as well as the habitual rejection of UN guidelines for it. In fact, this is an excel;lent example of a botched programRead MoreHumanitarian Intervention : Humanitarian Interventions1541 Words   |  7 PagesBernard Corpus International Politics Humanitarian Intervention Humanitarian Intervention What is humanitarian intervention? Well there is no standardized definition that has been made official, but general consensus typically refers it, as using military force to intervene in another states affairs. A blogger from Ljubljana, Slovenia defines humanitarian intervention as; a state s use of military force against another state when the chief publicly declared aim of that military action is endingRead MoreIntervention Based On Humanitarian Ideals2656 Words   |  11 PagesThe notion of intervention based on humanitarian ideals is not a novel concept in the realm of international relations. Even Hitler maintained that his 1938 invasion of Czechoslovakia was conducted to protect the lives of those Czechoslovaks endangered by their government (Bellamy, 2009). However, the doctrine of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) has attracted significant mention in political discourse and academia since the end of the cold war – not least with the surfacing of st ate-sponsoredRead MoreHumanitarian Intervention2282 Words   |  10 Pages Humanitarian intervention is use of force or other sanctions by one state or group of states against another to prevent or stop the denial of the basic human rights of that states citizens. There is no actual definition of humanitarian intervention, only a basic notion of what it entails and the outstanding question of whether the human rights violations in a sovereign state are reason enough for others to intervene. In past wars the majority of casualties were the combatants, but today’s