Humanitarian Intervention

Definition

Humanitarian intervention is the use of military force by one or more states to prevent or end widespread and grave violations of the fundamental human rights of individuals other than their own citizens, without the permission of the state within whose territory force is applied.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Humanitarian intervention is often justified as a means to prevent or stop mass atrocities, such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
2. The concept of humanitarian intervention challenges the traditional principle of state sovereignty, which holds that states have the exclusive right to govern their internal affairs without external interference.
3. Debates around humanitarian intervention often center on the tension between state sovereignty and the international community's responsibility to protect vulnerable populations.
4. The United Nations Security Council has the authority to authorize humanitarian interventions, but its decisions can be influenced by the political interests of its permanent members.
5. Unilateral humanitarian interventions, carried out without UN approval, are controversial and can be seen as a violation of international law.

Review Questions

• Explain how the concept of humanitarian intervention challenges the traditional principle of state sovereignty.
  • Humanitarian intervention challenges the principle of state sovereignty by asserting that the international community has a responsibility to protect vulnerable populations from grave human rights abuses, even if those abuses are occurring within the borders of a sovereign state. This suggests that state sovereignty is not absolute and can be overridden in cases where a state is unwilling or unable to protect its own citizens. The tension between humanitarian intervention and state sovereignty is a key debate in international relations and international law.
• Describe the role of the United Nations Security Council in authorizing humanitarian interventions.
  • The United Nations Security Council has the authority to authorize humanitarian interventions, as it is the primary body responsible for maintaining international peace and security. However, the Security Council's decisions can be influenced by the political interests of its permanent members, who have veto power. This can lead to inconsistencies in the application of humanitarian intervention, as the Council may authorize interventions in some cases but not others. The need for Security Council approval also means that unilateral humanitarian interventions, carried out without UN authorization, are often viewed as a violation of international law.
• Evaluate the ethical and legal considerations surrounding unilateral humanitarian interventions.
  • Unilateral humanitarian interventions, carried out by a single state or a coalition of states without the authorization of the United Nations Security Council, are highly controversial. On one hand, they can be seen as a necessary and ethical response to prevent or stop mass atrocities when the international community fails to act. However, they also raise significant legal concerns, as they can be viewed as a violation of the principle of state sovereignty and the non-intervention in the internal affairs of states. Unilateral interventions may also be perceived as serving the political interests of the intervening states rather than the humanitarian needs of the affected population. The ethical and legal debates surrounding unilateral humanitarian interventions continue to be a central issue in international relations and international law.

Related terms

Responsibility to Protect (R2P): The principle that states have a responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, and that the international community has a responsibility to intervene when states fail to protect their citizens.

Sovereignty:

The supreme authority within a territory, which is the primary principle of international law and relations, granting states the exclusive right to govern their internal affairs without external interference.

Unilateral Intervention: A humanitarian intervention carried out by a single state or a coalition of states without the authorization of the United Nations Security Council.