... international peace and security in compliance with Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
In case of Syria the doctrine hasn’t been invoked yet, because substantial disagreements over R2P’s practical implementation led to a political stalemate at the UN Security Council. And it is not surprising as the doctrine in its current form was never meant to be a panacea.
First of all, R2P is a non-binding norm, not an international law. It can only be invoked by the UN Security Council and only when the interests ...
... intervention, which defines who has the right to authorize military intervention.
Criterion 6: Right authority
It is rather important to ensure that a military intervention is legitimate and has broad support from the international community. The United Nations Security Council is the only international body that should represent the world’s voice and make decisions with binding force. But the politicization of the Security Council sometimes prevents it from making just decisions that could save lives....
... – intervention is different from full scale war. Proportional means would put a constraint on the use of force, which should be minimized during humanitarian interventions.
Coupled with proportional means, a clear mandate authorized by the UN Security Council containing detailed instructions on what exactly can and cannot be done on the ground will manage the expectations of all parties to the conflict, reduce criticism, and assure more support among UN Member States. Governments that contribute ...
... interests – such as the struggle for power, identity or resources – and are not likely to give up on their interests easily.
To be continued...
[1] U.N. Security Council, 3368th meeting.Resolution 912 (S/RES/912). 21 April 1994.
[2] U.N. Security Council. Report of the Independent Inquiry into the actions of the United Nations during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda (S/1999/1257).16 December 1999.
[3] U.N. Security Council. 6498 th meeting. Resolution 1973 (S/RES/1973). 17 March 2011.
[4] U.N. Refugee Agency. Syria Regional Refugee Response. http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional....
... primary motivation for intervention (Right intention)
the international community can supply adequate means and the intervention will bring more good than harm (Proportional means and reasonable prospect)
the military intervention is authorized by the UN Security Council (Right authority)
Criterion 1: Last resort
The end goal of any conflict, including a military one, is to find a negotiated solution. Yet before military intervention is considered as an option we must first be sure that a negotiated ...
... some strategic or/and geopolitical interest in the country or region requiring intervention. The clear mechanisms and criteria on military interventions set forth in international law would likely partially solve some problems of politicization of the Security Council and selective approaches to conflicts.
As the former Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated in his recent book on interventions: “If the United Nations truly wants to reflect a humanity that cared more, not less, for the suffering in its midst, and would do more, and not less, to end it, the organization had to be an agent of intervention in every sphere of human security”.
