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Why Did Humanitarian Intervention Take Off In The 1990s

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Why did the concept and practice of humanitarian intervention take off in the 1990s?

The concept and practice of Humanitarian Intervention (HI) is not a uniquely 20th century idea, with its roots in early 19th century debates over “the issue of interfering in the rights of sovereign states ‘in the cause of humanity’”.1 However, due to the confluence of various political and social developments, the 1990s saw a rapid increase in HI, with the United Nations (UN) becoming involved with 35 different peacekeeping missions during the decade, out of a total of 69 undertaken between the years of 1948 and 2014.2 As shall be shown, there are numerous, often interrelated factors which influenced this increase, including the end of the Cold War (CW) and …show more content…

This phenomenon in which public reaction to news media influences policy is termed the 'CNN effect'.20 The impact this had on public perceptions of the need for HI is summed up by former US Secretary of State James Baker III, who asserted that "[i]n Iraq, Bosnia, Somalia, Rwanda, and Chechnya, among others, the real-time coverage of conflict by the electronic media has served to create a powerful new imperative for prompt action that was not present in less frenetic [times]".21 This effect served to reduce complex issues and conflicts to a simple 'bad guys and victims' narrative which, to the viewer, could thus be easily resolved through intervention.22 Also of note in relation to the rising public awareness of humanitarian crises was the huge growth at the time in the amount of NGOs dealing with humanitarian issues, and their exploitation of new media forms such as the internet to disseminate …show more content…

The creation in 1993 of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and the subsequent creation of similar entities in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and East Timor, paved the way for the formation in 1998 of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which had “unprecedented powers to prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression.”27 The humanitarian crises of the 1990s also triggered debate as to the limits of state sovereignty. Historically, unconditional state sovereignty has been regarded as a crucial element of the international order.28 However, incidents such as the Rwandan genocide led to arguments that state sovereignty need not be absolute, such as Kofi Annan's assertion that the “evolution in our understanding of State sovereignty” represented by HI is “is an evolution that we should welcome”.29 Such a position was further codified by the adoption of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which maintains that sovereignty is conditional on a state's willingness or ability to protect its citizens, and which explicitly states in the introduction of its initial report by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty that it is motivated by the view that “[w]e want no more

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As part of its intervention, the United States have been sending troops to fight in other countries. Most times the U.S. send troops to overthrow autocratic rulers and build democracy. There is also another kind of intervention, it takes place during crisis to provide humanitarian aid. However, in both cases, the U.S. government should make a clear and thoughtful strategic decision before getting involved and send troops under any condition. Later on it becomes difficult to withdraw the troops and bring them back home due to the unclear reasons from the beginning.

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After many years of pushing aside the unlawful subject of genocide, in 1948 the UN General assembly held an international convention on the prevention, and punishment against the crime of genocide; it was finally put to work in 1951. (Doc. B) Even though we knew genocide was happening in the past with the holocaust, it took us around four decades to go through creating an international criminal tribunal until 1994. (Doc. B) The main question leaves us in document B saying, “Why did it take so long, despite atrocities and mass killings in Cambodia, East Timor, and elsewhere?”

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The Role of Canadian Forces in World Peace Researcher Asif Ali Research Supervisor (Minhaj University, Lahore) Prof. Dr. Nadar Bakht Research Supervisor (Memorial University of New Foundland, Canada) Prof. Ivan Savic 1. Timeline of UN Peacekeeping Missions 2.

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D). In Document A “study the problem of genocide and to prepare a report on the possibilities of declaring genocide an international crime.” Although this would have been a great action to protect civilians value during the Nazi crimes, which were inhumane. However, due to the “lack of adequate provisions and previous formulation of international law, the Nuremberg Tribunal had to dismiss the Nazi crimes,” (Doc. A). The international government have not payed attention to serious issues concerning their people.

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The Western nations of Europe and the Americas have been and most likely will be the world’s most powerful and strong countries in the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that Western countries tend to meddle in foreign affairs concerning less developed countries and cause a larger global issue amongst themselves. While doing this, international human rights laws may be violated, specifically the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Australia has committed many war crimes and violated both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and international law. One example of these human right violations is the illegal detention of refugees on the island of Manus.

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Rachel Reyes Frankenbush – 3 AP Government 25 January 2016 Paper #1 Over the past thirty years, media has become more accessible, advanced, and useful for people around the world. Due to the rise in the types of media outlets and availability to information, the public is more engaged and knowledgeable in political affairs. This rise in public engagement and knowledge through the widespread availability of information has reinvented the way government and politics are handled and effected by the people. Media today is used as a persuasive device to sway the public’s support and strengthen their own beliefs.

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The concept of just war theory paved the way to establishing a way of prosecuting those who committed crimes during war. International Law, established by the United Nations defines the legal responsibilities of states in their conduct with each and the treatment of individuals. Under the International law is the International humanitarian law, which

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Introduction Personal liability for crimes recognized by international law has been a controversial issue throughout many years. It was only after World War II and the Nuremberg trials, that this idea of individual criminal responsibility for severe violations of international law was developed (Byers, 2000). One of the legal consequences of framing an act as an international crime is that it may give rise to universal jurisdiction, which essentially allows any state to try and punish alleged perpetrators of some crimes so heinous that they amount to crimes against humanity, regardless of where they occurred or the nationality of the victim or perpetrator (Khojasteh, 2007).

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Humanitarian intervention as characterized by many intends to permit a foreign state to stop or prevent infringement of human rights in another state, at times through the utilization of military power. The use of force by military to ensure respect of human rights, nonetheless, conveys with it the dangers of civilians and military losses and a scale up of violence, and it rarely gives provides long term solutions for reasons of conflict. The achievement of a intervention ought to essentially be dictated by whether it has spared lives; then again, this can't be divided from whether it empowers long haul steadiness to forestall future clash and death toll. Humanitarian intervention utilizing armed military, at times, may be the best way to avert mass killing, and with this target it can have a positive result. This essay will consider the experiences of Kosovo 1999 and East Timor 2002.

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The Effects of the Media During the Time of War Connor Wood Elon University I. Introduction The relationship between the media and war has been a topic of interest for decades. During times of conflict, the media plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion, influencing government policies, and impacting the lives of those involved. The Iraq War, which began in 2003 and lasted for over eight years, was no exception. The media's coverage of the war had a significant impact on the public's perception of the conflict, military strategy, and the lives of the Iraqi people. The war was a controversial conflict that was waged by a coalition of countries led by the United

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A key reason why humanitarian military intervention is justified is because states do not have the right to do what they want to their own citizens. In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly stated that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a ‘common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations’ (United Nations, 1948). Therefore, once a state fails to uphold these standards, it should no longer be protected by international law and the transgression becomes a matter for the international community. For example, when Milosevic attempted to drive Kosovan Albanians out of the province in the late 1990s, NATO launched air strikes (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, 1999). Also, the introduction of the ‘Responsibility

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Socioeconomic, psychological, biological and behavioral factors are included in many different causes and correlates of crime. Many theories provide a multiple cause of how people become criminal. Differential A. theory says through the relations with others, gang is for example, individuals study the values, attitudes, techniques and motives for criminal behavior. According to train theory, social structures in the societies encourage citizens to commit crime “Higher total socioeconomic status (usually measured using the three variables income (or wealth), occupational level, and years of education) correlate with less crime. ”(Psychology wiki Correlates of crime,) Labeling theory embraces the idea that the elite’s negatively labeling minorities

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INTROCUTION To translate the R2P principles to deeds will require serious commitment from all the governments who unanimously affirmed at the 2005 World Summit Outcome that “each individual State has the responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity” (UN world summit, 2005). To relies a credible implementation, it is necessary that Paragraphs 138 and 139 of the Outcome which goes to the real issue of operationalizing the responsibility to protect (widely referred to as “R2P” in English) is sincerely adhered to by all. This brief paper will cover current R2P debate and the complex issue of implementing the R2P pillars which are: Pillar one the protection responsibilities of the State (sect. II).

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The United States sudden war in Iraq was originally wildly popular but over the years more and more Americans have adjusted their views to be more critical of the invasion. Perhaps the single most important factor in driving initial support for the Iraq war was the mainstream media; Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and CBS. The justification of the war was the alleged presence of weapons of mass destruction, or WMD’s within Iraq, along with the September 11th attacks in the United States. Despite this, the Pentagon was highly involved with the media in ensuring a pro-war bias that led to heavy claims of censorship and propaganda being disseminated within the news. Overall, the coverage of the war turned into a running highlight reel that you would

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On the legal grounds, the act of humanitarian intervention is still debatable, On the one hand, there was a responsibility to limit the use of force to self-defense according to the UN Charter. On the other hand, there was strong international pressure to abide by commitments to human rights and the right to life. This has constitute tensions in an international law system, Humanitarian intervention as the justifiable act to intervene while it is contrary to the principle of sovereignty and nonintervention in the UN system and international law. An evolving international norms related to human rights and the use of force.

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