Knowra Humanitarian intervention Humanitarian intervention Humanitarian intervention is the use or threat of military force by outside actors, claimed to stop severe abuses within a state. Its legality and legitimacy remain contested when the state has not consented.
Responsibility to Protect : A political commitment that states should protect populations from mass atrocities and that the international community should respond when they fail. It recasts protection from a claimed right to intervene as a responsibility, with military action subject to collective authorization.
Collective security : A system in which states cooperate to deter or respond collectively to threats to international peace. Humanitarian force may operate within collective security institutions, but its claimed purpose is protection from internal abuse.
Indian intervention in East Pakistan : India's 1971 military intervention in East Pakistan, which helped bring about the creation of Bangladesh. It is often cited as a case where force halted mass violence, alongside strategic and self-determination motives.
Civilian protection : Measures intended to prevent or reduce harm to civilians during armed conflict and other violence. It is the stated outcome against which a humanitarian intervention's conduct and results are judged.
Humanitarian intervention and international law : The debate over whether international law permits force to stop severe abuses within a state without that state's consent. There is no generally accepted legal right to intervene unilaterally for humanitarian purposes.
United Nations Security Council : The United Nations organ with primary responsibility for international peace and security and authority to authorize certain enforcement measures. Its authorization can supply a legal basis for force, but vetoes can prevent action.
Sovereignty : The authority of a state over its territory and domestic affairs, subject to obligations under international law. Intervention challenges non-interference, while protection arguments treat sovereignty as carrying duties toward populations.
Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia : Vietnam's 1978 invasion of Cambodia that overthrew the Khmer Rouge government. The invasion ended Khmer Rouge rule and mass killing, but its humanitarian rationale was disputed amid strategic motives.
Collateral damage : Incidental death, injury, or damage to civilian people or objects during an attack on a military target. Civilian casualties can undermine the protective justification and expose failures of proportionality.
Unilateralism : Action by a state or group of states without authorization or agreement from a relevant multilateral body. Unilateral action raises acute questions about legal authority, selectivity, and the risk of abuse.
Show all 27