Justification of the UN Humanitarian Intervention in Libya - Essay Example

? Justification of the UN Humanitarian Intervention in Libya College Introduction Since the end of the cold war, various nations have been called to intervene by the use of military force in order to protect persons other than their citizens from humanitarian disasters (Corten 2008). Several issues have arisen on the subject of humanitarian aid, the significant one being what interest do the intervening states or bodies pursue. The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) concept adopted by the United Nations in 2005 has been the main point of debate with one group viewing it as a crucial development redefining sovereignty as the duty to protect people rather than borders, while another group viewing R2P as imperialism propagated by Western countries disguised to hide its true intentions (UN 2008). Considering both the views listed above and the situation that existed in Libya during the unrest, an important question arises: was humanitarian intervention justified? By considering the systematic violation of human rights by the regime, the aggravating refugee situation and the rampant anarchy, do the UN protocols really reflect changes in international politics? In addition to this, does it justify the need for humanitarian intervention in such a way that the needs of the country are met without negative impacts such as exploitation? Did the situation in Libya really necessitate UN humanitarian intervention? And do the rules and regulations laid down by the UN justify military intervention in Libya under international law? As a result of these questions, the underlying factor that stands is whether there is need to justify the UN Humanitarian Intervention in Libya. In this paper, I shall review the problem statement in order to understand the background of the situation. Review of the various literatures concerning humanitarian intervention with a focus on the United Nation shall then be carried out. I shall then develop a testable hypothesis which will then be tested to show a causal-effect relationship. Problem Statement This research seeks to find out whether UN peace keeping protocols are in compliance with international law on matters regarding military intervention with a focus on the Libyan civil unrest. The research intends to justify the military operation carried out in Libya based on the provisions of the United Nations Security Council charter as well as international law. On February 2011, protests began in Libya to oust the government of Muammar Gaddafi. The protests were part of a bigger revolution that was taking place in most of the Islamic nations at the time including Tunisia, Egypt and Syria (Pargeter, 2012). Gaddafi unleashed his military force on his quest to crush the rebellion. After this, the rebellion spread rapidly throughout Libya and soon Gadhafi lost hold over most of the eastern part of his country. On 26th February 2011, the United Nations Security Council adopted the resolution 1970 calling upon member states to: ensure that no arms exchange took place across their borders to Libya, freeze assets owned by Gaddafi and those in his government allied to him, and to facilitate humanitarian aid in Libya (Cheslow 2012). The resolution however did not ratify the use of military force in Libya. Due to increasing fighting and an increase in oppression of Libyans by Gadhafi’s loyalist, a multistate coalition began military operations on 19th march 2011 (Noueihed 2012). Air strikes against army tanks and bases were carried out thereby frustrating the efforts of Gaddafi’s forces to bring the country to heel. International law generally proscribes that nations should apply the doctrine of non-intervention when dealing with intervention of parties within the territory of a sovereign nation. Von Hippel (1995) defines intervention as the use of coercive tactics to direct a given nation to take a particular course that it would not have likely taken and may involve military action by a foreign power in a domestic conflict. Intervention may take other forms than military actions such as supporting opposition forces or rebel forces in another country or availing monetary aid to political parties (Tsagourias 2000). Von Hippel (1995) further notes that the non-intervention doctrine means that nations have no unilateral rights to use cohesive measures through the use of force or threat of force in the internal affairs of another nation. The United Nation interventions measures usually occur in several forms, primarily through peacekeeping. The United Nations charter contains two chapters that cover dispute settlement that have the ability to endanger international peace. Chapter VI covers pacific settlement while also giving the UN Security Council the right to arbitrate and investigate, which take the form of diplomatic envoys, observation missions and diplomatic offices (Walling 2013). Chapter VII on the other hand, offers the Security Council the right to carry out sanctions under article 41. It also gives the Council the right to undertake military actions necessary to preserve international security and peace under article 42 (Sturchler 2006). This paper shall review literature that covers the United Nations protocol on humanitarian intervention which a focus on the Libya civil Unrest. I shall focus on the speed of recovery, both politically and economically in countries where conflicts and UN peacekeeping missions have been conducted. Literature Review In examining the legality of humanitarian intervention various studies have been taken to determine the factors that may necessitate intervention by the UN. Welsh (2006) examine conditions in which humanitarian intervention may be justified. He notes that collective intervention under the support of the United Nations may be undertaken in order to protect citizens from a foreign state from abuse that is so persistent and arbitrary such that it surpasses the confines of authority that is just and reasonable. Welsh argues that the United Nations has the authority under international law to undertake humanitarian intervention if persecution and acts of cruelty are committed by a given government against its own people in such a way that it shocks the conscience of mankind (Welsh 2006). Hehir (2010) argues that humanitarian intervention can only be lawful and Intra Vires if the existing conditions in a given country amounts to a breach or aggression to international security. He notes that this is the only condition that Chapter VII of the UN charter grants humanitarian intervention. In addition to this, Hehir (2010) indicates that the Libyan situation does not constitute a breach of conditions laid down by the charter. He argues that the government reactions to the rebel situation in Libya and the protests was within the rights of sovereignty and this internal situation did not have any impact on international peace or security. Hurd (2011) however argues that the legality of humanitarian intervention is indeterminate. Hence proposes that UN humanitarian intervention is neither legal nor illegal but exists where every instance where it is undertaken can be possibly be viewed as compliance or non-compliance with international laws. Hurd (2011) reviews the various charters of the UN dealing with international law and the history of humanitarian intervention. He looks at past cases where humanitarian intervention has been taken by the UN and the outcomes of these endeavors. In order to develop his case, he reviews the language utilized in the UN charter dealing with humanitarian intervention. He notes that by looking at the letter of the law, cross-border military humanitarian intervention is illegal such as the case of Libya. Corten (2008) however argues that international law is constantly changing and by looking at the situation that occurred in Rwanda and Kosovo, the laws laid down by the UN charter have to be followed according to each particular case. He argues that the restrictions on military intervention that were laid down by Article 2(4) lost its legal potency by being constantly violated by various countries in the world. He also argues that the environment of international relationships has change such that the doctrine of non-intervention has withdrawn in favor of humanitarianism. Finally, he notes that the concepts of humanitarian intervention and sovereignty are actually complementary rather than contradictory, such that sovereignty depends on the ability of a given government to protect its citizens. If a government abuses its citizens, it therefore loses any legal protection against humanitarian intervention. Research Design Hypothesis After the cold war, several atrocities have necessitated the need for humanitarian intervention. The situation in Rwanda has shown that humanitarian intervention is a crucial aspect of the modern international law. If the UN humanitarian efforts in Libya are justifiable, there are certain indicators that we expect to see. These indicators are empirically illustrated by the fact that a country must have apparent conflict and disagreement ahead of the intervention program and unremitting disputes must be documented. Taken as a just and correct approach, the intervention efforts should yield certain benefits and show a positive quantifiable change. H1: Humanitarian Intervention will be avoided if negotiation efforts are carried out first Theoretically, if the UN’s main aim is to prevent atrocities and stop them, it will have a better chance of succeeding if negotiation is carried out between both sides of the conflict. Intervention comes with the cost of post intervention conflict and instability where a nation has proven that it has no amicable means to solve their problem. Owing to this fact, intervention can only be justified if it is carried out as only the last resort. Despite this, there are number of examples where negotiation can and has avoided intervention. This includes, Persian Gulf war where George Bush created a huge and wide ranging international coalition and set up approximately over a half million American personnel to the Persian Gulf region as part of an allied force (Murray, & Scales, Jr., 2004). Finally, in Somalia, when the war broke out, the American government sent about 25,000 troops to assist the United Nations with allocation of famine relief food supplies (Benjamin, 1992). “The notion that because a regime is detestable, foreign intervention is justified and forcible overthrow is legitimate is extremely dangerous. That could ultimately jeopardize the very maintenance of international law and order and make the continued existence of various regimes dependent on the judgment of their neighbors” (Wheeler 2000, 93). In this research, justified intervention and negotiation efforts are the variables with justified intervention being the dependent variable while negotiation efforts being the independent variable. The number and type of communications between the UN and the Libyan government prior to the humanitarian intervention in Libya will measure negotiation efforts while expert’s opinion and the UN charter will describe justified intervention. If this hypothesis is correct, then the military intervention that took place in Libya cannot be justified. If the hypothesis is however wrong, and negotiations were carried out first without any positive impact on the human rights infringement in Libya, then the humanitarian intervention efforts were justified. H2: Humanitarian intervention will cause a greater increase in post-conflict political and economic recovery The main task of humanitarian intervention is to stop excessive and catastrophic infringement of human rights. This means that for intervention to be justified it should have a positive impact on the citizens of the country, that is, the citizens should be in a better position than they previously were. “The deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping operation will generate high expectations among the local population regarding its ability to meet their most pressing needs. A perceived failure to meet these expectations, no matter how unrealistic, may cause a United Nations peacekeeping operation to become a focus for popular dissatisfaction, or worse, active opposition” (UN 2008, 38). In this research, Change in the GDP of Libya will be the independent variable while justified intervention will be the dependent variable. We expect that if this hypothesis is correct the GDP of Libya after intervention will increase when the intervention efforts increased. If the hypothesis is wrong, the GDP will remain the same or will decrease thus negating the need for intervention. H3: Humanitarian efforts will increase the freedom of citizens Humanitarian efforts are meant to protect the people of a given country from oppression and unnecessary deaths. It therefore holds that intervention should decrease civilian casualties and finally create an environment where civilians are exposed to both death and oppression. For instance in Lebanon in the early 1980s, the American government deployed troops to handle the conflicts from the Israel attacks (Salibi, 1977). This was a humanitarian effort that led to the increase in freedom to the citizens of Lebanon. This was meant to restore sanity and support the unstable Lebanese government and work hand in hand for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and military troops (Salibi, 1977). Another case study involved Libya which was as a result of a bomb attack on a Western Berlin discotheque by US service men (Von, & Mathieu, 2011). This led to a launch of raid on Libya, the suspected supporter of the bombing. This was a huge battle with Libya all the way through the 1980s on its support to international terrorism and its assertion over the Gulf of Sidra (Von, & Mathieu, 2011). Finally, subsequent to a deadly bombing of Sarajevo market center, NATO forces instigated a huge military action in the history of the alliance (Committee on Foreign Relations, 1992). This took place in about 2 weeks of air strikes, mounted with powerful Croat-Muslim offensive on the ground, pushing the Bosnian Serbs to the conciliation table. This led to all the parties to converge at Dayton, Ohio state and agree to a peace resolution program (Committee on Foreign Relations, 1992). The airstrikes came to an end subsequent to humanitarian efforts with parties and the military. The resolution arrived at was that military force should not be used for creating peace and fostering freedom among citizens ever again. “The idea of contingent sovereignty suggests that statehood itself is legally dependent on acceptable government behavior, such that failure of a government to meet certain minimum standards nullifies its claim to noninterference. This may or may not involve a “responsibility” for outside states to intervene; but is does mean that the government in question has lost the protection entailed by sovereign statehood such that any invasion no longer involves transgressing a legal or physical boundary of nonintervention” (Hurd 2011, 315). In this research, freedom will be measured by civilian casualties, access to basic rights and political freedom (voting rights). Justification of humanitarian intervention will be measured by the views of various experts on the subject of the UN charter as well as the outcomes of the efforts. If this hypothesis is correct we expect civilian casualties to decrease as the humanitarian efforts increase and access to basic rights to increase as the humanitarian intervention efforts increased. Indicators and Data Source In this research I shall review various studies carried out in the past in relation to humanitarian intervention. I shall then look at the various provisions of the UN charter and how they relate to humanitarian intervention in Libya. Finally, I shall look at the conditions before and after the war in Libya and what impact humanitarian intervention had on facilitating the civil unrest. Indicators to be used in the research include civilian casualties, total damage, economic factors and political stability before and after UN intervention in Libya. In order to look at justification in empirical terms, I shall thus evaluate the change in the GDP of Libya to follow changes brought out by the humanitarian actions. The retrieved data will be collected and grouped into the dependent and independent variables. After this a scatter plot will be developed so as to look at the changes that occur throughout the whole period humanitarian intervention in Libya was occurring. Methodology In order to review the humanitarian efforts in Libya, the research shall critically review various papers written on humanitarian intervention by the UN in various countries. I shall review the UN charter and examine how its various provisions apply when dealing with aspects of the Libyan civil unrest. I shall look at how the UN charter has evolved over time and whether its provision can justify intervention in Libya. In the research I also intend to collect data on the Libyan situation. These data will include, total casualties and how they changed throughout the unrest, economic change before and after civil unrest, change in political situation, and the views of Libyans as to the change in regime. The research will study time series data on Libya and how this data compares to states that have never had civil war and also states in which the UN has intervened in the past. During the course of the research, I shall also collect data from United Nations archives and Human Rights Commission databases. The data will be collected to show the change that occurred in Libya and what contribution the humanitarian intervention played in causing the said changes and whether they were positive or negative. Conclusion Humanitarian intervention is a very contentious issue in the world at present times. Many critics to this process hold that these efforts are a means of industrialized nation to test their military might or develop channels of resource acquirement. In Libya, an oil rich country, the UN sanctioned military humanitarian intervention in early 2011. This was as a result of internal conflicts that had no bearing on international security or peace. This research will look at the justification of this effort and what impact it had on Libya. We hypothesize that the outcomes of the humanitarian intervention does not fulfill the conditions laid out by UN Security Council charter, thus the humanitarian intervention carried out cannot be justified. Bibliography Benjamin, F., 1992. The Cold War, 1945–1991: Leaders and other important figures in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China, and the Third World, (Gale Research:), p. 306 ISBN 0-8103-8928-2. Cheslow, Daniella. 2012. “Tasting the Brutality of Qaddafi’s Regime.” The Journal of Food and Culture 12, no. 1 43-59. Committee on Foreign Relations, 1992. US Senate, The Ethnic Cleansing of Bosnia- Hercegovina, (US Government Printing Office). Corten, Oliver 2008. “Human rights and Collective Security: Is there an emerging Right to Humanitarian Intervention?” In Human Rights, Intervention, and the Use of Force, edited by Philip Aston and Euan MacDonald, 72-102: Oxford: Oxford University Press,. Hehir, Aidan. 2010. Humanitarian Intervention: An Introduction. New Jersey: Pargrave Macmillian. Hurd, Ian. 2011. “Is Humanitarian Intervention Legal? The Rule of Law in an Incoherent World.” Ethics & International Affairs 25, no. 3: 293-333. Murray, W., & R., H., Scales, Jr., 2004. The Iraq War: A Military History (2003) and B. Woodward, Plan of Attack. Noueihed, Lin. 2012. The Battle for the Arab Spring. New Heaven: Yale University Press. Pargeter, Alison. 2012. Libya: The Rise and Fall of Qaddafi. New York: Yale University Press. Salibi, K. 1977. The Modern History of Lebanon. Delmar: Caravan Books. ISBN 0-88206-015-5. Sturchler, Nikolas. 2006. The Threat of Force in International Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tsagourias, Nicholas. 2000. “Humanitarian Intervention After Kosovo and Legal Discourse: Self-Deception or Self-Consciousness?” Leiden Journal of International Law 13, 11-32. United Nations. 2008 United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Principles and Guidelines. New York: United Nations Secretariat Von Hippel, Karin. 1995. “The Non-Interventionary Norm Prevails: An Analysis of the Western Sahara,” The Journal of Modern African Studies 33, No. 1 67-81. Von, R., Mathieu. 2011. "Tribal Rivalries Complicate Libyan War". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 26 July 2011. Walling, Carrie Booth. 2013. All Necessary Measures: The United Nations and Humanitarian Intervention. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Welsh, Jennifer. 2006. Humanitarian Intervention and International relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wheeler, Nicholas. 2000. Saving Strangers: Humanitarian Intervention in International Society. Oxford University Press Oxford. Read More