Tipuri de intervenţii internaţionale: Capitolul VII,

intervenţii umanitare, responsabilitatea de a proteja

Dr. Serban Filip Cioculescu,

Lector, Universitatea din Bucuresti
 Humanitarian intervention, responsibility to protect

• The United Nations, the main universal organization in the world,

which was created in the aftermath of World War II to promote
peace and stability, has a classical doctrine which emphasizes the
importance of equal sovereignty among states and this concept
was extended also for the newly independent nations or those
seeking independence by decolonization process.
• The UN Charter stated that: "Nothing contained in the present
Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters
which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state."
But of course, the UN was allowed to intervene, even with military
force, in case of a threat to peace, a breach of peace, or acts of
aggression on the part of the state.
 Humanitarian intervention, responsibility to protect

• The UN has been created to deal with conflicts among states not within
states and the UNSC was supposed to be like a directorate of the world
great powers having if not the same vision on war/peace issues at least the
will to keep peace and security. This is the reason why peace-keeping
operations had not been foreseen in the UN Charter in 1945.
• UNSC – according to article 39 of the Charter decides case by case the
situations of threat to peace/ breaches of the peace – after 1990 the
authority of the UNSC extended also to activities like peace-keeping,
humanitarian crisis, nation-building, civil wars termination etc.
• Peace-keeping vs. peace-enforcement missions: the humanitarian
intervention is based on peace-enforcement – coercive actions of invading a
state by a UN mandate force, in order to destroy or mitigate a threat to
international peace and security (no consensus of the host country is
required). Peace-keeping missions are negotiated between UN and states,
with the consent of the “target” country.
 Humanitarian intervention, responsibility to protect

• It is for the Security Council to determine when and where a UN

Peacekeeping operation should be deployed.
• The Security Council established peacekeeping operations by
adopting Security Council resolutions. The resolution sets out that
mission’s mandate and size.
• The Security Council monitors the work of UN Peacekeeping
operations on an ongoing basis, including through periodic reports
from the Secretary-General and by holding dedicated Security
Council sessions to discuss the work of specific operations.
• The SC and the GA must fully cooperate to organise peace-
operations
Humanitarian intervention, responsibility
to protect
• The Security Council can vote to extend, amend or end mission mandates
as it deems appropriate.
• United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution 377 A (V), called "Uniting for
Peace" resolution was adopted in November 1950 - the most important part of this
resolution is section A which states that where the Security Council, because of
lack of unanimity of the permanent members, fails to exercise its primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, the General
Assembly shall seize itself of the matter.
• if the Assembly is not in session, it may meet in “emergency special session” at the
request of the Security Council or of a majority of its own members. Cases of: threat
to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression. 
• such a session shall be convened with a view to making appropriate
recommendations for “collective measures…including the use of armed force when
necessary”. But the General Assembly can never be a full substitute for the Security
Council in this area.
• Of course, USA, Russia (USSR) were/are against this interpretation of P.K. by the
General Assembly!
 Humanitarian intervention, responsibility to protect

• UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles: Consent of the

parties; Impartiality (neutrality); Non-use of force except in self-defence
and defence of the mandate. UN peace-keeping began in 1948 in the
Middle East, to separate Israel and its Arab neighbors.
• Since then, 69 peacekeeping operations have been deployed by the UN, 56
of them since 1988.  Over the years, hundreds of thousands of military
personnel, as well as tens of thousands of UN police and other civilians from
more than 120 countries have participated in UN peacekeeping operations.
More than 3,326 UN peacekeepers from some 120 countries have died while
serving under the UN flag.
• After the Cold War ended, there was a rapid increase in the number of
peacekeeping operations. Civilians became more and more victims of
military operations. With a new consensus and a common sense of
purpose, the Security Council authorized a total of 20 new operations
between 1989 and 1994, raising the number of peacekeepers from 11,000 to
75,000.
• The Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the Genocide Convention of
1948 somehow questioned the nonintervention principle to lay down the
commitment of the world community to prevent and punish criminals against
humankind.
Personnel and funds – “UN Peace Keeping Department” statistics

A. Uniformed personnel: 104,773 (as of 31 March 2016)

• Troops: 89,546
• Police: 13,434
• Military observers: 1,793
• Civilian personnel: 16,471 (as of 31 July 2015)
• International: 5,256 Local: 11,215
• UN Volunteers: 1,809 (as of 31 March 2016)
• Total number of personnel serving in 16 peacekeeping operations: 123,053
• Countries contributing uniformed personnel: 123
• Total fatalities in current operations: 1,689 /Total fatalities in all peace
operations since 1948: 3,466
• The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) was built to
assist the Member States and the Secretary-General in their efforts to
maintain international peace and security
 Personnel and funds – UN PK Department statistics

• B. Financial aspects
• - Approved resources for the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016: about
$8.27 billion
• - Outstanding contributions to peacekeeping (30 June 2015): about $1.6
billion
• Source:http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/resources/statistics/
factsheet.shtml
• Arrears are a chronic problem for the United Nations. Many poorer nations
cannot afford their full assessment. Other countries, notably the United
States in past years, have delayed or withheld payments for reasons
unrelated to their ability to pay. Under the UN Charter, member states that
are two years in arrears at the UN can lose their vote in the General
Assembly. Timely payment of dues is crucial because shortfalls in the UN's
budget can cripple peacekeeping missions and delay humanitarian aid, with
costs measured in lives and human suffering.
 Humanitarian intervention, responsibility to protect

• The UN founders were overwhelmingly preoccupied with the

problem of states waging war against each other, and the Charter
as a rule outlawed the use of force, the only exceptions being self-
defence in countering an attack (Article 51), and when an operation
is authorised (under Chapter VII) by the Security Council.
• UN - a new international institution given unprecedented authority to
act in cases of threats to international peace and security.
• Inheritance of the decolonization period – the newly emerging states
were proud of their identity, worry of their fragility, they saw the non-
intervention norm as one of their few defenses against threats and
pressures from regional and great powers.
• This tendency inhibited the development of a clear obligation to
respond in an effective way to situations of catastrophic internal
human rights violations like the genocide crime.
 Civil wars – the most frequent pattern
• Statistic, baza de date Correlates of War arată că războaiele civile au fost
mai numeroase decât cele interstatale, după 1945, iar trendul s-a accentuat
şi după Războiul Rece.
• Intre 1945 şi 1997 au existat 108 războaie civile şi 11,4 milioane de
decedaţi, faţă de 23 de războaie interstatale şi 3,3 milioane de morţi pe
câmpul de luptă.
• O altă statistică, a Băncii Mondiale, arată că între 1945 şi 2005, războaiele
civile au ucis circa 20 de milioane de persoane şi au transformat alte 67 de
milioane în refugiaţi. Universitarii americani JD Fearon şi DD Laitin au
contabilizat intre 1945 şi 1999 de cinci ori mai multe războaie inter-
statale decât intra-statale şi de cinci ori mai multe victime în cazul celor intra-
statale. Corelaţia r.c. cu statele eşuate din Africa, Orientul Mijlociu şi Asia
• Uppsala Conflict Data Program menţionează că în 2014 a crescut
semnificativ numărul conflictelor militare din lume, anume 40, dintre care 11
sunt considerate războaie (adică cu minim 1000 de decedaţi) - 10 sunt de tip
civil.
 The Brahimi Report (2000)

• The “Brahimi report” was written in 2000 by a panel of ten experts in

response to the dramatic failures of UN peacekeeping in the 1990s,
especially in Rwanda (1994) and Srebrenica (1995).
• Lakhdar Brahimi, an experienced UN Algerian diplomat, was the
Chair of the Panel
• Brahimi report asked that peacekeeping mission include the
doctrine of R2P, which encompasses the responsibility to prevent,
react and rebuild.
• The doctrine of R2P, like the Brahimi report, considers intervention
to be a last resort and therefore the international community must
focus on prevention . The Brahimi report focuses on early warning
by suggesting an increased UN cooperation with regional
organisations. 
 The Brahimi Report (2000)

• Immediate relief was no longer the first priority of the UN.

• Instead, reconstruction, development, transitional adminsitrations and
sustainable peace became one of the main concerns of the organisation,
which was striving to facilitate peacebuilding. 
• The Panel noted that in order to be effective, UN peacekeeping operations
must be properly resourced and equipped, and operate under clear, credible
and achievable mandates. 
• It addresses many of the holes in UN military, strategic and planning
functions that were left by the Military Staff Committee (MSC) which
stopped functioning after twenty-nine months in July 1948.
• It was envisaged that a powerful joint UN military staff would advise the
Security Council and execute its orders, and would also bring about a
reduction in armaments and disarmament.
 Historical precedents before W.W.2

• 1827 – UK, France, Russia fought against Ottoman Empire at the battle of
Navarino, to protect Greek Insurgents
• 1877-1878 – Russia declares war against the Ottoman Empire allegedly to
protect Christians in Bulgaria and Bosnia H., victims of Turkish violence
• 1898 – USA invaded Cuba during a war with Spain and when 200.000
Cubans were said to have died in Spanish concentration camps.
• 1900 – US and UK intervened with armed forces in China against the Boxer
rebellion to protect their (and other western) citizens. Real reason – to force
China keep trading with them.
• 1913 – Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece invade Macedonia and fight against the
Ottomans to “protect” Christians there (real reason: to take more land in
these area and increase their homelands)
• 1939 – German invasion in Czechoslovakia – to “protect” the German
minority
 Historical precedents during the Cold War era

• India intervened in East Pakistan (1971) – India defeated Pakistan and

helped the emergence of Bangladesh and indirectly protected the lives of
Bangladeshi civilians against Pakistan’s reprisals
• Tanzania send military forces in Uganda (1979) – Tanzanian forces
invaded Uganda and helped local population get rid of the bloody dictator Idi
Amin Dada (killer of more than 300.000 of its citizens)
• Vietnam invasion in Cambodia (1979) – the genocide in Cambodia order
by the criminal regime of khmer Pol Pot between 1975-1979 killed 15% of
the population – the international community did nothing to stop it because
the criminals and the victim belonged to the same ethnic and religious
group, with the same country. Eventually Vietnam intervened merely against
the Cambodian regime but it produced a humanitarian positive issue:
anyway, the effect was widespread criticism of Vietnamese aggression.
• All of them were strategic invasions, condemned by UNSC, but which
helped put an end to criminal regimes and allowed civilians stay alive)))
 Intervenţii umanitare, responsabilitatea de a proteja

• Post-Cold War era: failed states, humanitarian disasters

• After the Cold War, when some states collapsed and ethnic-religious
clashed erupted the legal mechanisms proved to be not well adapted:
the failure of UN and USA in Somalia, the inaction in response to the
Rwanda genocide in 1994 and failure to halt the 1995 Srebrenica
massacre in Bosnia highlight the complexities of international
responses to crimes against humanity.
• In his Millennium Report of 2000, then Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
recalling the failures of the Security Council to act in a decisive manner in
Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, put forward a challenge to Member
States: "If humanitarian intervention is, indeed, an unacceptable assault on
sovereignty, how should we respond to a Rwanda, to a Srebrenica, to gross
and systematic violation of human rights that offend every precept of our
common humanity?"
 Intervenţii umanitare, responsabilitatea de a proteja

• In 2000, the Canadian government and several other actors announced

the establishment of the International Commission on Intervention and
State Sovereignty (ICISS) to address the challenge of the international
community's responsibility to act in the face of the gravest of human rights
violations while respecting the sovereignty of states. It sought to bridge
these two concepts with the 2001 Responsibility to Protect (R2P) report.
• The Commission had been formed in response to Kofi Annan's question of
when the international community must intervene for humanitarian
purposes. Its report, "The Responsibility to Protect," found that sovereignty
not only gave a State the right to "control" its affairs, it also conferred on
the State primary "responsibility" for protecting the people within its
borders. It proposed that when a State fails to protect its people — either
through lack of ability or a lack of willingness — the responsibility shifts to
the broader international community.
• Just cause, legitimate authority, last resort, proportionality, reasonable
chances of success (criteria for R2P)
 Intervenţii umanitare, responsabilitatea de a proteja

• In 2004, the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, set up

by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, endorsed the emerging norm of a
responsibility to protect — often called "R2P" — stating that there is a
collective international responsibility, "exercisable by the Security Council
authorizing military intervention as a last resort, in the event of genocide and
other large-scale killing, ethnic cleansing and serious violations of
humanitarian law which sovereign governments have proved powerless or
unwilling to prevent."
• The panel proposed basic criteria that would legitimize the authorization of
the use of force by the UN Security Council, including the seriousness of the
threat, the fact that it must be a last resort, and the proportionality of the
response.
 Intervenţii umanitare, responsabilitatea de a proteja

• In his report "In larger freedom," (2005) Secretary-General Kofi Annan

"strongly agreed" with the approach outlined by the High-level Panel and
suggested that a list of proposed criteria — including seriousness of the
threat, proportionality and chance of success — be applied for the
authorization of the use of force in general.
• In 2005 - UN World Summit , when the responsibility to protect doctrine was
incorporated into a generic document, environmental disasters had been
dropped as a reason for intervention. The document did say it was every
state's responsibility to protect its citizens from "genocide, war crimes,
ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity."
• If a state fails to do so, the document says, it then becomes the
responsibility of the international community to protect that state's
population. The document was unanimously adopted by all member states
but is not legally binding.
 Intervenţii umanitare, responsabilitatea de a proteja

• The first time the Security Council made official reference to the responsibility to

protect was in April 2006, inresolution 1674 on the protection of civilians in armed
conflict. The Security Council referred to that resolution in August 2006, when
passing resolution 1706 authorizing the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops to
Darfur, Sudan. Recently, the responsibility to protect featured prominently in a
number of resolutions adopted by the Security Council.
• In 2009 – a report by the Secretary-General outlined a strategy around 
three pillars of the responsibility to protect:
• The State carries the primary responsibility for protecting populations from genocide,
war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, and their incitement;
• The international community has a responsibility to encourage and assist States in
fulfilling this responsibility;
• The international community has a responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic,
humanitarian and other means to protect populations from these crimes. If a State is
manifestly failing to protect its populations, the international community must
be prepared to take collective action to protect populations, in accordance with
the UN Charter.
 Intervenţii umanitare, responsabilitatea de a proteja

• The work of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, should

be viewed in conjunction with the closely related work of the Special
Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect who focuses on developing the
conceptual, political and operational aspects of the Responsibility to Protect.
In order to eliminate redundancy and maximize effective use of resources,
the Secretary-General directed the two former Special Advisers in 2007 to
form a joint office and merge their functions and activities.
• This decision was referred to in the Secretary-General’s letter to the
President of the Security Council of 31 August 2007, as well in his
statements and reports to the General Assembly on the Responsibility to
Protect in 2009 and 2010. These followed extensive consultations with
Member States and United Nations entities, including multiple meetings of
the Secretary-General’s Policy Committee dedicated to the Responsibility to
Protect. This merger has resulted in changes to the conceptual framework,
methodology and operational activities of the Office.
 Failed states and international interventions: Libya

• Following widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population

by the regime in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the UN Security Council, on 26
February 2011, unanimously adopted resolution 1970, making explicit
reference to the responsibility to protect.
• Deploring what it called "the gross and systematic violation of human rights"
in strife-torn Libya, the Security Council demanded an end to the violence,
"recalling the Libyan authorities’ responsibility to protect its population," and
imposed a series of international sanctions. The Council also decided to
refer the situation to the International Criminal Court.
• In resolution 1973, adopted on 17 March 2011, the Security Council
demanded an immediate ceasefire in Libya, including an end to ongoing
attacks against civilians, which it said might constitute "crimes against
humanity." The Council authorized Member States to take "all
necessary measures" to protect civilians under threat of attack in the
country, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on
any part of Libyan territory. A few days later, acting on the resolution,
NATO planes started striking at Qadhafi’s forces.
 Failed states and international interventions: Libya

• In 2014-2016, an outburst of violence among various ethnic/religious militias

(civil war): Libya had twoand even three governments and still is a failed
state.
• Special Representative and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya
(UNSMIL) has constantly asked the two governments to unite in a single one
• ISIS controls some coastal territory in Libya: the Sirte area
• UNSMIL stated that the outburst of violence in the Tripoli neighbourhood of
Fashloum has already caused “many casualties and endangered the lives of
civilians” with initial reports suggesting that three civilians were killed,
including a young girl, since the resumption of hostilities.
• Under UN umbrella a national-unity government was formed and it moved to
Tripoli in April 2016 but still needs recognition from the Benghazi government
and the Tobruk Parliament
• The US and other world powers agreed on 16 may 2016 to support sending
arms to the internationally recognised Libyan government to help it fight Isis,
in a rare show of unity from the global community: temporary lifting of the
arms embargo to help the unity government fight ISIS
 Côte d’Ivoire

• Post electoral violences on patterns of religious/tribal clashes: the UN

Security Council, on 30 March 2011, unanimously adopted resolution
1975 condemning the gross human rights violations committed by
supporters of both ex-President Laurent Gbagbo and President Ouattara.
• The resolution cited "the primary responsibility of each State to protect
civilians," called for the immediate transfer of power to President Ouattara,
the victor in the elections, and reaffirmed that the 
UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) could use "all necessary means to
protect life and property."
• UNOCI on 4 April 2011 began a military operation, and President Gbagbo’s
hold on power ended on 11 April when he was arrested by President
Ouattara’s forces.
• In November 2011, President Gbagbo was transferred to the International
Criminal Court to face charges of crimes against humanity as an “indirect
co-perpetrator” of murder, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts.
 South Sudan (2011)

• On 8 July 2011, the Security Council, in resolution 1996, established a 

UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) – to advise and
assist the government in fulfilling its responsibility to protect civilians.
• South Sudan officially became an independent country on 9 July 2011,
years after the 2005 peace deal that ended a long civil war.
• In December 2013, fighting between pro- and anti-Government forces
began (the Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups), causing the displacement of
approximately 706,000 people, 77,000 of whom sought refuge at UNMISS
bases. 2013-2015 – bloody inter-ethnic battles
• In February 2014, the Security Council reiterated its steadfast support for
UNMISS and its vital mission on behalf of the international community to
protect civilians in South Sudan, including foreign nationals, as well as
conduct human rights monitoring and investigations, and facilitate
assistance to populations in need.
• Personal conflict between president Salva Kiir (ethnic Dinka) and Riek
Machar (his former deputy – ethnic Nuer) - then between these groups
• August 2015 – peace deal (not respected in the aftermath)
• About 16.000 peacekeepers in S.S – for a country of 12 million people (5
million already affected by the war, of which1.7 million displaced people)
 Central African Republic (2013)

• December 2012 – attacks by “Seleka” militias (muslims) against Christians,

after the ouster of the president
• The Christians created their own militias “Antibalaka” to fight back – mutual
atrocities
• On 10 October 2013, in resolution 2121, the Security Council emphasized
“the primary responsibility of the Central African authorities to protect the
population, as well as to ensure the security and unity in its territory”, and
stressed “their obligation to ensure respect for international humanitarian
law, human rights law and refugee law.”
• In March 2014, the UN Secretary-General outlined his proposal for the
establishment of a nearly 12,000-strong UN peacekeeping operation in the
CAR.
• Security Council authorized on 10 April 2014 deployment of a
multidimensional integrated stabilization United Nations peacekeeping
operation – MINUSCA, with the protection of civilians as its utmost priority.
• 16 Oct. 2016 – attack by Seleka against MINUSCA peacekeepers
 Yemen (2011-2016)
• 2015 - Yemen has descended into conflicts between several different
groups, pushing the country "to the edge of civil war“. Houthis rebels (Zaidi
Shia muslims) forced the Sunni president Hadi to flee the capital – they are
supported by Iran
• Hadi is supported in the predominantly Sunni south of the country by militia
known as Popular Resistance Committees and local tribesmen. Sunnis are
helped by Saudi Arabia which is heavily bombing Yemenite Houthis
positions.
• Hadi’s supporters and the Houthis are opposed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP), which has staged numerous deadly attacks from its
strongholds in the south and south-east.
• 21 October 2011, resolution 2014 condemned human rights violations by
the Yemeni authorities and encouraged an inclusive Yemeni-led political
process of transition of power, including the holding of early Presidential
elections. This resolution explicitly recalled the Yemeni Government’s
"primary responsibility to protect its population.
• 29 October 2016 - Yemen's president in exile Mansur Hadi has turned down
a U.N. peace deal aimed at ending the country's devastating conflict, saying
it "rewards" Yemen's rebels. The conflict in Yemen has left more than
10,000 dead and injured and displaced nearly 3 million people. 
 Syria (2011-2016)
• The UNSC has failed in its mission to help put an end to sectarian conflicts
within Syria, as the five permanent members did not find a common ground
to deal with this.
• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stressed the urgent need for a political
solution to end the crisis in Syria, which over the past five years has claimed
more than 300,000 lives and led to a dire humanitarian crisis.
• Both the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council have strongly
condemned the continued "widespread and systematic" human rights
violations in Syria and demanded that the government immediately cease all
violence and protect its people.
• The High Commissioner for Human Rights recommended referring the
situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court and urged the Security
Council to assume its responsibility to protect the population of Syria.
• “The Government of Syria is manifestly failing to protect its populations,” the
Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama
Dieng, said in December 2012.
 Syria (2011-2016)

• During the past several years, vetoes have been cast in the UN Security
Council to block draft resolutions aimed at addressing the crises in Syria and
Ukraine.
• Concerning Syria, Russia and China have vetoed more than three
resolutions (the votes were 9-2-4 on October 4, 2011, 13-2-0 on February 4,
2012, and 11-2-2 on July 19, 2012). They are also responsible for the loss
of lives in that country together with other regional “sponsors” like Iran and
Saudi Arabia)))
• So, why not use the Uniting for peace resolution and allow the UN General
Assembly to take measures?
• A recommendation for collective measures could include a recommendation
that States use armed force, but only in the case of a breach of the peace or
an act of aggression and when necessary, not in the case of a “mere” threat
to the peace.
• Chemical weapons has been used in this war probably by both rebels and
the government
 Syria (2011-2016)
• On 10 July 2014, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that he
had appointed diplomat Staffan de Mistura as the new special envoy tasked with seeking
a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Syria. September 2015 – Russian intervention in this
conflict.
• Foreign ministers from two dozen nations that comprise the International Syria Support
Group (ISSG), meeting in Vienna on May 17, 2016, called for redoubling efforts to shore
up a partial Syria cease-fire and try to expand it nationwide, and for World Food Program
to use air drops if necessary to get humanitarian aid to besieged areas 
• UN Syria envoy said the cease-fire that went into effect Feb. 27 had deteriorated to a 50%
cease-fire in recent weeks.
• The United Nations Humanitarian Affairs chief Stephen O'Brien told the UN Security
Council that the killing of civilians in Aleppo "cannot and will not be forgotten", warning that
perpetrators will be held accountable.
• Russia and the Bashar regime – accused by US, France, UK of crimes against humanity
(bombing civilians in Aleppo)
 The victims of the Islamic State/ISIS (2014-2016)

• The Islamic State (ISIS) controls huge territories in northern Iraq and Syria
and already committed mass-murder and huge violations of human rights
• it is a non-state actor, with trans-national activities and “warriors” coming from
all the continents
• Hundreds of thousands of Christians, Yazidis and Turkmen fled their homes
during summer 2014 as the Islamic State (IS) advanced across northern Iraq.
ISIS killed lot of Shia people and took as slaves other groups.
• UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon repeteadly addressed the Council, asking
support for the victims of attacks and abuses on ethnic or religious grounds in
the Middle East.
• US, UK, France, Jordan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other states used
air attacks to bomb Da’esh positions in Syria and Iraq – strategic but also
humanitarian goals. US trained Syrian rebels to fight both ISI and the Assad
government
• Russia invoked bombing ISIS but bombed other rebels and killed many
people by hitting hospitals in Aleppo etc.
• In 2016 ISIS lost many of its territories to Kurdish forces and Iraqi military
advances, especially in Iraq. The Battle for Mosul (Oct 2016). Loses in Libya
also. Raqqa (ISIS capital) still resisting.
 The Somalian disaster and the syndrome of "the
Mogadishu line"

• Somalia is a tribal and very poor country – extremely weak state becoming
failed state after the Cold War
• Following the collapse of the dictatorship of gen. Siad Barre the power
began to be contested by rival clan leaders.
• Most of the country, and notably the capital, Mogadishu, descended into
lawlessness /anarchy (“Hobbesian” world) – in spite of almost all Somalis
being Muslim!
• The fate of the Somali people and the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis
were exacerbated still further by drought. Thousands died of starvation or
suffered severe malnutrition.
• UN missions – UNITAF, ONUSOM I and II - "to establish a secure
environment for humanitarian relief operations.“
• U.S. Marines arrived on the the Mogadishu beaches in December 1992 tu
support UN mission
 The Somalian disaster and the syndrome of
"the Mogadishu line"
• Death of 18 U.S. Army Rangers on October 3-4, 1993, while trying to destroy the
forces of powerful warlord (gen. Aideed)
• US withdrew from Somalia – the civil war inetensified, humanitarian disasters
• December 1992, the Security Council authorized UN forces to use "all necessary
means" to establish a secure environment for humanitarian relief operations in
Somalia. (peace-enforcement mission)
• 4 February 1994 - the Security Council, by its resolution 897 (1994) revised
UNOSOM II's mandate to exclude the use of coercive methods – only
humanitarian relief and self-protection of peacekeepers.
• Reasons: the fear of insurgents attacks and losing UN neutrality. Then, UNOSOM II
was withdrawn from Somalia in early March 1995.
• The African Union is carrying a peacekeeping mission AMISOM (since 2007), with
the approval of the United Nations in Somalia.
• Somalia today is still a quasi-state, while foreign military interventions
(Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda) only partially helped the government to assess
control on larger areas beyond the capital.
• The Islamist terrorists called Al Shabab regularly carries attacks even on
neighboring countries like Kenya and recently declared allegiance to Islamic
State.
 Rwanda Genocide (1994)

• Hutu vs. Tutsi – huge ethnic cleavage inherited from colonial era (the Germans and
especially the Belgians preferred the Tutsis for ruling the country)
• April 6, 1994, unknown extremists assassinated Rwanda's president in 1994 in a
plane crash and used the murder was used by radical Hutus as an excuse for the
mass killing of Tutsi rivals.
• This was the trigger for the most terrible episode of genocide after WWII.
• Interahamwe militias (Hutu Power) vs Rwandan Patriotic Front (Tutsi, in exile) – mass
crimes against civilians.
• In mid-1994, over 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed in the Rwandan
genocide.
• The international community clearly failed to prevent and stop this genocide.
• The tragic failure of Somalia was still present in the minds and made states as well as
the UN Secretariat unwilling to engage in another Peace Operation in Africa. Second,
• The United States decided not to intervene in Rwanda (Mogadishu syndrome) as
there was no national interest at stake.
• France, which had national interests at stake, did not try to save Rwandan lives, but
indirectly contributed to the genocide by supporting Hutus with weapons.
• Belgium withdrew its military forces after 10 Belgian PKs were killed in street
incidents with Hutu extremists
 Rwanda Genocide (1994)

• The five powers (P5) of the UNSC considered that it was a civil war and the
victims were only Rwandans, not foreigners, therefore it was judged not to
be a threat to international peace (art. 39)
• They asked the agreement of Rwanda for the conflict was within the
domestic jurisdiction of this state (peace-keeping admitted, not peace-
enforcement) – the mandate of peace-keepers (UNAMIR) did not allow
them to fight against criminal Hutus for protecting the Tutsi civilians! (only
“monitor”, “assist” and “investigate”)
• Mandate: self defense, including “resistance to attempts by forceful means to prevent
the Force from discharging its duties under the mandate of UNAMIR.”
• The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) counted a few hundred
staff, who were responsible for 17 missions and over 70,000 peacekeepers.
With large and complex missions in Bosnia and Somalia, Rwanda assumed a
low status – seen as a permanent tribal conflict in a “savage” country
• The United States is often blamed as being most responsible for inaction in
Rwanda. Since the death of 18 rangers in Somalia (1993), the US had decided to
“stop placing the agenda of the UN before the interests of the US – obsession
to avoid another Somalia scenario.
 Rwanda Genocide: afterwards

• The humanitarian tragedy continued after RPF victory: about 1.2

million Hutu refugees fled to neighboring countries, partially due to fear of
RPF retribution and partially due to a plan by the Hutu extremists to use the
refugee camps as military bases for the reconquest of Rwanda.
• The Great Lakes refugee crisis continued until the RPF supported a rebel
attack against the refugee camps across the border in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo in 1996.
• The rebel Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of
Congo continued their offensive, in the First Congo War, until they
overthrew the government of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.
• In 1998, the new Congolese president, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, began a
conflict with his foreign backers, who organized another rebellion to put a
more amenable government into place.
• The resulting Second Congo War (1998–2003) drew in eight nations and
became the deadliest conflict since World War II, killing an estimated 3.8
million people
• Very huge humanitarian disaster
 UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial

On 8 September 2016, a NATO delegation participated in the UN

Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial held in London. Hosted by the UK
Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon, the meeting brought
together Defence Ministers and senior officials from nearly 80 countries
to follow-up from the Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping which was held
in September 2015 on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

The Ministerial meeting focused on the challenges faced by UN

peacekeeping and the on-going efforts to enhance its effectiveness
through better planning for UN peace operations to ensure effective
response to new crises; the implementation of pledges made at last
years’ Summit and garnering new pledges of support; and enhancing the
performance of UN peacekeepers, with a focus on high-quality training
prior to deployment.
 Natural disasters requiring foreign interventions

• The episode of Myanmar's cyclone in May 2008 - the spirit of the R2P
doctrine was tested.
• The country's regime was incapable of providing relief to millions of affected
citizens and it refused to let in international aid and aid workers for several
days.
• French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner suggested the United
Nations invoke the R2P doctrine as the basis for a resolution to allow
the delivery of international aid even without the junta's permission.
• But the French proposal faced opposition from Security Council members
Russia, China, and South Africa.
• China's UN ambassador, Liu Zhenmin, argued it was not an issue for the
Security Council. "The current issue of Myanmar is a natural disaster," and
the situation should not be politicized, he said. Experts warned that
Southeast Asian nations and India might also take exception to intervention
in Myanmar.
 Trends and proposals for humanitarian interventions

• More cooperation between the UN General Assembly, the Secretary

General and the UN Security Council – give the UN operations clear
mandates and the right to fight back against insurgents committing atrocities
against civilians.
• More peace-enforcement: when necessary abandon the neutrality
obsession and fight against genocidaires with extremely lethal weapons and
tactics – the UN should also play a deterrent role not only early warning!
• UN must asked states to contribute each of them with troops and money
and have a fair burden sharing – avoid the free-riding.
• UN needs a standing force, equipped and trained with the same standards –
Rapid Reaction Forces. A role for the UN’s Military Staff Committee (art 47
of the UN Charter asked for its creation) – out of lethargy)))
• The five UNSC permanent members should try to refrain from using the
veto power when the General Assembly by a majority vote decide that UN
could intervene to prevent a genocide, or a humanitarian disaster (excepting
when one or more of the “big five” (P5) prove that it has a vital national
interest in that crisis) – the P5 should accept that sometimes their forces will
be lead by foreign officers: agree with the operational needs beyond
national pride.
 Trends and proposals for humanitarian
interventions
• More powers for the General Assembly for organizing world effort for
rebuilding failed states/collapsed societies –a more effective use of the
Peace-building Commission
• India, Brazil, China, Indonesia (new emerging powers with huge populations)
must contribute more with troops and money to humanitarian missions – they
should accept to be “lead-nations” when necessary and they must
understand that humanitarian norms are no more the exclusive
apanage/burden of the West
• Countries with very heterogeneous populations (ethnic, tribal, religious
cleavages) must be allowed to create lose Bosnian-style federations(better
than create new states on the Southern Sudan model).
• More cooperation required between UN and NATO, EU, African Union,
ECOWAS, Arab League etc. – military common operations, complementarity
(exemple - African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur). In case of violent
sectarian conflicts the neighboring states should use regional organizations
and pacts to send military forces and separate the rival groups – they know
the field and the populations, they know how to deal with them.
• More safe-heavens for persecuted populations, for those threatened with
killings (avoid repetition of Srebrenica-like massacres in Syria, Yemen etc).
Safe-heavens organized in Iraq after 1991 were a real success for defending
the Kurdish and Shia populations against the attacks by the Saddam’s
regime