Is the practice of humanitarian intervention compatible with an international system based on the principle of state sovereignty?

At the end of March 1991 a refugee crisis erupted in Northern Iraq after a rebellion by the Kurdish people against Saddam Hussein was crushed by the Iraqi military, resulting in the displacement of around 23 million people in the space of a few days. This prompted the first post Cold War forcible humanitarian intervention. In December 1992 another case of humanitarian intervention was brought to the world's attention with the US's military intervention of Somalia. In both the above cases it was media and public pressure that prompted these states to intervene, and interestingly it was also the domestic pressure that forced the withdrawal of the US from Somalia as pictures of a US military soldier being dragged through the streets were shown across the world. In both Somalia and Iraq the principles of state sovereignty and non intervention were argued to have been broken.

However it was NATO's intervention in Kosovo that sparked the greatest controversy. In 1999 NATO launched a bombing campaign in Kosovo with the aim of removing Serbian military forces and hence forcing President Slobodan Milosevic to abandon his plans to force the Albanian population out of Kosovo, despite not having the explicit authorization of the Security Council (both Russia and China were adamant that Kosovo was an internal matter for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and did not concern the Security Council). NATO proceeded with their campaign in spite of critics arguing they were breaching Article 2.44 of the UN Charter, hence breaking the universally applied laws of state sovereignty and non intervention. The Security Council's decision not to condemn the actions of NATO was seen by many to undermine the international laws protecting state sovereignty as well as undermining the role of the Security Council itself. As Professor Cedric Thornberry put it whilst addressing parliament "failure to comply with existing rules must inevitably bring about a wider condition of disrespect for the law and, with it, a tendency to anarchy"5. This view is backed up by President Boris Yeltsin, "an action that is nothing short of undisguised aggression... Only the UN Security Council has the right to decide the use of force should be taken to maintain or restore international peace and security"6. However supporters of NATO claimed that NATO's actions were morally justified on the grounds that doing nothing would be to a failure of the international community to protect the norms of human rights. President Clinton's idea that gross violations of human rights are no longer domestic matters but instead are matters concerning the international community sum up this view. In the case of Kosovo the legitimacy of NATO's intervention is based on the argument of whether or not the principles of state sovereignty and non intervention should be overturned in order to protect human rights, an argument conveyed in Jim Whiteman's analysis that "Justice cannot wait; law cannot bend"7.

In all the above cases there is a fine line between the protection of human rights and the breaching of the principles of state sovereignty, and the definition of sovereignty is often key to its legitimacy. The theory of state sovereignty being absolute where the government possesses unlimited power and cannot be constrained by any external body would result in all forms of humanitarian intervention being thought of as illegitimate. However this theory is said by critics to be dated and many argue "the time of absolute and exclusive sovereignty has passed" and that "the theory never quite matched reality"8. A much more modern view of sovereignty comes from Allan Pellet, former chairman of the International Law Commission of the UN, who believes that sovereignty must observe to the fundamental human rights outlined by the UN charter and is not a defence for human rights violations. This is a view backed by many universally who believe that the principles of state sovereignty such as non intervention are becoming less relevant as the importance of human rights increases on the international agenda. The argument that a state's sovereignty can be breached to sustain the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is one which is gathering evermore pace. As Eric Heinze from the University of Nebraska puts it "what constitutes legitimate sovereignty appears to have shifted"9.

Furthermore in the globalized world we live in today sovereignty is being undermined in several other ways. The most notable of these is the effect global market forces especially economic factors have on undermining the principles of state sovereignty. Economic factors are perhaps the most efficient way of undermining state sovereignty. The more a state trades on an international basis the more it is influenced by what goes on outside and with the global economy becoming evermore globalized states are finding that the degree of sovereignty they possess is waning. Other factors include environmental pressures such as the Kyoto protocol giving external bodies power within states. The effects of these global market forces are debated as despite the North benefiting from new forms of cooperation, in the South conflict has occurred in the weaker states. However what is certain is that in this evermore globalized world to resort to isolation is not advantageous as can be shown when looking at the case of North Korea.

It is clear that opinions towards humanitarian intervention are changing as we enter the 21st century with greater emphasis being put on the protection of human rights rather than the protection of state sovereignty. The acceptance or lack of condemnation of NATO's intervention in Kosovo proves that general opinion towards humanitarian intervention has become more favourable in recent years. At the same time the principles of state sovereignty seem to be waning not only because of greater emphasis on human rights but also because of the globalization of market forces including both economical and environmental factors. With regards to whether humanitarian intervention is compatible in an international system based on state sovereignty many analysts argue this shift towards protecting human rights could mean an end for state sovereignty. However it is my belief that sovereignty will continue to play an important role in international law and will evolve to fit in the globalization of human rights, since in order for international order to exist there must always be common consensus between states, which would represent a degree of sovereignty.

Word Count: 1487

Bibliography

Books

Baylis, John and Smith, Steve (2001) The Globalization of World Politics 2nd edition

Jackson, Robert and Sorensen George (2003) Introduction to International Relations 2nd edition

Heywood, Andrew (2002) Politics 2nd edition

Schotle, Jan Arte (2005) Globalization a critical introduction 2nd edition

Nicholson, Michael (1998) Globalization a critical introduction

Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce (2003) Principles of International Politics

Clark, Ian (1999) Globalization and International Relations Theory

Website

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/hafa3/cambodia.htm

http://www.kent.ac.uk/politics/research/kentpapers/kirisci.html

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199899/cmselect/cmdfence/39/39w07.htm

http://www.isanet.org/noarchive/heinze.html

http://www.jha.ac/articles/a062.htm

Definition from The Globalization of World Politics 2nd edition by Paul Taylor

2 Figures taken from http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/hafa3/cambodia.htm

3 figures taken from http://www.kent.ac.uk/politics/research/kentpapers/kirisci.html

4 Article 2(4) of the UN Charter: 'All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.'

5 http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199899/cmselect/cmdfence/39/39w07.htm

6 http://www.isanet.org/noarchive/heinze.html

7 http://www.jha.ac/articles/a062.htm

8 made by Boutros Boutros-Ghali in 1992 (Helman and Ratner 1992-1993: 10)

9 http://www.isanet.org/noarchive/heinze.html