From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: REVIEW: The Challenge to Intervene
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 01:43:40 GMT

/** wri.news: 578.0 **/
** Topic: REVIEW: The Challenge to Intervene **
** Written 12:19 am  Nov 19, 1992 by gn:peacenews in cdp:wri.news **
     The Challenge to Intervene: A New Role for the UN? ed Elizabeth
     Ferris, Life & Peace Institute, Uppsala 1992. Reviewed by MARKO
     HREN.
 
*** The issue of intervention is certainly one of the central issues in
post-cold war, post-Gulf War, post-Bosnian-genocide,
post-Somalia-hunger discussions. "The Challenge to Intervene: A New
Role for the UN?", a conference organised by the Life and Peace
Institute in May 1992, resulted in a valuable compilation of
contributions.
 
The starting point is "a lack of an effective mechanism to decide when
and how to take over certain functions for governments which are unable
or unwilling to do them". Elizabeth Ferris argues "the question is not
whether intervention is good or bad, or whether it should or should not
take place, but rather whether the time has come for such intervention
to be regularised, codified, monitored, evaluated and recognised as a
perhaps inevitable consequence of living in an interdependent world".
 
The authors are aware of the "continuum of interventions" which already
takes place in different forms. The volume brings a detailed and
concentrated insight into history of cases of interventions,
international law, legality of interventions, capacities available, and
evaluates the role of human rights bodies and humanitarian
intervention, as well as the current discussions concerning
intervention within the UN.
 
Part of the discussion is in the spirit of Bruce Kent's comments on
Boutros-Ghali in the November _Peace News_; other writers evaluate the
well known reservations towards the UN from the standpoint of Third
World countries. Chandra Muzaffar (Malaysia) appeals for concern "about
the threat of the UN becoming a convenient weapon in the hands of the
USA as it seeks global hegemony" and calls for reforming the UN "so
that it reflects interests of all nations and peoples". Abdullahi Ahmed
An-Na'im goes further: "the fact is that those who will decide to
intervene are the same Western powers who colonised and exploited, and
who continue to dominate <193>".
 
The principle of sovereignty as a basis for international law is
thoroughly discussed in practically all contributions, with Erskine
Childers making the point that virtually all frontiers are in some
sense artificial. In the case of former-Yugoslavia, denial of the right
to self-determination has contributed to the conflict.
 
It can be argued that intervention to uphold human rights should not be
interpreted as "a right and norm complementary to state sovereignty"
but rather as a measure which "remains a viable alternative which
should be sparingly used" (both quotations from Ved P Nanda). The space
of national sovereignty should be respected only so far as the
nation-state itself guarantees the rights of its people as set down in
international law. When this ceases to be the case, the international
community, which by definition supports the concept of the
nation-state, should switch to another set of rules which cannot be
called complementary rules but alternative rules, which do not support
a state, but defend the people against the state. Need we mention any
other case than former-Yugoslavia in this context?
 
The Challenge to Intervene is much stronger in analysis then in vision.
One aspect of international law which clearly offers unarguable grounds
for early intervention, particularly in the light of preventive
multilateral diplomacy, remains untouched. This principle is already
enshrined in Article 14 of the UN Charter: "the General Assembly may
recommend measures for the peaceful adjustment of any situation,
regardless of origin, which it deems likely to impair the general
welfare or friendly relations among nations".
 
This book will be especially useful for those whose answer to proposals
for intervention is simply to chant "no military intervention".
 
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