Humanitarian Intervention and the Libyan/ Syrian Conflicts - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Humanitarian Intervention and the Libyan/ Syrian Conflicts

Yiliu

Lu & Qi Zhang

GSICCS

June 26

th

, 2013

Slide2

Humanitarian Intervention and

the

Libyan/ Syrian Conflicts

1. Introduction

2. R2P

3. Conflicts in Libyan & Syrian

4. Chinese Views

5

.

Conclusion

Slide3

Introduction

R2P / Pillar Three

R

esponsibility

to

Protect A United Nations initiative established in 2005Sovereignty is not a right, but a responsibility4 crimes

: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic

cleansing

(

Mass Atrocity

Crimes

)

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The R2P has

t

hree "pillars

" A state has a responsibility to protect

its population from mass atrocities;The international community has a responsibility to assist the state to fulfill its primary responsibility;If the state fails to protect its citizens from mass atrocities and peaceful measures have failed, the international community has the responsibility to intervene

through coercive measures such as economic sanctions. Military intervention is considered the last resort.Introduction

Slide5

Introduction

Through global governance mechanisms and international accountability instruments, the emerging powers will determine whether

：

a)

b)

c) violators of both are made to answer for their transgressions.

brutish rulers domestically

vulnerable groups

protec

t

regional or global major powers

weak countries

protec

t

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3 Preliminary T

hings

.

1. External interventions were frequent in the past, and are not guaranteed in the future.The choice therefore is not

if intervention,but whether an intervention will be: ad hoc or

rules-based unilateral or multilateral divisive or consensual

Introduction

Slide7

Introduction

2.

The debate

over R2P is not, and should not become, a

North-South

issue. But it can turn into

one.non-Western societies: a historical tradition of reciprocal rights and obligations which bind sovereigns and subjects.3. The only likely sites and targets of intervention

in the

foreseeable future will be developing countries.

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Humanitarian Intervention and

the

Libyan/ Syrian conflicts

Slide9

R2P before 2001

R2P

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R2P before 2001

R2P

The Rwanda Genocide (1994)

Slaughter between

Hutu

&

Tutsis

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R2P before 2001

R2P

NATO’s Intervention in

Kosovo (1999)

Federal Republic

of Yugoslavia

(FRY)

Kosovo Liberation Army

NATO

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R2P before 2001

In

an address to the 54th session of the UN General Assembly in September

1999, Secretary-General Kofi Annan reflected upon “the prospects for human security and intervention in the next

century”.He recalled the failures of the Security Council to act in Rwanda and Kosovo, and challenged the member states of the UN to “find common ground in upholding the principles of the Charter, and acting in

defense of our common humanity.”R2P

Kofi

Annan’s Appeal (1999.9, 2000.9

)

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R2P before 2001

At

the United Nations General Assembly in

2000, Kofi Annan again posed the central question starkly and directly:R2P

Kofi

Annan’s Appeal (1999.9, 2000.9)… if humanitarian intervention is, indeed, an unacceptable assault on sovereignty, how should we respond to a Rwanda,

to

gross and

systematic violations of human rights that affect every precept of our

common humanity

? …

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R2P before 2001

In September 2000, the Government of Canada responded to the

Secretary-General’s challenge

by announcing the establishment of this independent International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS).

Objectives: to build a broader understanding of the problem of reconciling intervention for human protection purposes and sovereignty

to develop a global political consensus on how to move from polemics towards action within the international system, particularly through the United Nations

R2P

ICISS

(2001.9

)

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R2P

R2P since 2001

The R2P report was published in December 2001 and endorsed by the UN High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change in 2004, as well as by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2005:war crimesGenocide

ethnic cleansingcrimes against humanity 

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R2PBut in principle, the 2005 formulation on R2P:

not cover humanitarian disastersnot cover situations of interstate armed

conflict“it is not appropriate to expand, willfully to interpret or even abuse this concept”

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Humanitarian Intervention and

the

Libyan/ Syrian conflicts

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Libyan C

ivil

W

ar (2011)Libya 2011

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Libya 2011

Gaddafi has

vowed to fight on and die a "martyr", calling on his supporters to take back the streets from protesters

in

a furious speech on state TV :“ I am a fighter, a revolutionary from tents ... I will die as a martyr at the end… ”“… Peaceful protests is one thing, but armed rebellion is another…

I have not yet ordered the use of force, not yet ordered one bullet to be fired. When I do, everything will burn…”“ You men and women who love Gaddafi ...get out of your homes and fill the streets," he said. "Leave your homes and attack them in their lairs ... Starting tomorrow the cordons will be lifted, go out and fight them! ”

Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/02/201122216458913596.html

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Faced with Gaddafi’s imminent intention to massacre the city’s population, it was clear that tough international action in response to the Libyan government’s

failure of protecting its civilians

was needed to halt the terrible

mass violence.Rather than stand by and risk failing to act while more civilians had been subject to mass violence, R2P quickly took action to prevent a bloodbath.

Outcome: a triumph for R2P“It took just one month to mobilize a broad coalition, secure a UN mandate to protect civilians, establish and enforce no-kill zones, stop Gaddafi’s advancing army, and prevent a massacre of the innocents in Benghazi. By year’s end, Gaddafi had been ousted and killed” (Ramesh T., 2013).

Libya 2011

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Syria 2012

By the end of 2011, the peaceful Arab Spring

→　

a bloody armed uprising →　civil war

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Syrian C

ivil

War

(2012) is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust itpart of the

Arab Spring.Protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-AssadInternational organizations have accused both government and opposition forces of severe human rights violations.

Syria 2012

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P

ossible

courses of action in Syria cannot be contemplated

relations with Iran, Russia, and China another Western invasion of another Muslim countryOct.4,2011, Feb.4

, 2012, Jul.19,2012China and Russia: vetoed Brazil, India, South Africa: abstention →

supportSyria 2012

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China and

Russia:

opposed

to any resolution in Syriaput Syria on the path to civil warthe Security Council should not

dictate internal politics and succession opposition groups must also receive condemnation for perpetrating

violence and must be exhorted to engage constructively with the governmentthe draft resolutions would have inflamed, not calmed the situationthe

only solution to the Syrian crisis is through an inclusive, Syrian-led process to address the legitimate aspirations of the people in an environment free of violence and human

rights

abuses

Syria 2012

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India and South

Africa:

resolve internal differences through peaceful means

Brazil: played a more constructive role by tabling a possible compromise paper

Syria 2012

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Humanitarian Intervention and

the

Libyan/ Syrian conflicts

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China’s Authoritative Stance

Authoritatively, China supports a just, peaceful, and appropriate resolution of the crisis using political means, but not military means.

urged the international community, through the UN, to call on all sides to “discard violence” and “address problems through dialogue”

opposed all attempts to employ international bodies to single out and direct critical or coercive words or actions against the Syrian

regime

Chinese views

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China’s A

uthoritative Stance

In

general, China has taken the position that the application of the R2P norm: should not contravene the principle of state sovereignty and the principle of non-interference in internal affairs that are contained in the UN

Chartermust be considered in the broader context of maintaining international peace and security

Chinese views

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China’s Authoritative Stance

China has

repeatedly uttered the following statement

or variants since the beginning of the Syrian unrest:

Chinese views

Our fundamental point of departure is to safeguard the purposes and principles of the UN Charter as well as the basic norms governing international relations, including the principles of sovereign equality and non-interference in others' internal affairs, to safeguard the interests of the Syrian people and the Arab states, and to safeguard the interests of all countries, small and medium-sized in particular. This is China's consistent stance in all international affairs. It is not targeted at a particular issue or time.

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China’s Authoritative Stance

Chinese officials and authoritative spokespersons strongly criticized the military actions undertaken by U.S. and NATO forces in Libya, declaring China‘s opposition to not

only the

use of force in international relations but also the abuse of force that can cause more civilian casualties and a bigger humanitarian crisis, and called for ―an immediate ceasefire and a peaceful settlement of the issue

.Chinese views

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Chinese views

Non-Authoritative

Chinese

Viewsexplicit and full-throated criticism of Western—and especially U.S. The resolution would lead to the West bombarding another Arab state,

and fears regarding the potentially disastrous consequences for Syria and the region of Western military involvement

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Chinese views

Beijing‘s stance on the Syria crisis is influenced by the absence of the kind of economic and direct humanitarian interests that were present in the Libyan case, as well as the position taken by Russia.

E

fforts to remove Assad through force would prove futile and lead only to a chaotic, prolonged conflict and a highly unstable post-civil war political situation

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Chinese views

Some

observers blame the West for assisting in the militarization of the dispute by encouraging and assisting armed resistance to the Syrian government.

Syrian conflict provided a clear demonstration of crisis and mass killing, while Libyan conflict involved a civil war and military gridlock.Any

settlement of the Syrian conflict must leave the Syrian government with a chance for survival, since not doing so will force it to ―fight to the end.

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Humanitarian Intervention and

the

Libyan/ Syrian conflicts

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China’s stance on such issues seems primarily motivated by

P

reventing

the establishment of legal or procedural precedents for military interventions by the international community against sovereign states.Preventing Western powers, and especially the United

States. Conclusions

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China’s stance on such issues seems primarily motivated by

A

strong desire to prevent democratic states from establishing a principled basis for outside intervention in the internal affairs of non-democratic states, including China. In the Syrian case, Beijing’s resistance to even targeted criticism of the Assad regime is motivated to a great degree by the Libya experience.

Conclusions

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More

could be done to

avoid mass violence;

Somebody somewhere has the responsibility to make judgment and take action; PREVENTION rather than just REACTION.

Conclusions

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Thank You !