Article - The Responsibility to Protect: ‘Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing’? By Aidan Hehir
Application: Considerations for Military Intervention
The United Nations, individual nations, and many human rights organizations monitor the occurrences of social injustice around the globe. To prevent and combat social injustice, these organizations and nations may employ mediation, sanctions, and/or military intervention.
Military intervention may be considered the strongest response to combat social injustice and is not undertaken lightly. Criteria exist to initiate military intervention and there is latitude in how those criteria are interpreted and applied.
In some cases, like the Rwandan genocide, nations and organizations took no action based on their interpretation of the criteria. It is important to note which factors contribute to the interpretation and application of criteria used to determine a need for military intervention.
To prepare for this assignment:
Review the articles, "Fact Sheet: United Nations Peacekeeping" and "Lessons from Rwanda." Consider the role of the United Nations related to military intervention and social injustice and how it relates to genocide.
Review the article, "The Responsibility to Protect: Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing?" Reflect on the use of international policies and agreements related to social injustice.
Go to the Interactive Map, "Social Justice Issues," and review the issues that led to genocide in Rwanda.
Consider the human rights issues and the social justice response in that specific case. Consider what factors contributed to Western nations' decisions to intervene or not in the case.
Select at least two factors that you think a nation should consider to determine whether or not to intervene militarily in another nation (such as Rwanda) where social injustices occur.
Think about why the factors you selected might explain the rationale for the military intervention or might explain the nation's inaction.
The assignment (2 pages)
Briefly summarize the key events of the Rwandan genocide.
Briefly describe the factors you selected related to the decision to militarily intervene or take no action.
Explain why these factors justify a nation's decision to intervene militarily or take no action.
Support your Application Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list for all resources, including those in the Learning Resources for this course.