Humanitarian Intervention: A Legal Analysis

Abstract

As Noam Chomsky argued, “for one thing, there’s a history of humanitarian intervention. You can look at it. And when you do, you discover that virtually every use of military force is described as humanitarian intervention.” Chomsky precisely pointed out everything that is wrong with the way humanitarian intervention is frequently justified and carried out: There is a quick resort to military force without relying on force itself as a last resort; there is always an ulterior motive that predisposes a state’s decision to intervene; and, many a time, the intervention itself is unilateral and unauthorized. Therefore, it is no longer about whether a state should intervene or not, but rather, that a law should be brought into place for the state that intervenes to conform to, in its modus operandi.

Keywords: genocide, humanitarian intervention, international law, United Nations