Military Interventions

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Reasons for Military Intervention

Military aid and both direct and indirect military intervention are frequently justified in terms of human rights.

Defending human rights

Defending human rights has been a stated motive behind many military interventions.
However, there are occasions where this motive has been a pretence and provided cover for other less good motives e.g. the action of Russia in Crimea.

Military aid

Military aid is provided to less powerful countries to keep them on the same side.
- E.g. US aid to Pakistan to help in dealing with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Military aid is provided to deal with incursions that threaten a country’s stability and allegiance.
- E.g. UK aid to Kenya to protect against al-Shabaab’s attacks from Somalia.
Military aid is provided to ensure access to valuable resources.
- E.g. UK aid to oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

Suitable Recipients of Military Aid

Military aid, both in terms of training personnel and weapons sales is sometimes used to support countries that have questionable human rights records.

Saudi Arabia

The UK and the USA both provide support and lucrative trade in military weaponry to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is a country that beheads people and mutilates criminals, and where gender equality is at a very low level.

Israel

The USA and UK also provide support for Israel.
Israel is a country that has mistreated Palestinian peoples in both the West Bank and Gaza.

Pakistan

Human rights for women in Pakistan, especially in terms of education, have some way to go to meet western values.

Interventions Outside of the UN

Unilateral interventions are military interventions undertaken by a state outside of the umbrella of the UN.

Failed states

Failed states are countries whose governments have lost political control. They are no longer able to fulfil the basic responsibilities of a sovereign state. Usually, this greatly harms the local population.
Somalia, Yemen and Syria are all examples of failed states.
The UK and USA have intervened in Syria without UN approval. Theresa May said in 2018 that waiting for the UN to approve any move would be too late.

'War on terror'

After al-Qaeda's attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington on 11th September 2001, the US and their allies began their 'War on Terror'.
They attempted to counter international terrorism and states that they claimed supported terrorism. Their efforts focused on the Taliban in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda in northern Pakistan. Now the focus is on ISIL (Daesh).
The 'war on terror' attempts to resolve the political instability in the Middle East, prevent terror attacks internationally, stop human rights abuses and safeguard access to the region's oil.

Crimea

Russia annexed Crimea in Ukraine in an act of unilateral intervention.

Torture and Terrorist Organisations

Fighting terrorist organisations involves intelligence but also sometimes involves torture, which is an abuse of human rights.

Terrorist organisations

By definition, terrorist organisations are subversive.
The surveillance of suspects and intelligence gathering play an important role in the fight against them.

Torture

One issue that has emerged in the interrogating of suspected terrorists is torture – something which is banned under the UDHR.
The issue of torture raises a number of human rights issues.
- Whose rights are more important, the rights of terrorists not to be tortured, or the right to life of those who could become the victims of a suicide bombing?