The Crisis in Iran and The West’s Humanitarian Shenanigans

The military actions of the United States of America and Israel against Iran represent a wanton violation of the very idea of humanitarian intervention.

The idea’s application gained momentum following the end of the Cold War, when the Rwandan massacre, among others, exposed the collective inertia of the West, who propounded the idea. Humanitarian intervention then sought to be institutionalized. This legal institutionalization took place via the ICISS (International Commission for State Intervention and State Sovereignty), appointed by the Canadian government in 2000. The commission propounded the R2P framework. Under this framework, states are under a legal obligation to protect their populations against genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and war crimes. At the 2005 UN World Summit, R2P, or Responsibility to Protect, was adopted.

It is in that context that the three pillars of R2P were outlined—

State Responsibility: Each state must protect its population from the four listed mass atrocity crimes.

International Assistance: The international community should help states prevent these crimes.

Timely and Decisive Action: If a state fails to protect its population, the international community must intervene using diplomatic, humanitarian, and other peaceful means, or, as a last resort, collective action through the UN Security Council.

Unfortunately, what the world is witnessing........

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