By David Olevson and Ekaterina Perchenok

With the conflict in Libya and throughout the Middle East escalating every day, we must keep conscious of the inherent bias of our news outlets. While our hearts go out to civilians caught in the line of fire in this wave of unrest, collective international reaction must be carefully planned and scrutinized, as the possible consequences could be devastating with regards to human rights and casualties.  

If the course of the international intervention in Libya is anything to go by, we seem to have forgotten some of the important humanitarian lessons learned in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. So far, several hundred missiles have been deployed, with the total civilian casualties remaining unknown. There have even been reports of child soldiers being recruited. Regardless of one’s stance on the general legality of this intervention, with no end in sight, the events are becoming more troubling each day.

UN Security Council Resolution 1973 authorized “all necessary measures” to protect the civilian population in Libya from pro-Gaddafi forces. The resolution demands an immediate ceasefire and a political (rather than military) resolution to the conflict. While the resolution clearly states in paragraph 4 that “all necessary measures” are to be taken to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack, it explicitly excludes sanctioned occupation. This statement is, without a doubt, an admirable ambition. The document also recognizes the important role of the League of Arab States to the legitimacy of this international response. This recognition is a significant acknowledgment of the complex regional tensions and geopolitics on a grander scale. Despite these attempts at added legitimacy, the document lacks in several areas. It does not provide for any definition or limitations on what course of action may be followed, it does not state which countries should take leadership roles  or even which will participate, and the only limiting criteria within the resolution is the exclusion of sanctioned occupation. (For more on the Resolution, click here)

International intervention is now nearing its second week in Libya, with no end in sight. Some have even speculated that it may be months before an end is reached. If we are to prevent a new generation of child soldiers from being used for civil war, countless casualties and the further displacement of large groups of people, decisions must not be rash and must be carefully scrutinized. While we may want to help those being abused by a brutal dictator, the outcome of our response must not result in a prolonged civil war. While revolutions provide exiting headlines for Western news outlets, the West quickly becomes bored as new crises appear. Societal and social infrastructure problems are not solved by brief limelight and donations for the ‘cause of the day’, the problems must be solved with careful social building blocks that take years to reinforce. Only then can the issues be solved, and hopefully children be spared from the dim future they likely face.

For further reading, you may find this and this interesting.

 

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David Olevson and Ekaterina Perchenok are first year law students at the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University. David received his undergraduate degree from Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario, majoring in Political Science. Ekaterina completed her degree at York University, specializing in Global Political Studies.