Should the West intervene for the rights of others? Discuss with examples of actual interventions.

The Western world, also known as the West, is a term that can have multiple meanings depending on its context and use. West or the Western world can be defined as the countries of Western Europe and its descendant countries means North America, Israel, Australia and New Zealand, who share similar traditions, values, and religions, and have embraced political ideologies based on liberal democracy, personal liberty, human rights, and gender equality. Politically speaking West is composed mainly of NATO members and other countries aligned with the United States. The exact scope of the Western world is somewhat subjective in nature, depending on whether cultural, economic, spiritual or political criteria are employed. But these definitions almost always include the countries of Western Europe. The Western countries or the West enjoy relatively strong economies and stable governments, allow freedom of religion, have chosen democracy as a form of governance, favor capitalism and international trade, are heavily influenced by Judeo-Christian values, and have some form of political and military alliance or cooperation among them. It is also worth noting at this point that Japan and Russia may have "western" elements in their society but are not included in the definition of West. The United States of America is the only country in history to have defined itself as Judeo-Christian. No doubt, America is a melting pot of diverse people including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Atheists. While the Western world has consisted of mainly Christian countries and consists today of many secular countries, only America has called itself Judeo-Christian. America is also unique in that it has always combined secular government with a society based on religious values. Contemporary world is divided into two half's West & the Rest . The composition of the west has been defined above. The rest (others) can be defined mainly in terms of Asia & Africa. Population wise Asia stands first and Africa is on second number in the world. Approximately Asia & the Africa are more than 70% of the world total population. Two most populous countries China & India are in Asia. 2 out of 5 veto power states are in Asia, means China & Russia, (Russia is considered a transcontinental country located in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia). But as it is mentioned above that Russia is not included in the definition of West so its included in the Rest. Rest is very important for the West because this is the region where Muslim's oil producing countries are located. How the Doctrine of intervention is developed? Intervention can be of different forms it may be political, social, military on any ground. Intervention involves the unsolicited interference of one nation in the affairs of another. It may be directed against a single state, factions within that state, or interactions among a group of states. It does not necessarily take the form of military action but may involve economic or social pressure. When applied to international law, the concept can be elusive. Because many relations between states involve elements of coercion, it is difficult to determine at which point pressure becomes sufficiently coercive as to be deemed intervention. Intervening in the affairs of another state has been a subject of discussion in public international law for as long as laws of nations were developed. Attitudes have changed considerably since the end of World War II. The Monroe Doctrine is a United States policy that was introduced on December 2, 1823, which stated that further efforts by European countries to colonize land or interfere with states in the Americas would be viewed by the United States of America as acts of aggression requiring US intervention. The Monroe Doctrine asserted that the Western Hemisphere was not to be further colonized by European countries, and that the United States would not interfere with existing European colonies nor in the internal concerns of European countries. The Doctrine was issued at the time when many Latin American countries were on the verge of becoming independent from Spain, and the United States, reflecting concerns echoed by Great Britain, hoped to avoid having any European power take Spain's colonies. This was the first land mark which defines intervention very clearly & reflects the policy of US against intervention, in which it is clearly written that interference with states in the Americas would be viewed by the United States of America as acts of aggression requiring US intervention.

Now look at the concept of nonintervention, it can be seen to have emerged from the system of sovereign nation states established by the Peace of Westphalia of 1648. The concept of state sovereignty states that within the territory of a political entity the state is the supreme power, and as such no state from without the territory can intervene, militarily or otherwise, with the internal politics of that state. United Nations Charter is the primary document concerning sovereignty and intervention in international law, it has a duality that can not be defended in todays international society. This duality is creating trouble for the Rest and ease for the West to use the toll of humanitarian intervention. The nonintervention articles - 2 (4) and 2 (7) have been cited by many regimes that have concerns about establishing a doctrine of humanitarian intervention or a proto democratic world order. However,Article 1 (4) and (3) of the Charter mentions human rights as a purpose of the UN, promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all. So it is conceivable that the use of military force outside the UN process in defense of the purposes of then may not be in contravention of Article 2 (4). Furthermore, Article 2 paragraph 7s non-intervention principle is based on matters essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state. In the twenty-first century the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of all peoples are now a matter of concern for every member state and no longer that of mere solitary domestic state jurisdiction. In the post-cold war era it can however be seen that new emergent norms of humanitarian intervention are superseding the norm of non-intervention. This is based upon the argument that while sovereignty gives rights to states, it also comes with a responsibility to protect its citizens, an argument based upon social contract theory. Under this ideal, states can be justified in intervening within other states if that state is failing to protect (or if it is actively involved in harming) its citizens. This point is mainly raised by the west to protect their interferences in other states. We can say that west finds a way to intervene in the affairs of other states on the issue of Humanitarian ground. That west intervene in the affairs of others, mainly to create US hegemony in the world. In order to support this argument we examine the role of NATO because west or its better to say US is using NATO as a military tool to achieve her hidden objectives. Take a brief look at the NATO. The North Atlantic Treat Organization (NATO) is an alliance of 28 countries from North America and Europe committed to fulfilling the goals of North Atlantic Treat signed on 4 April 1949. I would like to quote the the 2 main articles of the treaty those are important to understand the role of NATO and its formation. Article 1, read as The Parties undertake, as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, to settle any international dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered, and to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations. Article 7, is written as, This Treaty does not affect, and shall not be interpreted as affecting in any way the rights and obligations under the Charter of the Parties which are members of the United Nations, or the primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security. The main objective of the formation of NATO is defined in the Article 5 of the treaty, according to which , the Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, they take collective action against that element or state, further the article explains that Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.

It means the formation of NATO took place to take action against the party or state which create threat to 28 member states of NATO, objective is not to fight a war for the rights of others and not to intervene in the internal affairs of the other states. NATO can not operate legally in any type of situation without a mandate of the security council. The result of the legal analysis is quite conclusive, forcible actions taken without a Security Council authorization cannot be considered legal. To justify unauthorized action on the ground of the doctrine of humanitarian intervention or on the ground of international peace & security is not possible. Intervention in rights of other states is eroding the

concept of sovereignty. It is also very important to understand that the role of UN cannot be deleted by any regional organization. NATO supersedes the UN and take actions in isolation because it is clear to NATO that is the presence of 2 members in security council i.e China & Russia , its hard to create a unanimous resolution on any issue. It is also very important that who the West is to decide that what are the rights of other are in presence of UN, which is an organized body and represented by the members of all the nation states in the world. West is just protecting her own interests in the world and take actions according to her own preferences and not in the benefits of others. Now we will critically examine the actual interventions in the world by the west and try to reveal the truth that all the efforts are done to win a big game in the world. Continue (1770 words) i am going to take a print out for proof reading and will continue it tomorrow