The Dangers of Humanitarian Intervention 1 of 4
Can we have wars for peace? Over the past fifteen years, “humanitarian intervention” has become a justification for aggressive, and illegal wars. Join international human rights lawyer David Jacobs in his workshop on threats to international law.
Unusual Sources is an anti-war radio program that covers issues from a labour perspective. For more information, see About Unusual Sources.
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Story behind the song
After the collapse of the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" rationale in Iraq, the U.S. explained that it had invaded Iraq to bring democracy and freedom. Similarly, Canada claims it is in Afghanistan to bring women’s rights and build schools. Our government has developed a “responsibility to protect” doctrine that allows the military to use force against countries that have not invited us to solve their problems. But peacebuilding does not mean invading other people’s countries.
Activists and students today can benefit by adopting a critical perspective toward the idea that Canada needs to put “boots on the ground” in global trouble spots as defined by proponents of intervention. The concepts of international law and sovereignty, currently eroded in a new era of instability, are more important than ever before.
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David Jacobs is a partner at Watson-Jacobs-McCreary and has practiced for over 23 years in multiple areas, including human rights, constitutional law, and international criminal law. He has represented tribunals, unions, organizations, corporations, and individuals before tribunals and courts at all levels in Canada, and Trial and Appeal Chambers of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. He was counsel to two local unions of the United Steelworkers in the Stelco Insolvency Application during the USW’s successful negotiations to protect pensions and benefits 2004-2006.
