Title: Why Genocide? - TheHumanist.com
Headings: Why Genocide?
Why Genocide?
Content: Toward this end, there are numerous peaceful courses of action that have been developed in recent years. One has been the World Court and the International Criminal Court, which have brought leading perpetrators of such crimes to justice and hence served as a deterrent against future actions of this type. The case of Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia shows that even a head of state can be brought by his own country to the bar of international justice. There are also economic sanctions. And, however feeble it may seem at times, the power of the media or organizations like Amnesty International to mobilize international opinion against such atrocities has created enough pressure in certain instances to bring about amelioration or change. Nonetheless, there are occasions when all these efforts fail. In such circumstances, “rules of engagement” or valid and workable “criteria for humanitarian intervention” are needed for guiding nations in deciding precisely when and how to intervene in the internal affairs of another country. Military action to stop crimes against humanity or genocide can be warranted. But safeguards are needed, since noble justifications have frequently been claimed for unwarranted invasions. Examples exist as far apart in history as Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars and George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq.