Humanitarian intervention for human rights protection : Kosovo case

Abstract

Until the armed intervention by NATO member states in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999 to avert the humanitarian situation in Kosovo, the term "humanitarian intervention" was not being used and discussed intensively among the international law circles. This work is firstly explaining the human rights and humanitarian law violations in Kosovo prior to NATO intervention. To use force in order to protect human rights at the same time raises questions on morality and legality of the action. Is it moral to protect lives with guns? Is it legal to use force for humanitarian purposes? If yes, how? The legal way of using force in international relations constitutes the hardcore subject of the UN (Charter) system; therefore, related provisions of the Charter together with the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council and the decisions of the International Court of Justice drawing the border lines of the subject matter. As much as the importance of the legal basis of the use of force, the implementation of the military operation is also very much important in terms of humanitarian law. The author concludes that, in order to call it "humanitarian intervention", it must be compatible with the rules governing the use of force (ius ad helium), object and purposes of the UN Charter and the rules of humanitarian law (ius in bello).