Some regard the act of killing in the name of humanity an impossible contradiction to the values of modern civilisation. Geoffrey Robertson, labelling this as the ‘Guernica paradox’ poses the question; “When can it be right to unleash terror on terrorists, to bomb for human rights, to kill to stop cri mes against humanity?” 324 However, the use of force has been a necessity in achieving two major objectives of UN military interventions throughout the 1990’s; assistance of the delivery of emergency aid and the targeting of perpetrators of violence. The means by which they accomplished these objectives were dictated on a case by case basis, however the presence of a military force, whether as simply a deterrence to potential threats or actively seeking to destroy military targets has proved indispensable in various circumstances. Examples of non- combat military interventions includes the delivery of aid in Mogadishu to the malnourished Somalian population, the insertion of supplies via air drops to the mountainous regions of Bosnia and Kosovo and the construction of camps to provide temporary shelter for refugees and IDP’s during all interventions of the 1990’s. 325 Any suggestions of imperialistic motives regarding such undertakings would therefore be irrational and illogical. Similarly, the requirement for offensive military capabilities is crucial not just for the protection of the civilians under threat, but also to enable NGO’s such as Oxfam and the Red Cross to carry out their roles within conflict torn regions. The motives and legality of methods deployed, of which I have examined throughout this paper is reflected throughout all UN interventions of the 1990’s, albeit with varying success. One must remember that every case is different, from the geographical limitations restricting certain methods of military intervention, to the complex political sphere surrounding the UN Security Council and its decision to intervene. It is therefore important to consider the 324 Geoffrey Robertson, Crimes Against Humanity, (London, Penguin), pp. 402. 325 Taylor Seybolt, Humanitarian Military Intervention: The Conditions For Success And Failure, (Oxford University Press, 2007), pp. 103.
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