Rethinking the United Nations Humanitarian Intervention in Somalia

Abstract

The 1990s became the decade of humanitarian intervention. The United Nations (UN) has conducted successful and unsuccessful humanitarian interventions in different parts of the world to protect human rights and maintain international peace and security. The UN humanitarian intervention and humanitarian assistance aimed to provide the basic amenities to the conflict-affected people, rebuilding the government and political institutions in the conflict zones. The UN has used military force to conduct a humanitarian intervention in certain cases.  Somalia experienced civil wars in the post-cold war period. The civil wars in Somalia destroyed the socio-political and economic conditions of the country and enhanced poverty, famine, and diseases. In addition, the civil war in Somalia breaches and violates the fundamental rights and rudimentary freedoms of the Somali people. Therefore, the United Nations recognised that it is the moral imperative of the UN to take specific measures to curb the civil war in Somalia and protect the rights of the Somali people. The United Nations Security Council has taken certain measures, including adopting resolution 751 in 1992 and establishing the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNSOM) to restore peace and stability in Somalia. Furthermore, the UNSC adopted resolution 794 to authorise the US-led multinational force to use all necessary means to protect the distribution of humanitarian assistance in Somalia. This article predominately examines the role and justification of the United Nations in conducting humanitarian intervention (military intervention) in the post-cold war era. This article mainly looks at the resolutions and measures taken by the UN Security Council to establish peace and protect Somali people's rights. This article is divided into four major parts; the first part will provide an introduction to the topic. The second part of the article looks at the UN and military intervention. The third part of this article examines the UN humanitarian intervention in Somalia; this part analyses the various resolutions and measures taken by the UN in solving the civil war in Somalia and assesses how far it was successful in preventing the crisis. The last part of this article concludes the findings of the study.