H - 3.5 -> 4.1 Flashcards
Sierra Leone
Successful government intervention which brought forth peace in a previously warring area.
Why bother?
• Long-term strategies/ interest of your countries
• It’s a way to maintain influence in world regions that otherwise they’d be excluded from.
• It might also be a strategic location in a wider power struggle, e.g. US aid to Pakistan was more about dealing with Afghanistan and the Taliban.
Why do they think?
• Humanitarian reasons – to stop persecution.
• This seems to put the interventionist on the moral high ground
• But it can be used to provide cover for other less helpful motives.
• It might also help with incursions that threaten stability and allegiance – e.g. UK to Kenya was to help protect it against Islamist attacks from Somali
• Or it might be to ensure access to valuable resources, e.g. UK to old-rich Saudi Arabia.
Examples
• Russia in Ukraine:
• Russia used human rights as a rationale for invading Ukraine in 2014 – i.e. the enclave of ethnic Russians.
• Actually, it was probably more bout annexing a strategically important territory
OR: they were worried about Ukraine wanting to become part of NATO
• or at least NATO troops being able to access a front door to Russia, i.e. the Sea of Azov.
Sierra Leone campaign, 2000
Operation Palliser
RUF vs Sierra Leone government war, uk step in train 8000 SL officers and throw in 1000 troops. Their presence and growing force forced the RUF into complete submission and disarmament
UK unilateral intervention in SL civil war afterUN failed. UK forces quickly stabilised Sierra Leone, defeating the (RUF) rebel forces and implementing a ceasefire
The RUF committed mass killings, used rape as a weapon of war, and used child soldiers. Ending these atrocities and war crimes provided a strong human rights justification
Saudi
Regional & Global Player - Founding member of Arab League, Gulf Co-Operation Council, Muslim World League, and large role in IMF, World Bank and WTO.
• $1.5billion Official Development Aid – almost exclusively to Muslim countries.
• Intervened in Yemeni Civil war in 2015 supporting government against rebellion.
• Opposes Houthi militia (led by fmr. Pres. Ali Abdullah Saleh) supported by Iran.
• GCC countries supported with hardware & troops (UAE until 2020).
• USA provided intelligence and logistics support
• Britain – personnel in command/control centre, and supplied weapons that were used.
• Blockade has prevent military access and humanitarian assistance to Yemen.
Human rights concerns
Judicial corporal punishment for ‘minor offences’.
• Role of women – guardianship, travel, education, lawyer access, rape laws
• Arrest and torture of detainees critical of MBS
• Capital punishment (mass executions 81 in a day)
• Rights of migrant workers –assaults on maids.
• Antisemitism / anti-Israel (UK ally)
• Press freedom – murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
• Stateless people – Bedoon – no access to services / rights
The problem:
• 18,000 Iraqis imprisoned
• Abuse in Abu Graib prison – mutilation, humiliation, torture, degradation
• Actions deepened resentment towards USA – increasing the chance of terrorism?
• Pres. Obama: some of our costliest mistakes came not from our restraint, but from our willingness to rush into military adventures without thinking through the consequences
Terror cells
Non-state
Decentralised (i.e. not government led
Somalia
92 93 UN + US intervention to remove military control of USSR support
- deemed a failure, as when the US left, due to their being no national government in Somalia, there was a power vacuum and many different extremist groups rose, and conflict continues to this day.
But humanitarian aid still has long lasting impacts.
Measures of success of intervention
Government structures –freedom of expression, corruption index, democracy, rule of law,
• Economic systems – GDP per capita, development of a capitalist society.
• Social – life expectancy, education (literacy rate, female education), gender equality
• Infrastructure
Health in Somalia post intervention
- immunisations against measles went up 30% in 90 to 40% in 00
- tuberculosis from 31% to 50
- no of doctors went up from e.r - r per 1000
- maternal mortality rates fell from 1.6 to 1/1000
Life expectancy in Somalia post intervention
From 47 to 48.2, 51 post 05
Education in Somalia post intervention
- qu-ranic schools are now regulated
- Somaliland has free primary schools
- student enrolment up 27%/yr
- grass roots unis topping africa
Gender equality in Somalia post intervention
40 - 100 % education rate for girls
FGM decreased
Freedom of speech in Somalia post intervention
Both prosecute journalists and vert little freedom of information and defamation is a crime.
