Human rights, intervention and East Timor : Asean perspectives and response

• Main Author: Nathan, Patrick
• Other Authors: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/14328
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The humanitarian intervention debate in the UN began in earnest with former Secretary General Boutros-Boutros Ghali's "Agenda for Peace". At the heart of this debate is the intervention vs. sovereignty controversy. Although eight years have passed with much written about the subject, the developing world remains strongly suspicious and opposed to the notion of humanitarian intervention. But human rights abuses must be stopped and the UN is still the best agency to do it. Just last year, the debate on humanitarian intervention was rekindled by incumbent UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. The "Great United Nations Intervention Debate" split the UN General Assembly into three camps: those dead set against intervention, those agitating for more active intervention and those pressing for clearer rules and fairer use of force. The differences between these three camps mirror the larger intervention vs. sovereignty debate.