A common humanity: regional organisations & humanitarian intervention

Humanitarian intervention is a contentious issue in international relations, but remains an important policy option. At the centre of recent debate is the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty and The Responsibility to Protect. The Responsibility to Protect attempted to balance state sovereignty with the responsibility of the international community to protect populations in danger. The recommendations contained plausible thresholds for which to trigger action, but the mechanism for using military force, the Security Council, was not realistic. Regional organisations, are much better suited to conducting the complex military operations involved in humanitarian intervention missions. In examining past cases of humanitarian intervention missions by the United Nations and regional organisations in both Europe and Africa, and conducting a comparative case study analysis, it is evident that regional blocs have a higher probability of success in ending hostilities and stopping egregious violations of human rights compared to the United Nations.