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Diplomacy or military intervention in Syria? 7 opinions from around the globe.

Send in the vigilantes

  • By Whitney Eulich Staff writer

National Times (Australia)
Op-Ed, Ned Dobos, author of Insurrection and Intervention
Syria needs a vigilante to save its people 

In April, special envoy Kofi Annan announced a ceasefire and six-point plan to end the conflict in Syria, but after just two months, the UN suspended its monitoring mission there. Now that a ceasefire seems out of the question (violence is chaotic, civilians are being targeted, suicide bombings are on the rise) some say it is time to shift gears. But the politics of the UN may be impeding any forward movement: The UN Security Council has been blocked twice by a veto from Assad-ally and permanent member, Russia.
 
“Should any state or coalition decide to bypass the Security Council, that would be unlawful, at least according to the orthodox interpretation of the UN charter. But would it therefore be unethical? If Security Council authorization is a legal necessity, is it also a moral imperative?” asks Ned Dobos, a lecturer in ethics at the University of New South Wales, Canberra.

"The global body entrusted with the task of preventing human rights abuses is, once again, paralysed by politics. For any state that is able and willing to act unilaterally, the imperative to defend people against murder, torture and rape trumps fidelity to international covenant. A vigilante that defends the innocent when the police can't or won't is not a villain, he is a hero.”

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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