INTRODUCTION In 2014, emergence of two separate entities in the east of Ukraine has reawaken the issues surrounding the provision of humanitarian action in non-recognized entities effectively controlling a territory. If the Humanitarian needs and the effects of wars on civilian population are rarely manageable for the de facto states without external assistance, Humanitarian action may be instrumentalized, hence creating additional challenges for humanitarian actors. The core idea of this paper is to highlight the interactions between the Humanitarian action and its possible instrumentalization in de facto states. Understanding past conflicts, the response given by humanitarian actors as well as their challenges could be useful to grasp current and future humanitarian endeavours in de facto states hence, comparing South Caucasus and Ukraine 1.1 Framing the concepts: Humanitarian action: There is hardly a universal definition of what is or should be humanitarian action, every humanitarian organization or actor using its own. However, common core elements can be found in most definitions and could be summarized as aid and actions made to save lives, alleviate suffering as well as maintain and protect human dignity during and in the aftermath of man-made crises and natural disasters. What seems to differentiate humanitarian action from other forms of foreign assistance is its commitment to be guided by a set of principles: Humanity, Impartiality, neutrality and independence
Humanitarian Intervention is military intervention that is carried out in pursuit of humanitarian rather than strategic objectives. This term is controversial and therefore often debated, as it is an evaluative and subjective term. The common use of the term itself is the desire to come in help to other people, however according to some other opinions, it is the outcome of the intervention that defines it. Firstly, it is essential to define what is meant by the word abandoned in this context. As HI has been happening throughout history, abandoned would imply an on-going lack or diminishing numbers of interventions.
Humanitarian action is what the world turns to in case there is a crisis in any part of the world. But as David Rieff suggests in his book, “A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis,” there is a crisis in the humanitarian world and space. He draws from first personal experience in places like Bosnia, Rwanda and Kosovo to tell how some of the challenges humanitarian organizations face; including their struggle to be neutral and apolitical.
Ukraine is granted a market economy status by the EU and USA. The sharp economic decline in the 90s resulted in deteriorating living standards for most citizens and widespread poverty. However, during the 21st century, there has been some positive economic growth in Ukraine, as well as Eastern Europe as a whole. Ukraine’s currency, the Hryvnia, was introduced in September 1996 and has remained relatively stable. The unstable political situation in Ukraine hardly influences its economic development. GDP has been growing steadily since 2005 at an average growth rate of 7% and industrial production has been expanding by 12%. The Ukrainian economy was hit by the harsh effects of the global financial crisis but managed to attain a 4.2%
To understand the impact of humanitarian crises and how international politics play a role, a common definition of such crises must be understood. In his book “Humanitarian Crises and the International
The debate of humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect have been discussed in international relations discourse more seriously within the last 60 years. The major historical developments which have led to an increase in the intensity of these debates have had beneficial and detrimental effects on Earth within the last 20 years. Several factors have contributed to this including; globalization, the rise in international accountability, an increase humanitarian consciousness to prevent major atrocities from occurring, the expansion of territorial to global responsibility of the western world, and the realization of the western world that regional sovereignty no longer accounts for national security. To develop an opinion
The topic of international relations has been gaining significance in the modern world following the increase in the popularity of globalization and the need for peaceful coexistence between nations. The high rate of advancement of communication technology, complex global economy, faster means of transport and an increase in value for cooperative relationships are vital to the global society (Almoni 1). A positive relationship between countries, especially the neighboring ones is expected to facilitate the formulation of effective trade agreements. In addition, the issue of immigration or movement of people from one country to another cannot
With the end of the Cold War Era, humanitarian interventionism became an increasing part of foreign policy in the United States, shaping its interactions with other states; furthermore, it is an issue of controversy and has had mixed results. This paper will examine the way in which the United States responded to two different humanitarian crises in the 1990s, one by intervening and one by ignoring the situation. In the case of Somalia, a country struck by famine, the United States chose to act, due to public opinion, the perceived image of the intervention, and the wishes of then President George H.W. Bush. Contrarily, the genocide in Rwanda failed to receive any intervention from the United States, due to changes in public opinion and
These are the problems that exist in the humanitarian aid industry today, but these problems have developed over a course of many years and responses to famine and humanitarian disasters have evolved over time. Thirty years ago disaster relief and humanitarian aid were not considered to be of huge significance on a geopolitical scale. During the 70’s and 80’s although humanitarian crisis existed, the geopolitics was more focused on the cold war and respecting the sovereignty of nation states. Although crisis in Africa, East Pakistan and Guatemala (to name a few) were made aware
The United Nations is an international organization that fights for world peace, and strives to control international law, international security, economic development, social progress, and human rights. In the United Nation’s preamble, it states the organization is “determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war…” and “…to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.” However, the U.N. can often be ineffective and it has been an ongoing debate between the world’s leaders whether or not intervention is justified when inhumane acts are committed in foreign lands. Too many human beings have been victims of violence, rape and/or
Humanitarianism is a complex task; there is no universal definition. It’s noble that you’ve decided to dedicate yourself to serving those from all abroad who most need your support. But it’s important that we think about humanitarianism from various perspectives. It’ll ensure you dedicate yourself to the realm of humanitarianism that best suits your viewpoints and beliefs.
The key objections to humanitarian intervention include the conflict of interests with the self-interested state and sovereignty, the difficulty of internal legitimacy, the problematical Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine, and the debate over legality of intervention. The issue of morality stands as an overarching issue which touches on all of these. Overall, one finds that despite a moral imperative to intervene, humanitarian intervention should not occur but is perhaps the lesser of a series of evils.
The conflict between the Ukraine and Russia is the Ukraine's most long-standing and deadly crisis; since its post-Soviet independence began as a protest against the government dropping plans to forge closer trade ties with the European Union. The conflict between Russia and the Ukraine stems from more than twenty years of weak governance, the government’s inability to promote a coherent executive branch policy, an economy dominated by oligarchs and rife with corruption, heavy reliance on Russia, and distinct differences between Ukraine's population from both Eastern and Western regions in terms of linguistics, religion and ethnicity (Lucas 2009).
Much recent discourse surrounding humanitarian intervention has focused on the responsibility to protect (R2P). Prevention is a key component for good international relations and few would say it is not important, but as evidence to date would show prevention is very ineffective, the legality of military intervention still needs to be debated, as to date there is no consensus. For any intervention to be legitimate, whether unilateral or multilateral, it must comply with international law. So as not to cause any confusion, any situation in which an “intervention” is done with the permission or by request of the state being intervened, should be considered humanitarian assistance as state sovereignty is not breached. This paper will
In the Ukrainian crisis with Russia, there have been many non-state actors involved since the beginning of the invasion of Crimea. “From the Russian diaspora, non-governmental organizations, paramilitary groups and volunteer militias, there are a diverse range of non-state actors involved in the crisis” (German and Karagiannis, 2016). There has been a large impact in regards to religious groups with the Ukrainian conflict, such as the Russian Orthodox Church being able to rationalize why there was a need to invade Crimea. In Ukraine, a subset church of the Russian Orthodox Church broke off from the Russian Church to play a proactive role in assisting the pro-Ukrainian militias during the conflict. Organized crime and rise of militias have caused uncertainty for the country of Ukraine as the country lacks the ability to stabilize its regions against the crisis from the militias to Russia’s invasion.
The big crisis in Ukraine is starting to get out of hand. The government cannot even figure out what to do, and is getting kicked out of office. There are street protests happening all over Ukraine especially at Kyiv’s Independence Square. There is civil unrest against Yanukovych because he did not do what the people wanted to have. After everything is starting to cool down, Russian troops start to enter the country. The crisis was getting so far out of hand that the US and the EU had to figure out how to help, so they got involved in the crisis. The Ukraine conflict was triggered by Yanukovych declining the EU deal, and when everything was getting settled down in Ukraine, Russia invades Ukraine.