Intervention in Libya raises broader questions
Associate Professor Gideon Boas
By Associate Professor Gideon Boas
As UN Security Council resolution 1973 opens the way for military action in Libya, the UN and the international community once again face questions about the use of armed force to achieve the goals of humanitarian intervention and democratisation.
The French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppé, who introduced the resolution, is quoted in Security Council documents as saying that the resolution supports ‘a wave of great revolutions that would change the course of history’. He is, of course, referring to the people throughout North Africa and the Middle East who are calling for ‘a breath of fresh air’, for freedom of expression and democracy. Juppé, cutting a far less convincing figure than his predecessor Dominique de Villepin who starred in his country’s stand against the invasion of Iraq, raises some important issues.
Are we experiencing a ‘wave of great revolutions’? What does the unrest engulfing North Africa and the Middle East mean and where will it lead? If Libya, why not Bahrain, or Yemen? What will the international community do if tensions boil over there?
There is a very real humanitarian issue in Gaddafi’s response to unrest in his country. His childish rants (like those of Saddam Hussein in Iraq or Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia) would be laughable if they were not the precursor to his own people’s bloodshed. His use of the language of regimes that have conducted genocides and massive human rights abuses (calling his opponents ‘cockroaches’) and clear evidence of widespread violence indicate a strong case for international action to stop him slaughtering Libyans on a massive scale.
This raises two important questions: what will international military action in Libya achieve and where will it lead?
The Security Council resolution is explicit in its intent: aerial bombardments to set up a no fly zone, but no occupying force. The opinion pages have been full of confidence that this will not be another Iraq or Afghanistan, let alone a Somalia or Vietnam. The reality is, however, that once commenced, the extent of the commitment to Libya might be difficult to contain. What will the Security Council do if the no fly zone does not stop Gaddafi’s forces from overwhelming rebel forces and slaughtering his opponents? Will it stand back and say that it has done what it was prepared to do and Libyans are now on their own?
Referral of Gaddafi and the situation in Libya to the International Criminal Court might lead to Gaddafi being indicted for crimes against humanity but, as we have seen in Sudan, an internationally reviled president charged with genocide can remain in power and politically effective.
And what will happen if Gaddafi is toppled and the regime changes? What if this, and the rest of the ‘wave of great revolutions’, give rise to extremist regimes with whom the West cannot negotiate, and whose aggression they cannot control? After all, many out-of-favour dictators and rogue regimes came to power on the back of external military and other assistance. There is no guarantee that this time it will be different.
So as French, British and American bombs rain down on Gaddafi’s forces and military infrastructure, helping to bring freedom and democracy to the Middle East, we should not be surprised if it does not end peacefully for Libya and the international community.
Dr Gideon Boas is an Associate Professor in the Monash Faculty of Law. Previously, he was a Senior Legal Officer at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.