On April 11, 2012 Russian International Affairs Council jointly with Human Rights Watch non-governmental organization held a roundtable on the theme “Humanitarian Intervention: Legal Norms and Practical Implementation”.
Military interference of international coalition forces in the civil war in Libya in 2011 and the ongoing debates in the UN Security Council on the necessity of applying similar measures to Syria have recently drawn focused attention of foreign policy analysts to the problem of humanitarian intervention.
On April 11, 2012 Russian International Affairs Council jointly with Human Rights Watch non-governmental organization held a roundtable on the theme “Humanitarian Intervention: Legal Norms and Practical Implementation” Military interference of international coalition forces in the civil war in Libya in 2011 and the ongoing debates in the UN Security Council on the necessity of applying similar measures to Syria have recently drawn focused attention of foreign policy analysts to the problem of humanitarian intervention.
Among the participants of the event were V. Inozetsev, RIAC member, Director of the Centre for Post-Industrial Society Studies; F. Voitalovsky, Head of the U.S. Internal and Foreign Policy department of IMEMO RAS; B. Ashavsky, leading research fellow for the Institute of Contemporary International Studies of the Diplomatic Academy at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; D. Ivanov, Professor of the International Law department of MGIMO University; A. Sarabyev, research fellow at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies of the RAS Institute of Oriental Studies; E. Suponina, Head of the Asia and Middle East Centre at the Institute of Strategic Studies. Human Rights Watch was represented by K. Bogart and A. Neistat. The meeting of experts was opened by RIAC’s President I. Ivanov and Director General A. Kortunov.
The following key issues were put on the top of the event’s agenda – legal framework for humanitarian interventions, the problem of their legitimization and the possibility of humanitarian intervention in Syria.
One of the aims pursued by the workshop was to pilot the format of a regular dialogue between Russian International affairs Council and Human Rights Watch on the issue of humanitarian intervention.
On the outcomes of the meeting experts agreed to continue the discussion of these problems with a view to outlining optimal parameters of humanitarian intervention practical implementation.
RIAC and HRW Meeting on Humanitarian intervention, April 11, 2012
