Suchergebnisse

Contemplates the notion of "refugee protection." Discussion opens with a consideration of the terms "refugee" & "protection," assessing connotations from a legal standpoint & acknowledging ambiguities in their definitions. Some attention is also given to the idea of "asylum" & "non-refoulement." Attention then turns to the protection responsibilities of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), offering suggestions with respect to refining its mandate, operating in an incremental national-regional-international fashion to promote protection, clarifying the content of protection as a humanitarian concept, & better integration of protection sensibilities into its program work. Principles from law & international politics must underpin the UNHCR's shift into the humanitarian arm of the UN. In reviewing key humanitarian crises during the 1990s, a call is made for a more proactive approach to refugee protection. J. Zendejas

Although the international community has attempted to establish a global ethic capable of guiding movements to resolve global problems, it is contended that proposed global ethics are plagued by particular philosophical & political difficulties. Recognizing the centrality of achieving substantive minimal consensus to formulating a global ethic, it is stated that several circumstances will problematize efforts to reach minimal agreement, eg, determining who will participate in such negotiations & overcoming inevitable disagreements between parties. Although the Golden Rule is articulated in some form in most major religions, two reasons for rejecting this principle as the foundation of a global ethic are announced. Three additional difficulties in formulating a global ethic are highlighted: a global ethic is perceived as preceding ethical absolutism; not all individuals with relatively good lives have demonstrated care & concern for poor people throughout the world; & the belief that increasing the number of goods owned by people will necessarily augment their quality of life. It is concluded that reaching substantive minimal consensus is highly unlike absent the formation of a new global order. J. W. Parker

Rather than comprehend globalization in purely economic terms, it is contended that globalization combines Western notions of technological & scientific advancement with Western moral & political ideas. Although the processes of economic, political, & scientific development occurred concurrently in many Western societies, it is contended that contemporary globalization processes are characterized by an imbalance between these three phenomena. Indeed, it is maintained that the scientific-technological dimension severely outweighs the moral-political aspect, resulting in capitalist, but not democratic, globalization. The assertion that globalization will engender multiple modernities throughout the world is questioned; instead, it is argued that the dominance of the scientific-technological dimension will encourage the rise of competing nationalisms & stringent efforts to preserve cultural traditions within globalizing countries. Despite these deleterious predictions, it is stressed that the liberalism of Western morality & politics is compatible with the international community's humanitarian objectives, & that the political component of globalization must presently supersede its economic counterpart to achieve the true transformative potential of globalization. J. W. Parker

Examines how the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was able to convince states to adopt humanitarian rules of war laid out by the first Geneva Convention. Exploration of the theoretical arguments underlying humanitarian principles focuses on their desirability from an individual perspective, as well as the threat they pose to sovereignty & traditional understandings about international politics. A world-cultural argument is used to explain the context in which the Red Cross succeeded, arguing that functional & interest-related explanations are insufficient. War is viewed as an organized cultural institution with changing rules &, since state & personal survival conflict during war, other social/cultural values are needed to motivate soldiers to risk their lives. Cultural models also determine the "right" way to fight, & these rules of war have become increasingly globalized. An overview is presented of the origin, content, & spread of the rules of warfare contained in the Geneva Conventions, maintaining that the worldview & moral code expressed in this early period impacted all subsequent ICRC humanitarian efforts. J. Lindroth

Explores challenges facing the international community in relation to human rights abuse & humanitarian intervention in Africa. Debates about humanitarian intervention that occurred between 1945 & 1990 are described. Although the UN Charter sanctions intervention only if the Security Council recognizes a threat to international security, the case for intervention rests on the belief that humanitarian catastrophes demand an exceptional response. It is argued that Africa fails to provide support for the proposition that there is a new norm of humanitarian intervention even though it has been the testing ground for post-Cold War interventions. An overview of the UN operation in Somalia shows that Somalia's political culture is unique & failure in Somalia was not an indication that other African interventions were bound to fail. Nonetheless, the Somalia experience led to the Western denial of genocide in Rwanda. Difficulties surrounding the issue of consent, proposals of pragmatic humanitarianism that focuses on what is politically possible, & contrasts between the international response to natural disasters & those caused by civil conflict are discussed. J. Lindroth

Examines the forced Rwandan repatriation from western Tanzania in 1996 & the role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Refugee protection is seen to be progressively influenced by political & security concerns, resulting in a shift toward instrumental humanitarianism. Attention is then given to the case of Rwandan repatriation, delineating three factors underlying the Tanzanian government's decision to forcibly expel the refugees: regional security concerns, perceptions of stability in Rwanda, & declining funding for Rwandan refugee programs. The UNHCR found itself having to choose among conflicting priorities. The role of other international organizations -- operational NGOs & human rights organizations -- is briefly addressed. Emerging from the Rwandan situation was a skewed logic of refugee protection, principally manifest in the reality that refugees forced home were innocent, while those afforded continued protection in Tanzania had been involved in the genocide. Ultimately, political & security considerations underpinned the decision to repatriate the Rwandan refugees, a decision that can be viewed as a strategy of conflict prevention or avoidance & that often conflicts with refugee protection. J. Zendejas