141st APHA Annual Meeting

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294580
Dilemma of humanitarian military intervention

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 12:48 PM - 1:06 PM

William F. Schulz, DMin , Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Cambridge, MA
No issue is more contentious in the human rights world than that of humanitarian military intervention for purposes of preventing or stopping human rights violations. Rwanda, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Darfur, Libya, and now Syria all present the conundrum in its many forms. Thanks to the United Nations' 2005 declaration on the “Responsibility to Protect,” the international community now at least has some formal criteria to apply when making decisions about intervention. However, this tactic is still highly controversial, not only for the collateral damage any military action can cause, but also because intervention is sometimes seen as having been put at the service of “the West” in the pursuit of less-than-pure motives. However, for me, having served as executive director of Amnesty International USA from 1994 to 2006 and having witnessed genocides up close, it is not easy to entirely rule military intervention off the table. This presentation will explore the dilemma with special focus on issues of the appropriate circumstances under which intervention is justified; the authority that is required; the dangers inherent in such action, including the health consequences for local populations, and alternatives to the use of force.

Learning Areas:
Ethics, professional and legal requirements

Learning Objectives:
Analyze the dilemma of humanitarian military intervention. Recognize the roles that public health workers can play in raising awareness about this dilemma.

Keywords: War, Human Rights

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: William F. Schulz is the President and CEO of UUSC, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, a nonsectarian organization that advances human rights and social justice in the United States and around the world. Previously, he served for 12 years as executive director of Amnesty International USA, until spring of 2006. An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, Schulz is a former president of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.