The United Nations And Humanitarian Intervention After The Cold War

Humanitarian intervention is not a new phenomenon after the Cold War, and it is not a phenomenon existing only in Western countries. Based on concepts and definitions of humanitarian intervention from various researchers from different countries, the author of this dissertation elaborates on the source of humanitarian intervention theories, including their two different aspects, i.e., intervention and humantiarianism.After the end of Cold War, humanitarian intervention has been an important aspect of the United Nations'efforts to keep peace and security. Undoubtedly, some powerful nations or groups of nations have taken humanitarian intervention as a pretext to realize their own strategic objectives. But generally speaking, the UN has been playing a central role in humanitarian intervention activities since the end of the Cold War, which have effectively prevented the escalation of conflicts and fulfilled their tasks in a peaceful manner. To sum up, the new characteristics of UN humanitarian intervention in the post-Cold War period are as follows: (1) the particapants of intervention have been diversified; (2) the range of intervention has increased; (3) the ways and methods of intervention have become more and more varied; (4) the intensity of intervention has been increased at more levels more forcefully; (5) the methods of intervention have become more and more mechanized.After the Cold War, the frequency of humanitarian intervention has been much higher than that of any other period. Intervention has obtained its legality to some extent. However, some experts have pointed out that humanitarian intervention has not been something practiced internationally. Humanitarian intervention still lacks an internationally-recognized mechanism and some theoretical backing. In the opion of the author, any reasonable and legal humanitarian intervention must have six preconditions: (1) a justifiable reason; (2) the participant(s) of the humanitarian intervention must present a legal basis for their interventions; (3) the intervening entities must have a clear, limited and publicly announced purpose; (4) the methods employed in the intervention must be restricted (5) an appropriate use of force must be used; (6) participant(s) of the interventions must reasonablly predict the concequnces of humantarian intervention.In this context of humanitarian intervention, Vietnam has established a very strong, traditional relationship with the United Nations. Because of its unique historical experiences, Vietnam has maintianed a cautious attitude towards humantarian intervention. It is the longstanding stance of the Vietnamese government that internatinal disputes and regional conflicts must be setteled down through peaceful negotiations.Vietnam does not oppose the widening of the range of humanitarian intervention or the deepening of humanitarian intervention, but what Vietnam is opposed against is when great powers carry out hegemonism and power politics in the name of humanitarian intervention because Vietnam believes this will do damage to small and medium-sized developing countries.