“The paper starts with an examination of the nature, focus and scope of humanitarian intervention approaches. It highlights the mismatch between salient features of violent
armed conflict and the humanitarian military intervention approach. The dichotomy between the imperatives of complex emergencies and the ambivalent approach of the international community is drawn on to argue for a new doctrine of intervention devolving on the use of force to restore and maintain security, in order to protect civilians and support humanitarian assistance. By implication, existing regional capacity building approaches within the African continent must be reconsidered.”
