ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that a moral obligation exists and presents a number of arguments towards defining its scope. It focuses on the plight of those actually being abused rather than on the difficulties or dangers interventionists may face by directly intervening. Military intervention by the international community in the affairs of another sovereign state is not something to be undertaken lightly but often it is the only effective way of stopping the mass killings, starvation, and tortures. Crucial to any forcible interventionist strategy is the non-violent, mediation processes that must follow immediately after the belligerents have been forced to cease their activities. The international community needs the support of legal protocols and conventions in authorising and supporting lawful intervention against states that are intent on conducting serious human rights abuses. Most of the objections are focused on the concerns of onlookers and potential interventionists over how such intervention could affect their own physical wellbeing or moral predilections.
