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I think no one knows what humanitarian intervention means. If I were a person who was non-American, I would think humanitarian intervention is just another name for United States imperialism.

It is one thing to be against unilateralism and against nonhumanitarian interventionism - but it is quite another thing to be against humanitarian interventionism.

When human rights are systematically abused, it raises the question whether it may be legitimate in some circumstances for the international community to intervene within individual states as well as in conflicts between states.

I've a problem with the word charity because I think that NGOs, as I prefer calling them, really do take the work of moral and social responsibilities that ought to be taken on by governments.

As citizens, we all have an obligation to intervene and become involved - it's the citizen who changes things.

There are lots of countries that are having these kinds of internal civil wars in other parts of the world and nobody is talking about intervening.

It is a virtual reflex for governments to plead security concerns when they undertake any controversial action, often as a pretext for something else.

One of the most crucial kinds of intervention is in advocacy. We can think about charities in the context of delivering services, and indeed that is part of their job, but advocacy is also getting governments to step up to the plate. They can also give more voice to those who don't have one.

Intervention only works when the people concerned seem to be keen for peace.