352 Journal of the Spanisch Institute for Strategic Studies N. 3 / 2014 On the other hand, Chapter VI of the UN Charter deals with peaceful settlement of disputes, vesting the Security Council with functions relating to peacekeeping and international security, authorising it to investigate situations likely to give rise to disputes and put forward recommendations in order to reach a peaceful settlement. Chapter VII outlines the specific actions that may be taken in the event of threats to the peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression; allowing the Council to take enforcement measures in the event of danger, which may range from economic blockades to the use of force. During the Cold War, states were very strict when interpreting the principle of non-intervention5. Following the war6, however, the doctrine of humanitarian intervention began to emerge, promoted and championed by the founder of Médecins Sans Frontières and former French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bernard Kouchner7. As we have just pointed out, considerable changes have taken place in international society since the adoption of the UN Charter, particularly after the Cold War. These can basically be summarised as a proliferation of armed conflicts within states and the emergence of new cross-border threats. We are seeing “new wars” characterised by “destatisation and privatisation, as well as by economisation, depoliticization and brutalisation”8. These new conflicts are currently regarded as a greater threat to international security than conflict between states. And because they are based on rivalries, and ethnic and religious differences they are immensely complex. The situation caused huge controversy in the international community. On the one hand, there were those who supported the use of military force as a means of intervening in humanitarian crises and, on the other, those who believed this constituted a breach of the principle of sovereignty and posed a neo-colonial threat to poorer countries. Organisations such as the Red Cross were against mixing the two ideas - humanitarian aid and military intervention. This debate was further heightened by the intervention of NATO in Kosovo without the prior authorisation of the Security Council, which was vetoed by Russia and China, and which has been described by 5 This principle was reaffirmed by successive Resolutions of the United Nations’ General Assembly. 6 Following the Cold War, the conventional war between states gave way to a number of intra-state conflicts characterised by constant attacks on non-combatant civilians, without respect for international law and depriving individuals of their human rights. 7 Vid. http://www.haraldedelstam.cl/2012/05/el-concepto-de-la-responsabilidad-de-proteger-semi-nario- internacional-en-homenaje-a-embajador-harald-edelstam-estocolmo-17-de-abril-de-2012-rober-to- garreton/. 8 Vid. AÑAÑOS MEZA, M.C.: “The ‘Responsibility to Protect’ in United Nations and the Doctrine of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’”, in UNISCI Discussion Papers, no. 21 (October 2009), pag. 184.
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