Just War Theory

From the BBC:

What is a Just War?

Six conditions must be satisfied for a war to be considered just:

• The war must be for a just cause.
• The war must be lawfully declared by a lawful authority.
• The intention behind the war must be good.
• All other ways of resolving the problem should have been tried first.
• There must be a reasonable chance of success.
• The means used must be in proportion to the end that the war seeks to achieve.

How should a Just War be fought?

A war that starts as a Just War may stop being a Just War if the means used to wage it are inappropriate.

• Innocent people and non-combatants should not be harmed.
• Only appropriate force should be used.
  • This applies to both the sort of force, and how much force is used.
• Internationally agreed conventions regulating war must be obeyed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/just/what.shtml


Some reconsiderations from the NY Times Opinionator blog, by Jeff McMahan:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/rethinking-the-just-war-part-1/

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/rethinking-the-just-war-part-2/


And...

12 November 2012 – The General Assembly today elected 18 countries to serve on the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) for a period of three years beginning on 1 January 2013.

Argentina, Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Estonia, Ethiopia, Gabon, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Montenegro, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, United Arab Emirates, United States and Venezuela were elected by secret ballot during the elections held at UN Headquarters in New York.

Members of the Council serve for a period of three years and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=43468&Cr=human+rights+council&Cr1=#.UKGHame8iul