June 2000 Fraser Forum: Editor's Notes
Images of human suffering surround us in the print and television media. Often, that suffering is caused by a "natural" event. Earthquakes in Turkey, hurricanes in Guatemala, flooding in Mozambique - each have killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more. No one can prevent these tragedies from happening. But once they have happened, those of us who are more fortunate want to do something, even if that something is only replacing the food and housing that were lost; and so we send food aid or specialized technical assistance.
But when human suffering is caused by the malicious actions of other people, we are left angry, frustrated, and questioning our very humanity. Domestic violence on a small scale, "ethnic cleansing," mutilation, and genocide on a national or international scale, all leave us bewildered and heartsick. As with floods or hurricanes, there really is nothing you or I could do to stop the current, cruel wave of "amputations" in Sierra Leone. But we respond with revulsion and horror, nonetheless. And, of course, we want to help. We want to do anything we can to ease the suffering of those whose pain is nearly too much to bear. And above all, we want the perpetrators punished and stopped so they cannot go on causing such misery.
So the well-meaning among us call for sanctions against the governments of the regimes that allow such horrors to go unchecked. Hit those sick leaders where it hurts! Make them pay! Surely, if we cut off their supplies of munitions, stem the benefits of technology, and generally flatten their economies, they will have to listen to our stern message, and stop behaving so badly.
Sadly, we are wrong. What seems intuitively right is not actually right in these cases. The complex problems that cause societies to commit such horrific acts require complex solutions.
The series of articles that make up the focus of this issue of Fraser Forum explain clearly why sanctions don't work. But they do more. They also explain what does work, and what steps concerned countries such as ours can take to promote respect for human rights.
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