Should humanitarian intervention become a new legal basis for the use of interstate force? And should the Netherlands provide political support to acts of interstate force that are not based on international law? These were questions that the Dutch government considered, after the USA, the UK, and France carried out military strikes on Syria in response to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian army in the city of Douma. To find an answer, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs established the Expert Group on the Humanitarian Intervention and Political Support for the Inter-State Use of Force.
The JASON Institute interviewed Dr. Joris Larik, who worked on this report as the Secretariat of the Expert Group. We discussed the conclusions of the report, the Dutch position on the military operations in Syria by its allies, and the political implications of the report. Check out the interview here!
You can find the full report here, and the response by the Dutch government here.