Genocidal rape in Bosnia-Herzgovina Research Paper

Genocidal rape in Bosnia-Herzgovina - Research Paper Example Systematic mass rape and forced impregnation of women to cause pregnancy was related to the policy of â€Å"ethnic cleansing† of the Serbian genocide. Methods used in the campaigns of ethnic cleansing included but were not limited to torture, murder, detention, arbitrary arrest, sexual assaults in general and rape in particular, extra-judicial executions, forcible removal, confinement of the civilians into the ghettos, civilian deportation and displacement, exposure of the civilians to deliberate military attacks, and property destruction. Widespread ethnic cleansing was accompanied with the outbreak of war from 1992 to 1995 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnian Serbs forced Bosnian Muslims in large numbers along with some Bosnian Croats to flee their homes. There was also a small population of Bosnian Croats that conducted similar campaign against the Serbs and the Muslims, though they were far outnumbered by the violent Serbs. In the start of 1991, Balkans saw political upheava ls displacing a total of nearly 2,700,000 people, 700,000 of which sought refuge in Europe. There was an obvious military intent behind the systematic policies of rape in conflict with the International Humanitarian Law adopted by the Serbs. Giuseppe Zaccaria, an Italian journalist, summarized the Serb army officers’ minutes of meeting conducted in late 1991 in a Belgrade suburb in which he noted that the explicit policy of the Serbs was meant to target the children and women, they being the most vulnerable part of the social and religious structure of the Muslims. The reason why Bosnian Serbs targeted women and children can be summarized in these words: â€Å"Our analysis of the behavior of the Muslim communities demonstrates that the morale, will, and bellicose nature of their groups can be undermined only if we aim our action at the point where the religious and social structure is most fragile. We refer to the women, especially adolescents, and to the children. Decisive intervention on these social figures would spread confusion among the communities, thus causing first of all fear and then panic, leading to a probable [Muslim] retreat from the territories involved in war activity† (Zaccaria cited in Alien 57). In spite of the media reports discussing the mass killings, the secret camps, the destruction of architecture of Bosnia and mosques, most of the global community showed indifference to them. In response to such media reports, the UN implemented economic sanctions upon Serbia. The first UN peacekeeping force during the Yugoslav wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina was the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR). Mandate of the UNPROFOR for Bosnia and Herzegovina was to keep the people alive as the war reached its end. In an attempt to supervise the food and medicine distribution among the Muslims, the UN deployed its troops. However, these troops were not allowed by the UN to make any sort of military interference against the Serbs. UN had its own reasons not to stop the Serbs from killing Bosnian Muslims; the UN security forces thought that this was not their war and so they should not risk their lives trying to stop the Serbs from committing the atrocities. In addition to that, some soldiers of the UN security forces were held hostage by the Serbs. The safety and security of those captured UN soldiers was the prime concern of the UN securit

Cause and effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Cause and effect - Essay Example Childhood obesity also increases the risk of psychosocial problem among children such as low self-esteem, bullying, teasing and are underestimated by their peers. This is a cause and effect essay exploring childhood obesity in USA. One major cause of childhood obesity in US is excessive consumption of calories, for instance,  many children take many too much calories, and they do not engage in physical activities to burn them since they engage in minimal physical exercises. Most children in US and other developed countries do not take the right and healthy food. Increased intake of energy dense meals and soft drinks leads to childhood obesity. Children consume many calories, but participate less in physical activities (Murphy, 5). Lack of physical activity participation in children is caused by environmental factors such as lack of enough space to undertake different exercises like cycling, running among others. Furthermore, parents do not create time to help their children engage in physical activities. Continuous consumption of fast food and living sedentary lifestyles put them at risk of diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes, and increased cholesterol among others. Researchers have pointed out sedentary lifestyle to be one of the major causes of obesity in both adults and children (Rippe and Angelopoulos 29). Parents are too busy to prepare healthy and nutritional meals to allow their children carry packed lunch instead of consuming fast food. More so, physical inactivity contributes largely in increasing cases of obesity because they spend most of their time playing video games and watching television. They  spend less time exercising, but they do spend many hours watching and playing video games, this way, they are more likely to become overweight as opposed to those who spend less time playing video games and watching. Children and teenagers should engage in physical activities for at least sixty minutes daily (Murphy 14). Even though physical edu cation has been introduced in many schools and kindergarten, many children do not actively participate in physical activity (Moreno, Pigeot and Ahrens 12). Obesity affects negatively on children’s lives. Firstly, obesity increases the risk for certain serious health problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol as well as high blood pressure, and musculoskeletal among others. Different studies cite obesity to be the major cause of premature death among children. Today, these serious health conditions are found among children due to unhealthy lifestyle because for a long time these diseases have been exclusively associated with adulthood. Secondly, obese children are at a higher risk of experiencing psychological problems such as bullying, underestimation, teasing, and low self-esteem among others (Rippe and Angelopoulos 39). Moreover, obese children are prone to depression and other medical conditions such as bone and joint problems and may experience breathing difficulties esp ecially when they are engaged even in the slightest physical activity. Most obese children are not happy with their condition and are not comfortable to interact with their peers. In addition, obese children have the tendency of maturing earlier, that is, they seem to grow old faster as opposed to their colleagues who are not overweight. More so, overweight and obesity reduces children’s lifespan and causes premature death of most children in America. In conclusion,