Warmonger-cum-lately John Kerry says that, if President Assad refuses to comply with the chemical weapons deal, Chapter VII of the UN Charter allows cruise missile strikes to penalize his regime. In fact, it says nothing of the sort.
Article 41 of Chapter VII allows for sanctions, including economic and transport measures or the severing of diplomatic relations.
If the Security Council decides those measures are not strong enough then Article 42 states “it may take such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.
“Such action may include demonstrations, blockade, and other operations by air, sea, or land forces of members of the United Nations.”
Punitive military attacks are not authorized.
5 Comments.
Isn’t the point that regardless of what any article of the UN Charter might say, no country has the right or authority to do anything unilaterally, that is, without the appropriate vote of UN security council or entire body?
Yes.
Meh. It depends on what the definition of “is” is.
Anything can and will be interpreted to support an unsupported assumption. If not, state a bald-faced lie, and then build upon it.
The UNO Charter, which was designed, not to prevent war, but to prevent major wars of the type WW I and II among the Great Powers, outlines explicit procedures for the «pacific settlement of disputes» (Chapter VI) and action with respect to threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression» (Chapter VII). Actions are to be taken by a vote in the Security Council, in which all the permanent members (the UNO’s version of the Great Powers) are agreed or at least, none disagree (Chapter V, Article 27 ; note also Article 25 : «The Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present Charter»). The problem is that the US, as the dominant military power, has arrogated to itself the «right» to ignore the Charter («the supreme Law of the Land» under Article VI of the US Constitution) and act on its own – thus the interminable wars of imperial aggression the world has experienced since the end of WW II. But I fear that the ability of US Secretaries of State to unilaterally determine what constitutes international law and what the UNO Charter says is rapidly coming to an end….
Henri