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Press Conference to expose illegality of Afghan war 27 January Commons - from http://makewarshistory.org.uk
False claims that the war with Afghanistan is legal exposed
For eight years the British Government has duped Parliament and the public into believing that the war with Afghanistan is lawful. It has done this by manipulating the public’s understanding of international law and in particular the meaning of Chapter VII of the UN Charter. This deception is illustrated by the statement of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in a letter written on 17th June 2009 on behalf of Bill Rammell, at that time the FCO Minister, and Daniel Bethlehem the FCO legal advisor:
“Under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Council may “decide what measures shall be taken … to maintain or restore international peace and security”.
This sentence is constructed from parts of Articles 41 and 42 of the UN Charter. The middle of the sentence has 3 dots - signifying that parts of Chapter VII [Articles 39 - 51] have been left out. The omissions totally change the meaning of the law.
41. The Security Council may decide what measures not involving the use of armed force are to be employed to give effect to its decisions, and it may call upon the Members of the United Nations to apply such measures. These may include complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations.
42. Should the Security Council consider that measures provided for in Article 41 would be inadequate or have proved to be inadequate, 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.”
By leaving out the phrase “not involving the use of armed force” (our emphasis) the Government reversed the meaning of the original Article and wrongly implied the Security Council had authorised the use of armed force.
This shows that the war with Afghanistan was initiated on a false premise of legality. The result has been the unlawful deaths of thousands of Afghan men, women and children. We now have a responsibility to stop this massacre, end the war and challenge those responsible.
This and other issues regarding the legality of the Afghanistan war will be addressed at a press conference hosted by Lembit Opik MP of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Ending and Preventing War, to be held in
House of Commons Committee Room 8, Wednesday 27th January at 11.15 am
The following summary of relevant key points of the UN Charter, and a comment about it, is also reproduced from www.makeswarshistory.org.uk
The United Nations Charter
"The United Nations Charter sets out to prevent war and promote peace, justice and the rule of law throughout the world. Its articles clearly prohibit the use of armed force:
2.3 All members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace, security and justice are not endangered.
2.4 All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
41 The Security Council may decide what measures not involving the use of armed force are to be employed to give effect to its decisions, and it may call upon members of the United Nations to apply such measures. These may include complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations.
42 Should the Security Council consider that measures provided for in Article 41 prove to be inadequate, 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."
Download The United Nations Charter (pdf)
Comment
The main legal principles in the UN Charter relating to warfare are that (1) International disputes must be settled by peaceful means, (2) Member States must never threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, (3) The Security Council must keep the peace and may not use armed force, (4) The only legal use of armed force is individual or collective self defence.
As the United Nations does not possess a law enforcement body it cannot enforce its rules on its members, especially the permanent members of the Security Council. Member States are therefore responsible for policing their own actions and holding their own representatives to account for breaches of the rules. The British and American Governments are amongst the worst in breaching the UN Charter and interpreting the rules to suit themselves. The latest example of British Government duplicity was the false claim that the 2003 Iraq war was authorised by UN Security Council resolutions 678, 687 and 1441. The Security Council can never authorise the use of armed force and must always adopt a peacekeeping approach. By invading and occupying Iraq and killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians, America, Britain and their Coalition allies violated the rule that disputes must be settled peacefully and breached the prohibition on the threat or use of force.
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