History of UNO violations by America, remedies |
THE modern international order rests upon a central principle: states must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one another.
This idea forms the cornerstone of contemporary international law and is clearly articulated in Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations, which prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. The Charter permits only two narrow exceptions to this rule. First, under Article 51, a state has the inherent right to self-defence if it suffers an armed attack. Second, the United Nations Security Council may authorize the use of force when it determines that such action is necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security. Despite this legal framework, the decades following the Second World War have witnessed numerous military interventions that have sparked intense debate among scholars, policymakers, and legal experts. Critics frequently argue that powerful states—particularly the United States—have at times used military force in ways that stretch, reinterpret, or bypass the legal boundaries established by the UN Charter.
One frequently cited example is the 1989 United States invasion of Panama. The stated objective of the operation was to capture Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, who had been accused of involvement in drug trafficking and other criminal activities. However, the intervention took place without authorization from the United Nations Security Council. For many international legal scholars,........