Article 51 Reports

Reference: S/2021/172 52. As at 1 February, UNMISS documented a total of 155 incidents that negatively affected the human rights and protection situation, including arbitrary killings, abductions, conflict-related sexual violence, arbitrary arrests and detention (including proxy detention), torture and ill-treatment, forced military recruitment and the looting and destruction of civilian property. These incidents resulted in at least 376 civilian casualties (251 killed and 125 injured), including at least 21 women and 17 children. The incidents were attributed to self-defence groups (116); SSPDF (11); SPLM/A-IO (7); NAS (4); the South Sudan National Police Service (3); SPLM/A-IO Riek Machar defectors affiliated with government forces in Wau (3); the National Security Service (2); joint SSPDF and SPLM/A-IO Riek Machar forces (1); joint SSPDF and South Sudan National Police Service forces (1); and clashes between SPLM/A-IO Riek Machar elements and armed young people from the Mabanese com...

Reference: S/2021/48 "First, it is essential that the fight against terrorism be carried out by legal means, in full adherence to international law, without affecting human rights and based on Article 1 Common to the Geneva Conventions, which stresses the need to respect and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law. Recently, however, we have noted with concern that certain measures taken to combat terrorism make humanitarian assistance more difficult. The Council must ensure that, in taking measures to prevent the financing of terrorism, the work of humanitarian organizations on the ground is not impeded.  Secondly, the fight against terrorism will not be won on the battlefield; its outcome will depend on the success of the prevention strategies undertaken to address its root causes. That implies giving pride of place to the reweaving of the social fabric so as to prevent radicalization-related phenomena. According to the most recent CTED Trends Alert report, in ...

S/2021/76 Given that serious threat to the civilian population and democratic institutions, we must note that my country, the Central African Republic, is deprived of the means to exercise its inherent right of individual or collective self-defence, as recognized by the Charter of the United Nations and its duty as recalled in all resolutions on the Central African Republic, in their fifth preambular paragraphs, “that the [Central African Republic] authorities have the primary responsibility to protect all populations in the [Central African Republic] in particular from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, and recalling in this regard the importance of restoring state authority in all parts of the country”. With regard those paragraphs of such resolutions, to mention only that one, which is binding, we must emphasize that the serious military-political crisis unleashed in December 2012 by the Séléka rebel coalition, which led to the change of a democratic...

 S/2020/1165  'Turkey has repeatedly expressed its readiness to cooperate with the Iraqi authorities to confront the PKK terrorist organization. However, in the absence of Iraq’s ability to deal with the presence of terrorists in its own territory who are infiltrating into Turkey to conduct terrorist attacks, I would like to emphasize once again that Turkey is obliged to take all appropriate measures against the terrorist threats to its security, emanating from Iraq. We firmly reject any criticism towards Turkey for exercising its inherent right of self-defence, as outlined in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations and acting within the context of responsibility attributed by relevant Security Council resolutions to United Nations Member States in the fight against terrorism. https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N20/341/03/pdf/N2034103.pdf?OpenElement

 S/2020/1264 'Pakistan has received information in recent days that leads my authorities to believe that, to divert attention from its domestic difficulties, the RSS-BJP Government in India plans to stage a “false flag” attack and thus create a justification for another military misadventure against Pakistan. If this were to happen, Pakistan will exercise its right to self-defence, under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, with the full force of its capabilities'   https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N20/341/03/pdf/N2034103.pdf?OpenElement

S/2020/1307 Armenia responds to use of force by Azerbaijan  'Despite overt, unconcealed glorification of violence, sponsoring of international terrorism and genocidal ideology, both Azerbaijan and Turkey have been increasingly seeking to manipulate the right to “self-defence” to cover up Azerbaijan’s criminal conduct. Much to the embarrassment of those behind this fabricated argument, it must be clearly stated, however, that, in the case of Azerbaijan, neither the conditions of “self-defence” nor of “pre-emptive self-defence” are applicable.  First, both codified and customary international law prohibit the use of force. Indeed, Article 2 (3) of the Charter of the United Nations makes clear that “all Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered”. While Article 51 of the Charter states that sovereign nations have an inherent right to self-defence, this right is allowed...