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Can states use self-defence against non-state actors?

By Matthew Underwood

Can states use self-defence against non-state actors?

Abstract. Armed attacks in the sense of Article 51 and customary international law can be carried out not only by States, but also by non-State actors (NSA).

What is an example of a violent non-state actor?

Violent non-state actors engage in combat in all terrains. Common and influential types of VNSAs include: Criminal organizations, Drug cartels, for example, may carry out assassinations, kidnappings, thefts, extortions; operate protection rackets; and defend their turf from rival groups and the military.

Can non-state actors mount an armed attack?

Non-state actors cannot, by legal definition on this view, mount armed attacks in Charter terms; and even if they somehow could, there cannot an “armed conflict” in legal terms against a transnational non-state armed group (including terrorist organizations, though this raises a number of separate legal questions).

Can non-state actors violate international law?

bin Laden and his entourage, if reasonably accused, as well as the companies or corporations they control or that are complicit in their illegal schemes, as private actors, are subject to criminal and civil sanctions in the United States for violations of international law.

Is there a situation when a state use force against another state under international law?

One of the most important principles of international law is the prohibition against the use of force. Article 2(4) provides that a UN member state cannot threaten or use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state, or in any way that diverges from the purposes of the UN.

Does the UN Charter apply to non-state actors?

Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibits the use of force between States. In so doing, it addresses itself to a strictly interstate context and does not speak to the phenomenon of uses of force by non-state actors (NSAs).

What are the roles of non-state actors?

Non-state actors play a major role in foreign policy making of nation-states and significantly influence their foreign policy behavior. They lobby in domestic as well as international settings and mobilize their home or host states and national and global public opinion.

What are the 3 non-state actors?

The concept of non-state actors includes international organizations, corporations, non-governmental organizations, de facto regimes, trade associations, transnational corporations, terrorist groups, and transnational criminal organizations (Wagner 2009).

Can non-state actors mount an armed attack Kimberley Trapp?

Kimberley Natasha Trapp Article 2(4) of the United Nations (Charter prohibits the use of force between States, but that prohibition does not “impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations”.

Does human rights apply to non-state actors?

Under traditional approaches to human rights, non-State actors are beyond the direct reach of international human rights law. They cannot be parties to the relevant treaties and so they are only bound to the extent that obligations accepted by States can be applied to them by governments.

Can non-state actors violate human rights?

rights defenders In addition, the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 12/2, condemns “all acts of intimidation or reprisal by non-State actors against individuals and groups who seek to cooperate or have cooperated with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights”.

Can the state use force against its citizens?

states are not permitted to threaten to use force nor can they use force against other states. The only guiding principle on the State was the moral consideration relating to ‘just’ war and ‘unjust’ war. Further the determination of ‘justness’ of the war was based on subjective interpretation.