Author: Rights!
One week after the terrorist attacks in Paris, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC or the Council) has adopted resolution 2249 (2015) on the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The resolution does not authorise the use of force against this armed group. It rather provides political legitimacy to the ongoing military operations in Syria.
“A global and unprecedented threat”
Within the collective security system, the UNSC has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and, accordingly, the power to adopt resolutions binding on States. The preamble of a resolution sets the political and legal context of its adoption. The operative part, in turn, contains the measures the Council recommends or requires States or other entities to implement. In accordance with Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations (UN Charter), these measures span from those not involving the use of force ‒ e.g. arms and trade embargoes, asset freezes, travel bans, referrals to the International Criminal Court ‒ to the authorisation to use armed force against a State or non-state armed group.
© EPA/US Air Force/Matthew Bruch
In the preamble to resolution 2249, the UNSC reaffirms, following established practice, that “terrorism in all forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security” (para. 4). Further, the Council determines that ISIL in particular “constitutes a global and unprecedented threat to international peace and security” (para. 5), and affirms the need to combat it “by all means” (para. 7). Such phrases are usually employed to introduce the adoption of coercive measures pursuant to Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Yet, the resolution falls short of including any such measure, let alone the authorisation to use force against ISIL.
In the operative paragraphs, the UNSC condemns various terrorist acts attributed to ISIL that have occurred throughout 2015 ‒ in Sousse, Ankara, the Sinai, Beirut and Paris ‒ and expresses its condolences to the victims as well as the governments and citizens of the countries in which such attacks have taken place (paras. 1‒2). Additionally, the Council condemns the widespread and systematic violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law committed by ISIL against civilians, minorities and cultural property, urging States to prosecute and punish the perpetrators (paras. 3‒4). Lastly, the UNSC urges States to “intensify their efforts to stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters to Iraq and Syria and to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism” (para. 6).
The use of force against ISIL
Although not authorising States to undertake military action, resolution 2249 includes a passage that refers to the use of force, in which the UNSC:
Calls upon Member States that have the capacity to do so to take all necessary measures, in compliance with international law, in particular with the United Nations Charter, […] on the territory under the control of ISIL […] to redouble and coordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed specifically by ISIL […] and other terrorist groups [i.e. Al Qaeda and the Al-Nusrah Front], and to eradicate the safe haven they have established over significant parts of Iraq and Syria.