Redefining Self-Defence: Contemporary Challenges To Article 51 Of UN Charter
- IJLLR Journal
- Sep 24
- 2 min read
Monika Yadav, Assistant Professor, DPG Law College, Sector 34, Gurugram, Haryana
ABSTRACT
The right to self-defence has always been a part of the society, after the formation of UN Charter right got refined when it was inserted as article 51 in the Charter. The United Nations Charter embodies many important and key provisions for maintenance of international peace and security since its inception. Article 51 being one of those key elements keeps in check that no state violates the territory and sovereignty of the other nation and also gives the right to the victim state to protect themselves during an armed attack while also maintaining the international law’s integrity by providing aid to the victim state after the state reports the matter to the security council. Article 51 provides an exception to the general provisions of the international law of prohibition on use of force. This provision has been in debate and in controversy for many states because of the misuse of the right of self- defence and also the emergence of non-state actors such as terrorist organisations as a threat to the security and integrity of nations and their retaliation towards them.
In this evolving world article 51 seems a little redundant with new technologies like autonomous weapon system and cyber warfare are emerging as new ways to combat between nations and increasing complexities and posing greater challenges. After the 9/11 attack on United States, the action on 1Yemeni Arab Republic by Britain in 1964, the 26/11 attack on Mumbai and the recent Pahalgam attack in Srinagar, India somewhere dials down the importance and effectiveness of security council and the Article 51, where attacks took place and the international law took a back seat and didn’t have a strong mechanism to stop these atrocities. UN Charter needs to evolve and implement some new and enhanced provisions and mechanisms to deal with conflicts of 21st century.
