4. INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The primary sources of international law are treaties and customary law.203 International law permits the use of force by states only in limited circumstances; notably, in self-defence and if authorized by the UN Security Council to maintain or restore international peace or security.204 The unlawful use of force constitutes the crime of aggression.205 On 28 February, the UN General Assembly resolved that the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine was an illegal use of force in violation of the UN Charter.206 On 16 March 2022, the International Court of Justice issued a provisional order for Russia to suspend the military operation in Ukraine.207
INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW International humanitarian law (IHL) – also referred to as the law of armed conflict or the laws of war – is the body of law that principally governs armed conflict. All parties to a conflict are bound by the same rules of IHL regardless of whether they are engaged in a lawful use of force, such as self-defence, or an unlawful use of force, such as aggression.208 Different IHL treaties and customs govern depending on whether a conflict is an international armed conflict (IAC) or a non-international armed conflict (NIAC). An IAC arises when two states engage in armed 203 United Nations, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or between International Organizations , 12 March 1986, available at: refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3924.html; According to Article 2(1)(a) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1969, a treaty is “an international agreement concluded between states in written form and governed by international law[.]”; Customary international law refers to international legal obligations that arise from established international practices, as opposed to written conventions and treaties – for a form definition see: Legal Information Institute, “Customary International Law, law.cornell.edu/wex/customary_international_law 204 United Nations, United Nations Charter and the Statute of the International Court of Justice (UN Charter), 24 October 1945, Article 51, available at: refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3930.html; UN Charter, Article 39 (previously cited). 205 UN General Assembly, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (last amended 2010), 17 July 1998, Article 8 bis, available at: refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3a84.html 206 UN General Assembly, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 2 March 2022, 18 March 2022, available at: documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N22/293/36/PDF/N2229336.pdf?OpenElement 207 International Court of Justice, “Allegations of Genocide Under the Convention of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation),” 16 March 2022, icj-cij.org/public/files/case-related/182/182-20220316-ORD-01-00-EN.pdf 208 International Review of the Red Cross, Adam Robert, The equal application of the laws of war: a principle under pressure, Volume 90 Number 872 December 2008, international-review.icrc.org/sites/default/files/irrc-872-6.pdf
“ C H I L D R E N ” : T H E AT TA C K O N T H E D O N E T S K R E G I O N A L A C A D E M I C D R A M A T H E AT R E I N M A R I U P O L , U K R A I N E
Amnesty International
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