This paper examines the arguments of the Joint Resolution presented by the President of the United States, Barack Obama, to the United States Congress to employ the use of force against the so-called Islamic State. Overall, the UN Charter prohibits the use and threat of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, except the two exceptions: the collective security system of the United Nations and the right of self-defense. However, the United States invoked, either expressed or implied, other exceptions, namely the determination of a threat to international peace and security, self-defense to protect their civilians and nationals, the intervention by invitation or with the consent of the State concerned and, finally, the Responsibility to Protect. This paper seeks to prove the hypothesis that these arguments have no basis in international law, keeping only those exceptions provided by the UN Charter.
Keywords:
Use of force, Self-defense, Responsibility to Protect, Islamic State
Mosciatti Gómez, G. (2015). The US arguments to justify the use of force against the Islamic State. Revista Tribuna Internacional, 4(7), pp. 109–128. https://doi.org/10.5354/rti.v4i7.36982
