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Out in paperback in December:
The Responsibility to Protect and the Failures of the United Nations Security Council
#R2P #InternationalLaw #Sanctions #Countermeasures
bloomsbury.com/uk/responsibil…
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Patrick Butchard
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Patrick Butchard
@PatrickButchard
Senior Lecturer in Law @ehu_lcp @edgehill. International Law Researcher @UKParliament @commonslibrary Author: https://t.co/xvCwGGbyQ2
Liverpool, UK Katılım Ocak 2010
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Sorry. Wrong document number for UK Letter
S/2026/140
digitallibrary.un.org/record/4105535…
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Been waiting for this one too - contrast the UK's relatively to the point letter, reporting Article 51 self-defence action to the UNSC.
Mentions necessity and proportionality generally, but also that Gulf states have requested UK collective defense.
UN Doc S/2026/161
Patrick Butchard@PatrickButchard
Israel's letter, dated 10 March, also available. Arguments along the same lines as the US letter, citing ongoing hostilities and claiming defensive action. UN Doc S/2026/162 digitallibrary.un.org/record/4105909…
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Patrick Butchard retweetledi
Israel's letter of the same date also seeks to justify combat operations taken in cooperation with US, but whereas US letter explicitly invokes Article 51, Israel speaks more generally of its "right and duty to defend itself and its citizens" without specific citation of Art.51.
Patrick Butchard@PatrickButchard
Events moving quickly, so missed when this was published. US letter to UN Security Council, dated 10 March. Claims force against Iran is "self-defence" Art 51, and "ongoing" conflict since 2025. Lots to assess on claims. One thing clear - international law is back in the room.
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@SCProcedure @PatrickButchard As always, you taught me something new @SCProcedure! Yes, I saw the document come across the wire this morning but I guess it as officially published yesterday :)
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Events moving quickly, so missed when this was published.
US letter to UN Security Council, dated 10 March. Claims force against Iran is "self-defence" Art 51, and "ongoing" conflict since 2025.
Lots to assess on claims. One thing clear - international law is back in the room.
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@FortiD I thought so, but doubted whether I'd missed it!
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@PatrickButchard To be fair, the UN only published this letter today!
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Should also mention that Iran has made counter-arguments of course.
Has written to the UN almost every day since the US action began late Feb
#searchresultsbox" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">digitallibrary.un.org/search?ln=en&a…
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Link to Letter, UN Doc S/2026/161
digitallibrary.un.org/record/4105908…
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Israel's letter, dated 10 March, also available.
Arguments along the same lines as the US letter, citing ongoing hostilities and claiming defensive action.
UN Doc S/2026/162
digitallibrary.un.org/record/4105909…
Patrick Butchard@PatrickButchard
Events moving quickly, so missed when this was published. US letter to UN Security Council, dated 10 March. Claims force against Iran is "self-defence" Art 51, and "ongoing" conflict since 2025. Lots to assess on claims. One thing clear - international law is back in the room.
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Patrick Butchard retweetledi
The agenda used by the Security Council solely for considering Iran's nuclear programme - "Non-proliferation" - was just adopted at the meeting by a vote of 11 in favour, China & Russia voting against, and Pakistan & Somalia abstaining.
SC Procedure@SCProcedure
Normally, when any Council member wants to block a meeting, they do so at the outset by requesting a vote on the agenda. Since, under Rule 9, adopting the agenda is the 1st order of business for an SC meeting, if there are not at least 9 votes in favour, the mtg can't go forward.
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Patrick Butchard retweetledi
Tomorrow morning (12 March), the #UNSC is scheduled to hold a briefing on the work of the 1737 Sanctions Committee concerning Iran.
◻ No briefer is expected
→ Read more: bit.ly/3NaHYNh
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Patrick Butchard retweetledi
The Russian draft resolution on military escalation in Middle East below just failed to receive the necessary votes to be adopted in the #UNSC. It received:
- Four votes in favor (Russia, China, Somalia & Pakistan)
- Two votes against (USA & Latvia)
- Nine abstentions (UK, France, Bahrain, Colombia, DRC, Denmark, Greece, Liberia & Panama)
Rami Ayari@Raminho
@Iran_UN Per diplomats, #Russia just put its own draft resolution in blue as well.
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Patrick Butchard retweetledi
Here are instances, since 1990, when more than one draft resolution on the same matter has been put to a vote in the Security Council during the same timeframe ⬇️
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Patrick Butchard retweetledi
Patrick Butchard retweetledi
The #UNSC just adopted the #UNSC resolution condemning #Iran's attacks on neighboring countries. The resolution drafted by the #GCC received 13 votes in favor, with #Russia and #China abstaining. It received an astoundingly high number of co-sponsorships (135 according to #Bahrain's #UNSC ambassador). If I'm not mistaken, I believe that's a record for a #UNSC resolution. A quick google indicates that the previous record was 134 co-sponsorships for Resolution 2177 (2014) on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Rami Ayari@Raminho
The #GCC draft #UNSC resolution condemning #Iran's attacks on Gulf countries is now in blue, in preparation for a vote tomorrow afternoon (March 11). It looks like a very high number of #UN member states will co-sponsor the text (about 86 so far). This could potentially impact #Russia's calculus on whether or not to veto and put their own draft to a vote.
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Questions about international law? Details matter, and social media's hot takes can confuse the picture.
The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law is open, peer-reviewed, free to read, easy to understand.
Start there.
opil.ouplaw.com/home/MPIL
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A point of clarification on the Chagos legal issues (being completely independent and impartial).
Article 298 of UNCLOS does allow states to exclude "military activities" and other specific law enforcement at sea from dispute settlement. But what does that mean...?
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So, in terms of the legal issues alone, aside from questions of politics, defence, and security, the situation is complex and uncertain. There are legal avenues for challenge, but the outcome and likelihood of these are certainly not for me to speculate on.
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While the ICJ's original Advisory Opinion that the UK's continued administration of Chagos is unlawful and must be brought to an end was not a "binding order" on the UK, it still has these legal effects where institutions and courts may follow it's legal reasoning and opinion
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