Condemning the Use of
Force in the Gulf Crisis
2nd Edition

By Farhad Malekian
Oct. 1994
Almqvist & Wiksell
ISBN: 91-630-2402-0
116 p.
$63.50 Paper Original

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The framework of the United Nations is based upon several basic principles among which are equality, justice, the maintenance of international peace and security, pacific settlement of disputes, and above all the rejection of war as an instrument of national and international policy.

However, since the outbreak of the Gulf War, the real nature and the true function of the United Nations have become the subject of controversy amongst the international legal community and indeed in general. The Gulf War was, in one sense, a powerful states' war and in another sense a United Nation's war.

The war indicated that the basic principles of the United Nations are constitutionally incorrect. It has raised serious questions about whether the political power and military strength of powerful governments are above the law and that whether the provisions of teh Charter of the United Nations can be effective when the strong political powers decide on its content and on its practical enforcement.

The aims of this study are to examine the relevant principles of the United Nations in conjunction with those principles of international law which have strongly condemned the use of armed force in relations between states and with those principles of international criminal law which strictly prohibit attacks on civilians and their installations. The study condemns both the criminal activities of Iraq and the permanent members of the United Nations in the Gulf Crisis.

History
Political Science

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