Resumen de Bypassing the Security Council: Ambiguous Authorizations to Use Force, Cease-fires and the Iraqi Inspection Regime

Jules Lobel, Michael Ratner

• The 1998 United States and British bombing of Iraq to enforce the weapons inspections imposed by the gulf war cease-fire reveals major shortcomings in Security Council authorizations of the use of force by UN members. The problems include determining whether such authorization has been given, its scope and extent, and whether it has terminated. This article argues that explicit Council authorization is necessary for non defensive uses of force, that its objectives should be limited and clear, and that it should end with the establishment of a permanent cease-fire.