Reaffirming the U.N. Charter's prohibition of the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state

The cornerstone of the United Nations Charter is the prohibition of the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”. Article 2 (4).

Two of the five Permanent Members of the U.N. Security Council, Russia and the United States, have recently violated that prohibition in a blatant manner.

kFirst, Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and continues its war of aggression against that country today, with no end in sight. In its conduct of the war, Russia has pursued a strategy based on the systematic violation of international humanitarian law, including murder, forced disappearances, the bombing of civilian populations and infrastructure, and the abduction and forced removal to Russia of some 20,000 children.

Earlier Russian violations of Article 2 (4) of the U.N. Charter include its invasions of Georgia in 2008, and Ukraine in 2014.

Second, the United States bombed nuclear facilities in Iran on June 20, 2025, and was complicit in Israeli armed attacks on Iran beginning on June 13, 2025. Earlier, the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003. Both military actions constituted flagrant violations of the prohibition contained inArticle 2 (4).

What are we to make of these developments?

How should t other states react?

What can they do to reaffirmArticle 2 (4) of the Charter?