United States Violation of International Law in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq

Abstract

NATO's 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia, and the United States' 2001 war on Afghanistan, and its war on Iraq beginning in 2003, all violated international and United States law. None was prosecuted in self-defense, or with the approval of the Security Council - the only two instances in which a United Nations member state is permitted to use force. All three conflicts constituted wars of aggression. Aggressive war is prohibited by the Nuremberg Tribunal, and will eventually be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court. The United States used cluster bombs and depleted uranium in all three countries, which violates Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions. Preemptive war and humanitarian intervention both violate the U.N. Charter. Forcible regime change is prohibited by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The targeting of civilian objects constitutes a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, which is prosecutable as a war crime.

Keywords: Ethnic cleansing, aggressive war, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, humanitarian intervention, Yugoslavia v. Belgium, Military and Paramilitary Activities, Case Concerning Legality of Use of Force, preemptive war, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Allied Force