Tag

#UN Charter

Violations of the Charter of the United Nations, including the prohibition on the use of force, the principle of sovereign equality, non-intervention, and obligations to maintain international peace and security.

5 incidents

Grade 5 of 5: International Crime (Rome Statute)

Iran War: Crime of Aggression — War Launched Without Congressional Authorization

The United States launched a major war against Iran without congressional authorization, without a UN Security Council mandate, and while diplomatic channels remained open. The Brennan Center has called the strikes unconstitutional. International lawyers including Adil Haque and Brian Finucane (Just Security) and UN special procedures have characterized them as a manifest violation of the UN Charter and an act of aggression — what the Nuremberg Tribunal called 'the supreme international crime.'

Grade 5 of 5: International Crime (Rome Statute)

Operation Absolute Resolve: Unilateral US Military Intervention in Venezuela

The United States launched a unilateral military intervention in Venezuela, bombing infrastructure and capturing the sitting head of state, without Congressional authorization or UN Security Council mandate. The administration called it a law-enforcement operation, with military support, to arrest an indicted fugitive. International legal experts, the UN Secretary-General, and governments worldwide condemned the operation as a violation of the UN Charter.

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Naval Blockade of Venezuelan Oil Exports

A naval blockade of Venezuelan oil exports drew condemnation from UN experts as a violation of fundamental international law, with legal analysts characterizing it as an act of war imposed without Congressional authorization.

Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

Military and Economic Threats Against Greenland and Panama Canal Sovereignty

The administration threatened military and economic coercion to annex Greenland and reclaim the Panama Canal, with the Pentagon developing actual invasion plans. In a May 2025 NBC interview Trump refused to rule out military force to acquire Greenland; in January 2026 he threatened tariffs on European allies over it before ruling out force at Davos.

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

April 2018 Strikes on Syrian Chemical-Weapons Facilities Without UN or Congressional Authorisation

Trump ordered a second round of missile strikes on the Syrian government, this time with Britain and France, after a chemical attack in Douma. The strikes had no Security Council mandate and no congressional authorisation. The legal opinion written to justify them widened the President's claimed power to use force on his own.