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NATO
UK Government: Kosovo Not A Precedent for
NATO Missions Without UN Authorisation
8 March 1999
By Tasos Kokkinides
The relationship between the UN and NATO was the subject
of the symposium organised by the United Nations Association
(UNA) at the House of Commons on 1 March.
Speakers included Sir David Hannay, former UK ambassador
to NATO and the UN; Ian Wood, Foreign Office; Mike Sherratt,
Ministry of Defence; Lt-Col Philip Wilkinson, Directorate-General
of Development and Doctrine, Ministry of Defence; Martin Smith,
Lecturer at Sandhurdst; Kjeld Akjaer; and Tasos Kokkinides,
BASIC.
The major theme of the symposium was whether NATO has the
legitimacy to conduct non-article V missions without the explicit
authorisation of the UN Security Council. Sir Hannay and the
government representatives argued that NATO should maintain
flexibility in dealing with situations like Kosovo. Sir Hannay
argued that Article 2.7 of the UN Charter, which declares
that "nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize
the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially
within the domestic jurisdiction of any state", may contradict
- as in the case of Kosovo - other important principles, such
as gross violation of human rights, contained in the Charter.
Sir Hannay argued that it is inconceivable that NATO would
conduct missions outside Europe. British government representatives
argued that Kosovo does not establish a precedent.
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