<P> In recent years several countries have begun to argue for the existence of a right of humanitarian intervention without Security Council authorization . In the aftermath of the Kosovo crisis in 1999, the UK Foreign Secretary asserted that, "In international law, in exceptional circumstances and to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe, military action can be taken and it is on that legal basis that military action was taken ." It is very difficult to reconcile this statement with the UN Charter . When NATO used military force against the Yugoslav state, it did not have authorization from the Security Council, but it was not condemned either . This is because veto - wielding countries held strong positions on both sides of the dispute . </P> <P> Many countries oppose such unauthorized humanitarian interventions on the formal ground that they are simply illegal, or on the practical ground that such a right would only be ever used against weaker states by stronger states . This was specifically shown in the Ministerial Declaration of G - 77 countries, in which 134 states condemned such intervention . Proponents have typically resorted to a claim that the right has developed as a new part of customary law . </P> <P> There has been widespread debate about the significance of the phrasing of article 2 (4), specifically about the use of the solitary word "force ." There is a strain of opinion holding that whereas "armed attack" is referred to in article 51, the use of the word "force" in 2 (4) holds a wider meaning, encompassing economic force or other methods of non-military coercion . Cyber-attacks, according to some frameworks such as the Schmitt analysis, could be seen in some cases as being a use of force . Although such measures may be banned by certain other provisions of the Charter, it does not seem possible to justify such a wide non-military interpretation of 2 (4) in the light of subsequent state practice . It must also be noted that this article covers the threat of force, which is not permissible in a situation where the use of actual armed force would not be . </P>

What does the un charter establish in relation to the international use of military force