Origin of the Concept

In this chapter, the origin of the concept of humanitarian countermeasures is introduced. The ongoing relevance of the question of humanitarian military action without Security Council authorization has been proven by the airstrikes in Syria carried out by the UK, France and the US in April 2018, which are the inspiration of the research at hand. The attacks were triggered by the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime against civilians. The use of such weapons had previously been condemned by the UN Security Council in Resolution 2118 in 2013. These strikes were marked by a new characteristics in the form of a direct and targeted response mechanism to a breach of a previously set-out red line. This new dimension displays similarities to the notion of (traditionally non-forceful) countermeasures as set out in the Draft Articles on the Responsibility of States.