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However, as observed earlier, the Security Council enjoys great latitude in deciding which situations constitute threats to international peace and security. For instance, resolution 794 of 3 December 1992 stated that the human tragedy caused by the conflict in Somalia, and further exacerbated by the obstacles being created to the distribution of humanitarian assistance, constituted a threat to international peace and security (preambular paragraph 3). Consequently, in order to stem violations of international humanitarian law, in particular the deliberate impeding of humanitarian assistance (paragraph 5), the Council decided that action be taken under Chapter VII of the Charter, which would include the use of all necessary means to establish a secure environment for humanitarian relief operations in Somalia (paragraphs 7,8 and 10). This decision was to a large extent repeated in resolution 814 of 26 March 1993, using more or less similar terminology (heading of section B and paragraph 14, in particular). In this context, it would be useful to make the following observations. Although the aforementioned action, with allowance for the use of force, was decided upon by the Security Council with a view to ensuring respect for international humanitarian law in an armed conflict situation (provision of humanitarian assistance in this case), it was taken, firstly, on the basis of the United Nations Charter and not of international humanitarian law, and secondly, with the primary goal (and the only one permitted under Chapter VII of the Charter) of restoring (or maintaining, as the need may be) international peace and security. The lawfulness of the use of force in such circumstances is strictly limited to this goal, and cannot be derived from any rule or provision of international humanitarian law , not even Article 89 of Additional Protocol I, which calls upon States party to act, in co-operation with the United Nations and in conformity with its Charter, in situations of serious violations of that law. For international humanitarian law starts off from the premise that any armed conflict results in human suffering, and proceeds to elaborate a body of rules meant precisely to alleviate this very suffering . It would indeed be logically and legally indefensible to deduce that that same law itself allows , even in extreme cases, for the use of armed force. [17 ] Enforcement measures would therefore fall outside the scope of international humanitarian law.
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