The Kampala definition itself is as follows:For the purpose of this Statute, “crime of aggression” means the planning, preparation, initiation or execution, by a person in a position effectively to exercise control over or to direct the political or military action of a State, of an act of aggression which, by its character, gravity and scale, constitutes a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations.
You may also want to look at the full text of UN General Assembly Resolutions 2626 (Declaration on Friendly Relations), and 3314 (Definition of Aggression), that we will discuss in class and are only excerpted in the text.
This is exactly the definition of what is occurring in the Ukraine. These actions of aggression are clearly defined; however, since Russia is able to veto any action that the Security Council would take against it that application against a Security Council member is not directly effective. Moreover, the "plebiscite," in the Crimeia, was just another example of Russia committing an act of aggression to bully them into a desired outcome. The application to the members of the Security Council will never directly be enforced.
ReplyDeleteThus, the pressure for change will have to come from other sources. The WTO could sanction Russia; however, this hurts many of the trading partners of Russia and companies doing business abroad. At the G20 Putin even commented on the fact that the application of sanctions will only hurt everyone in the process. This is not International Law at its finest.
There's my vent on my the ineffective application to Security Council members. -Stephen Stocks