The mechanism of guaranteeing the principle of maintaining international peace and security: modern realities
Authors: Luts L. A. , Nastasiak I. Yu. 
Published: December 2022

The article analyzes international legal sources: the UN Charter, the Declaration of Principles of International Law (1970), the NATO Charter, OSCE documents, etc. in the context of the reality of the implementation of the principle of maintaining international peace and security, in particular the mechanism for guaranteeing this principle. Like any other guarantee mechanism, it contains two groups of tools: documentary and activity, which should ensure its effectiveness.

The purpose of this work is to identify the real possibilities of the mechanism of guaranteeing the principle of maintaining peace and security in modern conditions, in particular in Ukraine.

The mechanism of guaranteeing the principle of international peace and security, which is enshrined in these documents, met the requirements of the 50’s of the twentieth century. and the beginning of the XXI century. and allowed to solve problems in this area. But a number of provisions are no longer relevant or do not meet the requirements of the time; quite often they are declarative in nature, do not contain specific means of ensuring the effectiveness of the mechanism of peace and security. There is no constant monitoring of the implementation of this principle to anticipate the possibility of its violations and apply measures to prevent them. The conceptual vision of the role and significance of international organizations and international law in the light of the challenges of the time also needs to be changed.

A number of provisions enshrining the means of guaranteeing the principle of maintaining international peace and security are not only ineffective in concrete realities, but can also create conditions for distortions (recorded during the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine - when voting in the UN Security Council cessation of war and peace, substitution of concepts or interpretation of certain provisions in their favor to justify actions contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations).

Updates require the provision of deprivation of the status of a member state that violates the goals and principles of the United Nations, in particular the principle of maintaining international peace and security (even in the post- war period). It is important to focus on means of preventing violations of the principle of maintaining international peace and security, as no single most effective jurisdictional mechanism will be able to restore lost lives.

Particular attention should be paid to a holistic vision of the principle of maintaining international peace and security, rather than fragmentary (only within the territory of member states of the international organization), because today humanity is a single entity and losses in any part of it can lead to global problems in general. Therefore, the lack of reaction to war, which brings irreparable damage to humanity, is senseless and immoral.

Key words: international law, international organization, principle of maintaining international peace and security