Chapter VII of the UN Charter — Coercive Methods of Settlement of Disputes

Chapter VI asks states to talk. Chapter VII does not ask. The moment the Security Council decides a situation is a threat to the peace, a breach of the peace, or an act of aggression, it can order sanctions, authorise force, and every UN member is bound to comply, whether it likes the decision or not. This is the one part of the Charter where the Security Council stops recommending and starts commanding, and the exam wants you to be precise about exactly when that switch happens.

In two minutes

Chapter VII, Articles 39 to 51 of the UN Charter, empowers the Security Council to take coercive action once it determines a threat to the peace, a breach of the peace, or an act of aggression exists, moving from recommendation to binding decision.

The rest of this chapter

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