Britain publishes legal position on Syria intervention

The British government on Thursday published its legal position on military intervention in Syria, stating that "the aim is to relieve humanitarian suffering by deterring or disrupting the further use of chemical weapons."

 

Britain was seeking support from the UN Security Council, the legal memo said, but added: "If action in the Security Council is blocked, the UK would still be permitted under international law to take exceptional measures. "There were three conditions, which "would clearly be met in this case," to assess in order for Britain to go it alone, the document said. That included "convincing evidence, generally accepted by the international community as a whole, of extreme humanitarian distress on a large scale," and that it "be objectively clear that there is no practicable alternative to the use of force if lives are to be saved."

  

-Sapa