UN Charter

As of 30 September 2026. Information only, not legal advice – see the disclaimer.

The Charter of the United Nations is the founding treaty of the United Nations. It sets out the purposes and principles of the Organization, including the maintenance of international peace and security, the peaceful settlement of disputes, the prohibition of the threat or use of force and the principle of non-intervention by the Organization in domestic matters. It establishes the principal organs, including the Security Council with primary responsibility for international peace and security. In the UN processes on information and communications technologies (ICTs), States have repeatedly affirmed that international law, and in particular the Charter, is applicable to the use of ICTs by States. The Charter is therefore the reference point in debates on whether and when cyber or information operations amount to a use of force, an armed attack or a threat to the peace.

• Art. 1(1)–(2) – Purposes: maintaining international peace and security, taking collective measures against threats to the peace, settling disputes by peaceful means and developing friendly relations among nations.
• Art. 2(1) – Sovereign equality of all Members.
• Art. 2(3) – Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means so that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
• Art. 2(4) – “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”
• Art. 2(7) – The UN is not authorised to intervene in matters essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State; this is without prejudice to enforcement measures under Chapter VII. (The inter-State principle of non-intervention is set out in customary law and in friendly_relations.)
• Art. 33 – Parties to a dispute likely to endanger international peace and security shall first seek a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their choice.
• Arts 39–42 – The Security Council determines the existence of a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression and may decide on measures not involving armed force; Art. 41 expressly lists the “complete or partial interruption of … postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication”.
• Art. 51 – Inherent right of individual or collective self-defence “if an armed attack occurs”, until the Security Council has taken the necessary measures; measures taken must be reported immediately to the Security Council.

The consensus reports of the UN Groups of Governmental Experts (A/68/98 of 2013, A/70/174 of 2015, A/76/135 of 2021) state that international law, and in particular the Charter, is applicable and essential to maintaining peace and stability in the ICT environment. The 2015 report refers to the obligation to settle disputes by peaceful means and to refrain from the threat or use of force; the 2021 report notes the inherent right of States to take measures consistent with international law and as recognised in the Charter. See ict_norms.

The International Court of Justice stated in its 1996 advisory opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons that Arts 2(4) and 51 apply to any use of force, regardless of the weapons employed; this passage is frequently cited in discussions on cyber operations.

Several States have published national positions on how Arts 2(4) and 51 apply to cyber operations (see, for example, the official compendium A/76/136 and germany). Many of these positions assess whether a cyber operation constitutes a use of force by reference to its scale and effects, comparing it with kinetic operations. The African Union Peace and Security Council adopted a Common African Position on the application of international law to the use of ICTs in cyberspace in January 2024. Some States, including the Russian Federation and others, have taken the view that existing law should be supplemented by a new legally binding instrument; others hold that the existing framework is sufficient. Whether operations without physical effects (for example, information operations) can constitute a use of force is not settled in State practice.

• 2025-07: The final report of the Open-ended Working Group on ICTs 2021–2025 (A/80/257, Annex I) refers to international law, including the Charter, as part of the framework of responsible State behaviour (see ict_norms).
• 2026-03: The Global Mechanism on developments in the field of ICTs in the context of international security held its organizational session; international law, including the Charter, is among the topics of its dedicated thematic groups (see ict_norms).

• friendly_relations
• ict_norms
• icj_nicaragua
• rome_statute
• germany
• tallinn_manual

• United Nations – Charter of the United Nations, full text, accessed 2026-09-27
• UN Doc. A/70/174 – Report of the Group of Governmental Experts (2015), accessed 2026-09-27
• UN Doc. A/76/135 – Report of the Group of Governmental Experts (2021), accessed 2026-09-27
• UN Doc. A/76/136 – Official compendium of voluntary national contributions on international law and ICTs, accessed 2026-09-27
• ICJ – Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion (1996), accessed 2026-09-27
• UNODA – Developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security, accessed 2026-09-27

• 2026-09-27: Entry created (draft).
• 2026-09-30: Entry reviewed and finalised.