Månad: juni 2025

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) condemns Israel’s use of armed force against Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as a grave violation of the United Nations (UN) Charter and international law and a major threat to international peace and security.

Under the UN Charter, all UN Member States shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.

Israel’s military strikes during the night between 12 and 13 June 2025 were aimed at dozens of targets, including Iran’s nuclear facility in Natanz, and resulted in the killing of key Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists.

International humanitarian law prohibits the intentional targeting of civilians, such as, in all likelihood, the nuclear scientists killed as a result of Israel’s attack.

In addition, as recalled by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), attacks on nuclear facilities could result in radioactive releases, harming both people and the environment, and, as such, they “have serious implications for nuclear safety, security and safeguards, as well as regional and international peace and security”.

While article 51 of the UN Charter guarantees the right of UN Member States to individual or collective self-defence, such right may only be exercised if an armed attack occurs against a UN Member State, and could only warrant proportionate measures necessary to respond to the armed attack. Läs artikel

Atomnedrustningens tid er forbi og verdens kjernevåpenmakter øker sine lagre, ifølge årsrapporten til det svenske fredsforskningsinstituttet Sipri.

According to satellite imagery published by Swedish broadcaster SVT, Russia is significantly upgrading its nuclear weapons facilities near Sweden, including a base less than 300 kilometres from the country’s border, sparking concerns over preparedness for any future conflict.

”We are closely monitoring Russian capabilities in this area”, Jonson said on Monday. ”It is about both Russian investments in nuclear weapons capability and the development of a new doctrine.”

Over recent years, at least five Russian nuclear bases in the region have undergone development, including upgrades to the Asipovitjy base in Belarus which now features enhanced storage and new transport platforms. Meanwhile, in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad a base has reportedly been fitted with advanced fencing and communication systems and now houses around 100 tactical nuclear weapons. 

There has also been significant activity at Novaja Zemlja, a key Arctic testing site, and on the Kola peninsula where new bunkers for submarine-based missiles have been located.

Russia revised its nuclear doctrine in November 2024, lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons and allowing for a response to any ”critical threat” to Russia or Belarus, including conventional attacks backed by nuclear-armed states such as the US. Läs artikel

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Greenland on Sunday carrying a “message of solidarity and friendship” from France and the European Union.

Macron reiterated his criticism of Trump’s intention to take control of the strategically located island:

“I don’t think that’s something to be done between allies,” he said as he was greeted at the Nuuk airport by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.

“It’s important to show that Denmark and Europe are committed to this territory, which has very high strategic stakes and whose territorial integrity must be respected,” Macron said. He was making a stop on his way to a G7 summit in Canada that will be also attended by Trump. Läs artikel

Norge sitter på en formidabel, men ubenyttet forsvarsressurs: titusenvis av menn og kvinner med militær erfaring. Dette er personer som har gjennomført førstegangstjeneste, befalsskole og krigsskole – og som fortsatt har motivasjon, kompetanse og vilje til å bidra. Hvorfor organiserer vi dem ikke?

Dagens sikkerhetssituasjon gjør dette mer aktuelt enn noen gang. Krigen i Ukraina har avslørt at storstilte bakkekrigshandlinger i Europa ikke tilhører historien.

Russland viser med all tydelighet vilje og evne til å bruke militærmakt mot sine naboland – og demonstrerer samtidig et utholdenhetsnivå og en mobiliseringsevne som vestlige demokratier i liten grad matcher. Dette bør være et alvorlig varsku, også for oss i Norge.

Samtidig har krigen vist hvor avgjørende det er med bred folkelig mobilisering og lokal forsvarsvilje.

Ukraina har lykkes i å stå imot en militær overmakt nettopp fordi store deler av befolkningen ble aktivisert – både gjennom offisielle strukturer og frivillige innsatsgrupper. De har forstått at nasjonalt forsvar ikke kan overlates utelukkende til profesjonelle styrker. […]

Da snakker vi om et Norge med betydelig høyere beredskap, med kanskje 500.000 mobiliserbare, ikke bare 70.000 som i dag. Vårt naboland, og nå Nato-allierte, Finland kan totalt mobilisere cirka en million. Befolkningen i Finland er omtrent på størrelse med den norske, så dette burde være gjennomførbart. Läs artikel

[…] Däremot kallar vi inte in Försvarsmakten vid våldsamheter, utan dessa förväntas Polismyndigheten kunna hantera och bemästra själva. Något förenklat kan man sammanfatta med att Försvarsmakten hanterar de yttre hoten och våldet mot Sverige, Polismyndigheten de inre. Men det finns även vissa möjligheter för Försvarsmakten att stödja Polismyndigheten i fredstid, exempelvis inom ramen för 2006:343 (Lag om Försvarsmaktens stöd till polisen vid terrorismbekämpning).

Ett historiskt skäl till denna ordning är Ådalen 1931, då fem människor sköts ihjäl av militär som stod under polisens befäl vid oroligheter som gällde en lönekonflikt. Därför har vi numera lagar som tydligt reglerar och begränsar hur Försvarsmakten får användas vid brottsbekämpning. I grunden tar det sikte på att Försvarsmakten och Polisen har olika roller och syften. Det finns därtill stora skillnader i utbildning och utrustning som begränsar Försvarmaktens nytta vid brottsbekämpning. Läs artikel

Dear Marko (Marko Milanovic, Professor of Public International Law, vår anm),

the alacrity of your analysis is admirable, as is your evident support for the importance of international law on the use of force. I am writing from the United States, however, where decades of creating exceptions and reinterpretations of law helps explain our leadership’s contempt for the law today.
The United Nations Charter has one standard for the use of force in self-defense, not three. The right arises “if an armed attack occurs”. The right does not depend on what is in the minds of national leaders or the lethality of weapons.
A state victim of aggression is also governed by the Charter and the principles of attribution, necessity and proportionality. Iran can halt and repel Israel’s attacks but is restricted from attacking Israel because doing so would be pointless, owing Israel’s effective defensive shields. Iran has squandered its resources by failing to build its own defensive shield.
The existence of nuclear weapons and the persistent use of military force to retaliate or to signal resolve relate to 1940s realist-deterrence theory. The theory is based on projecting military force regardless of the law. Militaries are programming AI-enhanced computers with deterrence-based data at this moment. They are not inputting the authentic law of self-defense. Geoffrey Hinton, the father of AI, sees us heading to human extinction.
But AI also has the antidote. A shift to defensive shield systems that are more effective than the violent mind games of deterrence, plus diplomacy, can lead to the end of nuclear weapons, proxy wars, and the rest. It can give us the courage to speak legal truth to power. Läs artikel

The Council cleared its original schedule to address the rapidly evolving crisis, also hearing from the head of the UN-backed international nuclear watchdog, who warned of the grave risks to regional stability and nuclear safety. […]

Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for political affairs told ambassadors that the repercussions of the attacks were already reverberating.

“I reaffirm the Secretary-General’s condemnation of any military escalation in the Middle East,” she said, urging both Israel and Iran to exercise maximum restraint and “avoid at all costs a descent into deeper and wider regional conflict”.

She also noted that the military escalation came just as “some significant diplomatic developments” were unfolding, including the planned resumption of United States-Iranian talks in Oman at the weekend. Latest reports indicate that Iran will no longer attend.

Ms. DiCarlo urged parties to stay the diplomatic course.

Also briefing the Council, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said his agency was in constant contact with the Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority to assess the status of affected facilities and determine broader impacts on nuclear safety and security.

“Such attacks have serious implications for nuclear security, nuclear safety and safeguards, as well as regional and international peace and security,” Mr. Grossi said. Läs  pressmeddelande