Lawfare blog: Assessing International Law on Self-Determination and Extraterritorial Use of Force in Rojava
Fri 13 November 2020
In a new blog post for Lawfare, Loqman Radpey, doctoral research at Edinburgh Law School and research member of the Edinburgh Centre for International and Global Law, explores issues of international law in regards to self-determination and extraterritorial use of force in Rojava.
Are the Kurds seeking self-governance in northern Syria protected? Kurds living in Rojava (Western Kurdistan) have assumed control of the state institutions there to exert independent control over their internal and external affairs. However, Rojava has not been recognised by the Syrian state and faces internal and external challenges.
The greatest threat the system has faced is the Turkish invasion, which began in 2018. A close reading of international law demonstrates that Turkey’s use of force in the context of Kurdish self-determination is illegal. The use of force in the context of extracolonial self-determination is restricted by legal boundaries, but without enforcement by third-party states they are not sufficient to prevent violence.
In this situation, other states can take more serious measures to stop Turkey and may request the accused state to comply with erga omnes rules related to self-determination. These third-party states are also allowed to aid the Kurdish self-determination movement politically—short of dispatching troops.