The norm does not provide a list of possible means of cooperation as these
will depend on the circumstances of the given situation and can be articulated
within an institutional as well non-institutional framework.188 These may
include the suspension of membership, or the expulsion from international
or regional bodies, as well as the refusal to admit a country to a membership,
or the exercise of universal jurisdiction (that is, the jurisdiction of any state to
engage in criminal prosecution of individuals that have committed particularly
heinous crimes, regardless of the nationality of any persons involved and
where the crimes were committed).
Duty of abstention
According to Article 41(2) of the ILC Draft, all states are under a duty of
abstention which in turn consists of two obligations. The first obligation is
a duty of collective non-recognition of the legality of situations resulting
directly from the serious breach committed. The obligation covers both
formal recognition as well as acts which might be interpreted as recognition
of the violation of the peremptory norm. It can be put into effect by adopting
measures against the state which is committing the breach, such as, for
instance, non-recognition of passports or travel documents, withdrawal of
consular representation or diplomatic missions, denial of the legal validity
of public or official acts, and refusal of membership of international
organizations.189 The relevance of this obligation finds support in state
practice, in decisions of the ICJ190 and regional courts,191 and in several
resolutions of the UN General Assembly and Security Council.192
188 Massive violations of human rights, like the situation of apartheid and racial discrimination, as well
as the continuing practice of forced population transfer, could constitute the basis for an intervention
of UN Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. In this regard see Catherine Phuong,
The International Protection of Internally Displaced Persons (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2004), 208.
189 James Crawford, Alain Pellet and Simon Olleson, The Law of International Responsibility (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2010), 684.
190 See e.g. Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South
West Africa), Advisory Opinion, 1971 ICJ 16, 21 June 1971, available at: http://www.icj-cij.org/files/
case-related/53/053-19710621-ADV-01-00-EN.pdf, para 121-126.
191 Loizidou v. Turkey, Merits Judgment, [1996] ECHR 70, 18 December 1996, available at: http://www.
refworld.org/cases,ECHR,402a07c94.html [accessed 7 June 2018]; Cyprus v. Turkey, Judgment,
[2001] ECHR 331, 10 May 2001, available at: http://www.refworld.org/cases,ECHR,43de0e7a4.html
[accessed 27 Jul 2018], para 89-98.
192 Furthermore, see e.g. UN Security Council Resolution 216 of 12 November 1965, Resolution 217 of
20 November 1975, Resolution 253 of 29 May 1968 and Resolution 277 of 18 March 1970 concerning
the situation in southern Rhodesia; UNGA Resolutions 31/6 A of 26 October 1976, 32/105 N of
14 December 1977, 34/93 G 12 December 1979 and Security Council Resolution 402/1976 of 22
December 976, relating to the Bantustans in South Africa.
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