The United Nations Charter provides that 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.
The charter also provides that nothing contained in the charter shall authorise the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state but that this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter VII of the charter.