...right is the right to self-preservation, a right that is protected not only by the concept of self-determination but also the right to be free from genocide and crimes against humanity. Nothing in the positive law can take away the right of the
Syrian people, under natural law, to resist their own annihilation. I’m not sure that anything in Article 51 automatically prioritizes the
Syrian government’s claim to state sovereignty over the right of the
Syrian people to self-preservation and the right of other states to exercise legitimate defense on...