What is Article 5 of the NATO treaty?

ARTICLE 5 of the NATO treaty is at the heart of the defense organization – so, what is it?

The article formed part of the NATO treaty since its inception on April 4, 1949, in Washington DC.

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What is Article 5 of the NATO treaty?

Article 5 – also known as collective defense – commits members of the treaty organization to mutual protection.

It means that an attack against an ally is considered an attack against all members.

Under the terms of the treaty on defense Alliance websiteArticle 5 is defined as “The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be deemed an attack against them all”.

It continued: “And they therefore agree that, should such an armed attack occur, each of them, in exercising the right of collective or individual self-defence recognized by Article 51 of the The Charter of the United Nations, shall assist the attacked Party or Parties by taking, individually and in concert with other Parties, on an ongoing basis, individually and in concert with other Parties, such action as they deem necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic region.”

It added that any armed attack and NATO response would be immediately reported to the United Nations Security Council.

“Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the necessary measures to restore and maintain international peace and security,” it said.

When was Article 5 invoked?

Article 5 was invoked for the first time in history after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the US.

Less than 24 hours after the attack, all the allies invoked Article 5 as a show of solidarity.

Article 5 has not been invoked since, but the coalition worked together to come up with measures against Russia in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.

What other provisions are in the NATO treaty?

There are 14 articles in the NATO treaty.

Articles 1 to 14 look at the founding of the Union and how each member state should abide by the rules of the treaty.

Article 4 said that members should consult each other if any of them feel their territorial integrity, political independence over security feel threatened.