State responsibility legality of the purported annexation, the effects of which were subsequently reversed. (8) As regards the denial by a State of the right of selfdetermination of peoples, the advisory opinion of ICJ in the Namibia case is similarly clear in calling for a nonrecognition of the situation.656 The same obligations are reflected in the resolutions of the Security Council and General Assembly concerning the situation in Rhodesia657 and the Bantustans in South Africa.658 These examples reflect the principle that where a serious breach in the sense of article 40 has resulted in a situation that might otherwise call for recognition, this has nonetheless to be withheld. Collective non-recognition would seem to be a prerequisite for any concerted community response against such breaches and marks the minimum necessary response by States to the serious breaches referred to in article 40. (9) Under article 41, paragraph 2, no State shall recognize the situation created by the serious breach as lawful. This obligation applies to all States, including the responsible State. There have been cases where the responsible State has sought to consolidate the situation it has created by its own “recognition”. Evidently, the responsible State is under an obligation not to recognize or sustain the unlawful situation arising from the breach. Similar considerations apply even to the injured State: since the breach by definition concerns the international community as a whole, waiver or recognition induced from the injured State by the responsible State cannot preclude the international community interest in ensuring a just and appropriate settlement. These conclusions are consistent with article 30 on cessation and are reinforced by the peremptory character of the norms in question.659 (10) The consequences of the obligation of non-recognition are, however, not unqualified. In the Namibia advisory opinion the Court, despite holding that the illegality of the situation was opposable erga omnes and could not be recognized as lawful even by States not members of the United Nations, said that: the non-recognition of South Africa’s administration of the Territory should not result in depriving the people of Namibia of any advantages derived from international cooperation. In particular, while official acts performed by the Government of South Africa on behalf of or concerning Namibia after the termination of the Mandate are illegal and invalid, this invalidity cannot be extended to those acts, such as, for instance, the registration of births, deaths and marriages, the effects of which can be ignored only to the detriment of the inhabitants of the Territory.660 656 Namibia case (see footnote 176 above), where the Court held that “the termination of the Mandate and the declaration of the illegality of South Africa’s presence in Namibia are opposable to all States in the sense of barring erga omnes the legality of a situation which is maintained in violation of international law” (p. 56, para. 126). 657 Cf. Security Council resolution 216 (1965) of 12 November 1965. 658 See, e.g., General Assembly resolution 31/6 A of 26 October 1976, endorsed by the Security Council in its resolution 402 (1976) of 22 December 1976; Assembly resolutions 32/105 N of 14 December 1977 and 34/93 G of 12 December 1979; see also the statements of 21 September 1979 and 15 December 1981 issued by the respective presidents of the Security Council in reaction to the “creation” of Venda and Ciskei (S/13549 and S/14794). 659 See also paragraph (7) of the commentary to article 20 and paragraph (4) of the commentary to article 45. 660 Namibia case (see footnote 176 above), p. 56, para. 125. 115 Both the principle of non-recognition and this qualification to it have been applied, for example, by the European Court of Human Rights.661 (11) The second obligation contained in paragraph 2 prohibits States from rendering aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by a serious breach in the sense of article 40. This goes beyond the provisions dealing with aid or assistance in the commission of an internationally wrongful act, which are covered by article 16. It deals with conduct “after the fact” which assists the responsible State in maintaining a situation “opposable to all States in the sense of barring erga omnes the legality of a situation which is maintained in violation of international law”.662 It extends beyond the commission of the serious breach itself to the maintenance of the situation created by that breach, and it applies whether or not the breach itself is a continuing one. As to the elements of “aid or assistance”, article 41 is to be read in connection with article 16. In particular, the concept of aid or assistance in article 16 presupposes that the State has “knowledge of the circumstances of the internationally wrongful act”. There is no need to mention such a requirement in article 41, paragraph 2, as it is hardly conceivable that a State would not have notice of the commission of a serious breach by another State. (12) In some respects, the prohibition contained in paragraph 2 may be seen as a logical extension of the duty of non-recognition. However, it has a separate scope of application insofar as actions are concerned which would not imply recognition of the situation created by serious breaches in the sense of article 40. This separate existence is confirmed, for example, in the resolutions of the Security Council prohibiting any aid or assistance in maintaining the illegal apartheid regime in South Africa or Portuguese colonial rule.663 Just as in the case of the duty of non-recognition, these resolutions would seem to express a general idea applicable to all situations created by serious breaches in the sense of article 40. (13) Pursuant to paragraph 3, article 41 is without prejudice to the other consequences elaborated in Part Two and to possible further consequences that a serious breach in the sense of article 40 may entail. The purpose of this paragraph is twofold. First, it makes it clear that a serious breach in the sense of article 40 entails the legal consequences stipulated for all breaches in chapters I and II of Part Two. Consequently, a serious breach in the sense of article 40 gives rise to an obligation, on behalf of the responsible State, to cease the wrongful act, to continue performance and, if appropriate, to give guarantees and assurances of non-repetition. By the same token, it entails a duty to make reparation in conformity with the rules set out in chapter II of this Part. The incidence of these obligations will no doubt be affected by the gravity of the breach in question, but this is allowed for in the actual language of the relevant articles. 661 Loizidou, Merits (see footnote 160 above), p. 2216; Cyprus v. Turkey (see footnote 247 above), paras. 89–98. 662 Namibia case (see footnote 176 above), p. 56, para. 126. 663 See, e.g., Security Council resolutions 218 (1965) of 23 November 1965 on the Portuguese colonies, and 418 (1977) of 4 November 1977 and 569 (1985) of 26 July 1985 on South Africa.