Unilateral declaration of independence

Last updated December 17, 2024

A unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) or "unilateral secession" is a formal process leading to the establishment of a new state by a subnational entity which declares itself independent and sovereign without a formal agreement with the state from which it is seceding. The term was first used when Rhodesia declared independence in 1965 from the United Kingdom (UK) without an agreement with the UK.^[1]

Examples

Prominent examples of a unilateral declaration of independence other than Rhodesia's UDI in 1965 include that of the United States in 1776,^[2] the Irish Declaration of Independence of 1919 by a revolutionary parliament, Katanga's declaration of independence by Moise Tshombe in July 1960,^[3] the attempted secession of Biafra from Nigeria in 1967, the Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence from Pakistan in 1970, the (internationally unrecognized) secession of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus from Cyprus in 1983, the Palestinian Declaration of Independence from the Palestinian territories in 1988, and that of the Republic of Kosovo in 2008.^[4] During the Dissolution of the Soviet Union throughout 1991, many of its republics declared their independence unilaterally without agreement and were thus not recognised as legitimate by the Soviet Central Government.

During the breakup of Yugoslavia, the government of the United States asked the governments of Croatia and Slovenia to drop their UDI plans because of the threat of major war erupting in the Balkans because of it, and threatened that it would oppose both countries' UDIs on the basis of the Helsinki Final Act if they did so. However, four days later both Slovenia and Croatia announced their UDIs from Yugoslavia.^[5]

Date	Declared state	Parent state	International recognition	Notes
1776	United States	Great Britain	Yes
1777	Vermont	Great Britain	Yes	Vermont signed a separate armistice with Britain in 1781 before the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Effective retroactive recognition by the United States was granted in 1791 when Vermont became the 14th state.
1816	Río de la Plata	Spain	Yes, after the military victory	Division and dismembering of the independent country. Paraguay secession. Brazil invaded Uruguay. Spain recognized Argentine Independence in 1859
1821	Greece	Ottoman Empire	Yes	Intervention by France, Russia, and the United Kingdom in favour of Greece in the Greek War of Independence secured its independence in 1832.
1830	Belgium	United Netherlands	Yes	UDI (4 October 1830) recognized by the major European powers following the London Conference of 20 December 1830
1898	Philippines	Spain	No	Conquered by United States; became independent in 1946 by agreement
1903	Panama	Colombia	Yes
1912	Albania	Ottoman Empire	Yes
1919	Irish Republic	United Kingdom	No	Became the Irish Free State upon the ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
1922	Kingdom of Egypt	United Kingdom	Yes	Unilateral grant of independence by the British government
1931	Jiangxi	China	No
1945	Indonesia	Netherlands	Yes
1960	Katanga	Republic of the Congo	No	Breakaway Congolese province, secession forcibly ended by the United Nations Operation in the Congo in 1963.
1965	Rhodesia	United Kingdom	No	Self-governing British colony, unilaterally declared itself independent as Rhodesia in 1965, renamed Zimbabwe Rhodesia 1979, then gained international recognition as Zimbabwe in 1980.
1967	Anguilla	United Kingdom	No	Returned as a British Crown Colony in 1969.
1967	Biafra	Nigeria	Partial	Recognized by five countries. Present-day Nigeria
1971	Bangladesh	Pakistan	Yes
1973	Guinea-Bissau	Portugal	Yes
1975	Cabinda	Angola	No	Present-day Angola
1975	East Timor	Portugal	No	Shortly following the declaration of independence, the territory was invaded and annexed by Indonesia.^[6]^[7] A referendum in 1999 led to eventual independence in 2002.^[8]
1983	Northern Cyprus	Cyprus	Partial	Still claimed by Cyprus, and recognized as such by all UN member-states except for Turkey.
1988	Palestine	Israel	Partial	Claims territories occupied by Israel since 1967 Israeli–Palestinian conflict and peace process still ongoing See: International recognition of the State of Palestine
1990	Namibia	South Africa	Yes
1990	Transnistria	Moldova	Partial	Still claimed by Moldova, recognized by 2 partially unrecognised breakaway states South Ossetia and Abkhazia (+ the former Nagorno-Karabakh Republic).
1990	Karakalpakstan	Uzbekistan	No	Incorporated into Uzbekistan in 1993.^[9]
1991	Somaliland	Somalia	No	Still claimed by Somalia
1991	Croatia	Yugoslavia	Yes	Set off Croatian War of Independence
1991	Slovenia	Yugoslavia	Yes	Set off Ten-Day War
1991	Republic of Ichkeria	Russia	Partial	Present-day Chechen Republic, part of Russia. Retroactively recognized by Ukraine in 2022^[10]
1991	Nagorno-Karabakh	Azerbaijan	No	Still claimed by Azerbaijan. Recognized by 3 other post-Soviet breakaway states
1991	South Ossetia	Georgia	Partial	Still claimed by Georgia. Recognized by 5 UN member-states.
1992	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Yugoslavia	Yes	Set off Bosnian War
1999	Abkhazia	Georgia	Partial	Still claimed by Georgia. Recognized by 5 UN member-states.
2008	Kosovo	Serbia	Partial	Still claimed by Serbia A United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution adopted on 8 October 2008 backed the request of Serbia to seek an International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Kosovo's declaration of independence.^[11] On 22 July 2010, the ICJ ruled that the declaration of independence of Kosovo "did not violate any applicable rule of international law", because its authors, who were "representatives of the people of Kosovo", were not bound by the Constitutional Framework (promulgated by UNMIK) or by UNSCR 1244 that is addressed only to United Nations member states and organs of the United Nations.^[12]^[13] See: International recognition of Kosovo
2014	Crimea	Ukraine	Partial	Annexed by Russia; still claimed by Ukraine. Recognized only by 7 UN member states.
2014	Donetsk People's Republic Luhansk People's Republic	Ukraine	Partial	Annexed by Russia; still claimed by Ukraine. Recognized only by 8 UN member states.
2017	Catalonia	Spain	No	Spanish sovereignty remained unchanged

Legal aspects

The International Court of Justice, in a 2010 advisory opinion, declared that unilateral declarations of independence were not illegal under international law.^[13]

Related Research Articles

A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state. In November 5, 2024, the UN's International Court of Justice ruled in an advisory opinion in Kosovo that "International law contains no prohibition on declarations of independence", though the state from which the territory wishes to secede may regard the declaration as rebellion, which may lead to a war of independence or a constitutional settlement to resolve the crisis.

Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) was a statement adopted by the Cabinet of Rhodesia on 11 November 1965, announcing that Rhodesia, a British territory in southern Africa that had governed itself since 1923, now regarded itself as an independent sovereign state. The culmination of a protracted dispute between the British and Rhodesian governments regarding the terms under which the latter could become fully independent, it was the first unilateral break from the United Kingdom by one of its colonies since the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. The UK, the Commonwealth, and the United Nations all deemed Rhodesia's UDI illegal, and economic sanctions, the first in the UN's history, were imposed on the breakaway colony. With the help of the Commonwealth Secretariat, members of the Commonwealth were able to cooperate and advise Rhodesian Africans on policy. Amid near-complete international isolation, Rhodesia continued as an unrecognised state with the assistance of South Africa and Portugal.

Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state. Recognition can be accorded either on a de facto or de jure basis. Partial recognition can occur if many sovereign states refuse to recognize an entity as a peer. Recognition can be a declaration to that effect by the recognizing government or may be implied from an act of recognition, such as entering into a treaty with the other state or making a state visit. Recognition may, but need not, have domestic and international legal consequences. If sufficient countries recognise a particular entity as a state, that state may have a right to membership in international organizations, while treaties may require all existing member countries unanimously agreeing to the admission of a new member.

The declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) from the Republic of Cyprus by the Turkish Cypriot parliament on 15 November 1983.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1244, adopted on 10 June 1999, after recalling resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (1998) and 1239 (1999), authorised an international civil and military presence in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and established the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). It followed an agreement by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević to terms proposed by President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari and former Prime Minister of Russia Viktor Chernomyrdin on 8 June, involving withdrawal of all Yugoslav state forces from Kosovo.

The political status of Kosovo, also known as the Kosovo question, is the subject of a long-running political and territorial dispute between the Serbian government and the Government of Kosovo, stemming from the breakup of Yugoslavia (1991–92) and the ensuing Kosovo War (1998–99). In 1999, the administration of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija was handed on an interim basis to the United Nations under the terms of UNSCR 1244 which ended the Kosovo conflict of that year. That resolution reaffirmed the territorial integrity of Serbia over Kosovo but required the UN administration to promote the establishment of 'substantial autonomy and self-government' for Kosovo pending a 'final settlement' for negotiation between the parties.

The flag of the Republic of Kosovo was adopted by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo immediately following the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo on 17 February 2008. The flag design emerged from an international competition, organized by an informal group from the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government known as the Kosovo Unity Team, which attracted almost one thousand entries. The winning design was proposed by Muhamer Ibrahimi. It shows six white stars in an arc above a golden map of Kosovo, all on a blue field. The stars symbolize Kosovo's six major ethnic groups: Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks, Romani, and Gorani.

The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, which proclaimed the Republic of Kosovo to be an independent and sovereign state, was adopted at a meeting held on 17 February 2008 by 109 out of the 120 members of the Assembly of Kosovo, including the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, and by the President of Kosovo, Fatmir Sejdiu. It was the second declaration of independence by Kosovo's Albanian-majority political institutions; the first was proclaimed on 7 September 1990.

The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, commonly known as Kosovo and abbreviated to Kosmet or KiM, is an autonomous province that occupies the southernmost corner of Serbia, as defined by the country's constitution. The territory is the subject of an ongoing political and territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the partially recognised Republic of Kosovo, with the APKM being viewed as the de jure interpretation of the territory under Serbian law; however, the Serbian government currently does not control the territories because they are de facto administered by the Republic of Kosovo. Its claimed administrative capital and largest city is Pristina.

On 17 February 2008, the majority of members of the Assembly of Kosovo, including Hashim Thaçi, and Fatmir Sejdiu, not acting in the capacity of PISG, declared Kosovo an independent and sovereign state. Kosovo was soon recognized as a sovereign state by the United States, Turkey, Albania, Austria, Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and others. This triggered an international debate over whether Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence had set a precedent in international law that could apply to other separatist movements, or whether it is a special case. The recognition of Kosovo's independence by 101 out of 193 UN states, according to many sources, has given fresh impetus to other separatist movements.

Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Respect of Kosovo was a request in 2008 for an advisory opinion referred to the International Court of Justice by the United Nations General Assembly regarding the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence. The territory of Kosovo is the subject of a dispute between Serbia and the Republic of Kosovo established by the declaration. This was the first case regarding a unilateral declaration of independence to be brought before the court.

Northern Cyprus declared its independence in 1983 with its official name being the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). It is recognized by Turkey.

United Nations Security Council resolution 550, adopted on 11 May 1984, after hearing representations from the Republic of Cyprus and reaffirming resolutions 365 (1974), 367 (1975), 541 (1983) and 544 (1983), the council condemned the illegal secessionist activities in the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus from Turkey, in violation of the previous resolutions.

Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia was enacted on Sunday, 17 February 2008 by a unanimous vote of the Assembly of Kosovo. All 11 representatives of the Serb minority boycotted the proceedings. International reaction was mixed, and the world community continues to be divided on the issue of the international recognition of Kosovo. The Russian Federation’s reaction to the 2008 Kosovo Declaration of Independence is one of strong opposition.

Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia was enacted on Sunday, 17 February 2008 by a unanimous vote of the Assembly of Kosovo. All 11 representatives of the Serb minority boycotted the proceedings. International reaction was mixed, and the world community continues to be divided on the issue of the international recognition of Kosovo. The People's Republic of China's reaction to the 2008 Kosovo Declaration of Independence is of firm opposition.

Madzimbamuto v Lardner-Burke and another [1969] 1 AC 645 is a decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on United Kingdom constitutional law and the constitutional law of Rhodesia. The case was brought by Stella Madzimbamuto, to challenge the detention of her husband, Daniel Madzimbamuto, by the government of Rhodesia. The case raised the issue of the legality of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence made by Rhodesia in 1965. The case is often cited in relation to the legal status of constitutional conventions in United Kingdom constitutional law.

Queen of Rhodesia was the title asserted for Elizabeth II as Rhodesia's constitutional head of state following the country's Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom. However, the position only existed under the Rhodesian constitution of 1965 and remained unrecognised elsewhere in the world. The British government, along with the United Nations and almost all governments, regarded the declaration of independence as an illegal act and nowhere else was the existence of the British monarch having separate status in Rhodesia accepted. With Rhodesia becoming a republic in 1970, the status or existence of the office ceased to be contestable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-state solution (Cyprus)</span> Proposed diplomatic solution for the Cyprus dispute

The two-state solution for the Cyprus dispute refers to the proposed permanent division of the island of Cyprus into a Turkish Cypriot State in the north and a Greek Cypriot State in the south, as opposed to the various proposals for reunification that have been suggested since the island was split into two by the 1974 Turkish invasion. The two-state solution would entail the legalisation of the status quo, where Greek Cypriots govern the southern part of the island and Turkish Cypriots govern the northern part, the latter of which is currently not recognised by any country other than Turkey.

China and Kosovo do not have formal diplomatic relations as China does not recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state. However, China has a liaison office in Kosovo, and trade ties are increasing.

References

↑ Douglas George Anglin. Zambian Crisis Behaviour: Confronting Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, 1965–1966. McGill-Queens, 1994.
↑ Don H. Doyle. Secession as an International Phenomenon: From America's Civil War to Contemporary Separatist Movements. University of Georgia Press, 2010.
↑ Briscoe, Neil (2003). Britain and UN Peacekeeping: 1948–67 . Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan. pp. 117–118. ISBN 978-1-4039-1499-6.
↑ United Nations. Index to Proceedings of the General Assembly 2008/2009: Subject Index. New York City, USA: United Nations, 2010. Pp. 138.
↑ Florian Bieber, Džemal Sokolović. Reconstructing multiethnic societies: the case of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Ashgate, 2001. Pp. 41.
↑ Berlie, Jean A. (1 October 2017). East Timor's Independence, Indonesia and ASEAN. Springer. p. 17. ISBN 9783319626307.
↑ Kammen, Douglas (20 August 2015). Three Centuries of Conflict in East Timor. Rutgers University Press. p. 130. ISBN 9780813574127.
↑ Moxham, Ben (February 2008). "State-Making and the Post-Conflict City: Integration in Dili, Disintegration in Timor-Leste" (PDF). London School of Economics and Political Science. pp. 10–11. ISSN 1749-1800 . Retrieved 25 June 2021.
↑ Olmos, Francisco (28 May 2020). "The curious case of the Republic of Karakalpakstan". Foreign Policy Centre.
↑ "Ukraine recognizes the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria". 18 October 2022.
↑ Backing Request by Serbia, General Assembly Decides to Seek International Court of Justice Ruling on Legality of Kosovo's Independence, United Nations, 8 October 2008
↑ Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo, Nspm.rs, 22 July 2010
1 2 Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo Archived 21 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine , International Court of Justice, 22 July 2010

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[1] Douglas George Anglin. Zambian Crisis Behaviour: Confronting Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, 1965–1966. McGill-Queens, 1994.

[2] Don H. Doyle. Secession as an International Phenomenon: From America's Civil War to Contemporary Separatist Movements. University of Georgia Press, 2010.

[Briscoe-3] Briscoe, Neil (2003). Britain and UN Peacekeeping: 1948–67 . Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan. pp. 117–118. ISBN 978-1-4039-1499-6.

[4] United Nations. Index to Proceedings of the General Assembly 2008/2009: Subject Index. New York City, USA: United Nations, 2010. Pp. 138.

[5] Florian Bieber, Džemal Sokolović. Reconstructing multiethnic societies: the case of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Ashgate, 2001. Pp. 41.

[6] Berlie, Jean A. (1 October 2017). East Timor's Independence, Indonesia and ASEAN. Springer. p. 17. ISBN 9783319626307.

[7] Kammen, Douglas (20 August 2015). Three Centuries of Conflict in East Timor. Rutgers University Press. p. 130. ISBN 9780813574127.

[8] Moxham, Ben (February 2008). "State-Making and the Post-Conflict City: Integration in Dili, Disintegration in Timor-Leste" (PDF). London School of Economics and Political Science. pp. 10–11. ISSN 1749-1800 . Retrieved 25 June 2021.

[9] Olmos, Francisco (28 May 2020). "The curious case of the Republic of Karakalpakstan". Foreign Policy Centre.

[10] "Ukraine recognizes the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria". 18 October 2022.

[UN_Backing_Request_by_Serbia...-11] Backing Request by Serbia, General Assembly Decides to Seek International Court of Justice Ruling on Legality of Kosovo's Independence, United Nations, 8 October 2008

[12] Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo, Nspm.rs, 22 July 2010

[International_Court_of_Justice-13] 1 2 Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo Archived 21 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine , International Court of Justice, 22 July 2010

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Unilateral declaration of independence

Contents

Examples

Legal aspects

See also

Related Research Articles

References