Self-determination
Self-determination[1] refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage.[2][3] Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law, binding, as such, on the United Nations as an authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms.[4][5] As a principle of international law, the right of self-determination recognized in the 1960s concerns the colonial context of territories' right to independence or another outcome of decolonization. The principle does not state how the decision is to be made, nor what the outcome should be, whether it be independence, federation, protection, some form of autonomy or full assimilation.[6] The internationally recognized right of self-determination does not include a right to an independent state for every ethnic group within a former colonial territory. While there is ongoing discussion about the rights of minorities and indigenous people who are denied political participation in representative governments and consequently suffer systematic violations of human rights as a group, no right to secession is recognized under international law.[7][8]
This article is about self-determination in international law. For other uses, see Self-determination (disambiguation).
The concept was first expressed in the 1860s, and spread rapidly thereafter.[9] During and after World War I, the principle was encouraged by both Soviet Premier Vladimir Lenin and United States President Woodrow Wilson.[9] Having announced his Fourteen Points on 8 January 1918, on 11 February 1918 Wilson stated: "National aspirations must be respected; people may now be dominated and governed only by their own consent. 'Self determination' is not a mere phrase; it is an imperative principle of action."[10]
During World War II, the principle was included in the Atlantic Charter, jointly declared on 14 August 1941 by Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, and Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who pledged The Eight Principal points of the Charter.[11] It was recognized as an international legal right after it was explicitly listed as a right in the UN Charter.[12]
Implementing the right to self-determination can be politically difficult, in part because there are multiple interpretations of what constitutes a people group and which groups may legitimately claim the right to self-determination.[13]