Territorial Integrity
The integrity of land is a principle of international law already in place in the Greek antiquity. She recalls the inalienable right and duty of a State to protect its sovereign borders from outside influence. It is a feature of the nation , providing the pretext sufficient to maintain an army to defend: its violation constitutes a casus belli.
Democracies affix the term in the constitutional declarations. The separatist breakaway zone is seen as a threat to the territorial integrity of the sovereign power. Be the guarantor of territorial integrity is therefore within the responsibilities of head of state.
The territorial integrity of a nation state and the determination of a people are opposed in terms of law: the era of decolonization was marked by this opposition.
Because of this principle, international law considers the separatist secession as the domain of internal law of the State concerned.
Summary |
Geography tensions and challenges to territorial integrity
Americas
Canada
Since the 1960s , part of the population of Quebec (one of the ten provinces of the country) claimed its independence. Since the accession to power of a party sovereignty in 1976 in the province ( PQ ), two referendums were held to try to make the separation of Quebec from Canada.
Cuba
The Guantnamo Bay is considered occupied illegally by the United States for the Cuban government.
Mexico
From the mountains of southeastern Mexico, in a singular Zapatista balaclava regularly sends news releases since 1994 and the uprising in Chiapas. He talks about the condition of Chiapas. Since then, the communities are managed independently.
Europe
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is in charge of the area.
Spain
In the name of the country's territorial integrity that the debate concerning the status of autonomous communities of the Basque Country and Catalonia, led by their respective representations (and their populations are not seen as a national minority Spanish), has reached during 2005 highs, the commander of the Spanish army recalled the constitutional provision by which this power devolves upon him, where the texts discussed in the National Assembly would pass Spanish.
France
- The nationalist Corsican regularly claim the independence of the island, with some extremists use the terrorist acts.
- The members of the ETA are also active in France, which is part of the Basque Country which they claim independence.
- The separatist Breton overwhelmingly reject violence, so they appear to be inactive for the mainstream media today. Nevertheless, they sponsor numerous cultural activities and events.
- The island of Mayotte maintained within the French Republic after several referendums is claimed by the Union of Comoros supported by the African Union and the United Nations that recognize it as occupied territory based on the principle of respect territorial integrity at the expense of self-determination.
Middle East
Israel - Palestine
A conflict has been the Second World War between the Palestinian Authority and the State of Israel, which occupies several territories claimed by the Palestinians. Took place before the Six Day War and the regulations concerning the return of Sinai : See resolution 242 (1967) .
See Israeli-Palestinian border relations
Asia
Indonesia
The East Timor seceded in 1999 and gained independence in 2002.
Pakistan
( Southwest Asia ) - the war against terrorism opens into the tribal areas bordering on guerrilla warfare include a statement of separatist leaders in local Waziristan , which until September 2006 had proclaimed unilaterally (as) Islamic emirate.
China
- The independence of Tibet since 1979 no longer claimed by the Dalai Lama speaks only of regional autonomy and preservation of Tibetan culture. Having said that Chinese authorities regularly accuse of hypocrisy, saying he would not abandon its position.
- Taiwan ( ROC ) has a status of de facto independence since the retreat of the Kuomintang in 1949. However, most states recognize the territorial integrity, including Taiwan, despite the election victory of the separatists in Taiwan in 2004, and given the increasing geopolitical importance of the PRC. The Kuomintang , Taiwan's political party, supports the principle of territorial integrity of China of which Taiwan is a province.
Land claims during the decolonization
Algeria
- In November 1954, Franois Mitterrand , then interior minister, said Algeria is France, after the land claims Algerian separatists.
Vietnam
Following the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 , the Viet Nam gained its territorial sovereignty.
See also
- Territorial autonomy | Sovereignty
- Separatism (political process)
- Geostrategy
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