The Human Right to Self-Determination
How International Law Treats Ethnic Groups within State Sovereignty
Feb 26, 2009
Originally, the right to self-determination was conceived of only in a European context. After World War One, the concept of self-determination was used to draw boundaries that corresponded to ethnically and linguistically similar groups. However, this principle, found in Wilson's Fourteen Points Declaration, did not extend to self-determination for colonized peoples in Africa and Asia.
Self-Determination Under the United Nations Charter
After World War II, states enshrined the right to self-determination in the UN Charter. This right had some success in the colonial context, though in many twentieth century cases the shifting of boundaries was bloody and even peaceful de-colonization did not necessarily follow the boundaries of ethnic and linguistic group settlement, leading to conflict and civil wars.
Despite its use in the colonial context, the right to self-determination as articulated in the UN Charter was not intended to encompass a right to statehood. Instead, the states that agreed on this right conceived it as a right to regional autonomy for groups within a sovereign state. In all the treaties that acknowledge a right to self-determination, a right to state sovereignty is also articulated.
The Relationship Between Self-Determination and State Sovereignty
The international system was founded on, and is still entrenched in, a framework of sovereign states. The actors in the international system being states, when they articulated a right to self-determination they did not intend this right to undermine or clash with their sovereignty. Sovereignty includes a right to territorial integrity, meaning respect for a state's boundaries and non-intervention by other states within the state's territory.
This becomes an issue when groups claim a right to self-determination and use this right to argue a right to secede from the existing state. There is no recognized right to unilateral secession in international law, though practically a state may be able to secede if other states in the international community recognize its statehood. This was the case in the secession of Kosovo from Serbia, where a large number of states recognized Kosovo's independence in a political move despite technical illegality.
Groups Claiming a Right to Self-Determination
Other groups claiming a right to self-determination include the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, Tibetans claiming independence from China, Australian Aboriginals, Kurds in various states, and the Palestinian people. These groups have various claims, though most have some degree of autonomy and are searching for statehood, or recognition of statehood.
The difficulty lies in the fact that the territory in which most of these people live belongs to a state that fiercely contests their right to separate statehood, and so their only real option is unilateral secession, which is illegal under international law. The best hope for those who are looking for statehood or greater independence is often to lobby the international community politically, creating pressure on the underlying state or leading to recognition as in the case of Kosovo.
