Unilateral declaration of independence


A unilateral declaration of independence 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 without an agreement with the UK.

Examples

Prominent examples of a unilateral declaration of independence other than Rhodesia's UDI in 1965 include that of the United States in 1776, the Irish Declaration of Independence of 1919 by a revolutionary parliament, Katanga's declaration of independence by Moise Tshombe in July 1960, the attempted secession of Biafra from Nigeria in 1967, the Bangladeshi declaration of independence from Pakistan in 1970, the 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. During the break up 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 Slovenia and Croatia 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.

DateDeclared stateParentInternational recognitionNotes
1776 Great Britain
1816 Rio de la Plata after the military victoryDivision and dismembration of the independent country. Paraguay secession. Brazil invaded Uruguay. Spain recognized the Argentine Independence in 1859
1821Intervention by France, Russia, and the United Kingdom in favour of Greece in the Greek War of Independence secured its independence in 1832.
1830 BelgiumUDI recognized by the major European powers following the London Conference of 20 December 1830
1898 Philippines SpainConquered by United States; became independent in 1946 by agreement
1912 Albania
1919 Irish Republic
1922Unilateral grant of independence by the British government
1945
1960 Republic of the CongoBreakaway Congolese province, secession forcibly ended by the United Nations Operation in the Congo in 1963.
1965Self-governing British colony, unilaterally declared itself independent as Rhodesia in 1965, renamed Zimbabwe Rhodesia 1979, then gained international recognition as Zimbabwe in 1980.
1967Republic of AnguillaReturned as a British Crown Colony in 1969.
1967Present day Nigeria
1971 Bangladesh
1975 CabindaStill claimed by Angola
1983 CyprusStill claimed by Cyprus
1988Claims territories occupied by Israel since 1967
Israeli–Palestinian conflict and peace process still ongoing
See International recognition of the State of Palestine
1990Still claimed by Moldova
1991 SomalilandStill claimed by Somalia
1991Set off Croatian War of Independence
1991Set off Ten-Days War
1991 Republic of IchkeriaPresent day Chechen Republic, part of Russia
1991Still claimed by Azerbaijan
GeorgiaStill claimed by Georgia
GeorgiaStill claimed by Georgia
2008 Still claimed by Serbia
A United Nations General Assembly 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. 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 or by UNSCR 1244 that is addressed only to United Nations Member States and organs of the United Nations.
See International recognition of Kosovo
2014Annexed by Russia; still claimed by Ukraine
2017Spain 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.