Territorial integrity

The inclusion of the right to self-determination in the norms for interaction of group agents assists in the creation of a constructive framework for conflict reso- 

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This paragraph was undoubtedly a success in terms of clever wording. The last sentence clearly indicated U.S. acceptance that the Taiwan issue was an internal Chinese affair, but offered the caveat that a resolution should be peaceful. The paragraph was clearer on the issue of territorial integrity the Nixon administration did not dispute the Chinese position that Taiwan was part of China. This was consistent with, if more taciturn than, Kissinger s private statement to Zhou in July 1971 that we are not advocating a two Chinas solution or a one China, one Taiwan solution. He had then added the personal prediction that Taiwan s political evolution was likely to be in the direction which the Prime Minister indicated - that is, unification rather than independence. 5... 

The rights and obligations that derive from the principle of sovereignty that are most relevant to cross-border hnmanitarian activities are the inviolability of the territorial integrity and political independence of the State concerned, the right of that State to exercise jurisdiction over their territory and over all persons and things therein, and the duty not to intervene in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of that State, including their internal and external affairs (principle of nonintervention). ... 

There is a well-established rule of international law protecting the territorial integrity and unity of states. For instance, even UN Security Council Resolution 1514 (XV), which first enshrined the principle of self-determination as classically understood, determined that ... 

Any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. 

Even in relation to such traditional colonies, the right to self-determination can only be exercised within the boundaries established by the colonial power in that way it does not overcome the effects of coloniahsm, but the self-determination entity itself is defined by it. Furthermore, the right is of singular application. As soon as a colony has gained independence, it will itself start defending its own territorial integrity with utmost vigour. There is no secession from secession. And when armed self-... 

I] nternational law places great importance on the territorial integrity of national states and, by and large, leaves the relation of a new state to be determined by the domestic law of the existing state of which the seceding entity presently forms a part. Where, as here, unilateral secession would be incompatible with the domestic constitution, international law is likely to accept that conclusion. 

Nevertheless, the continued refusal of the international community to apply self-determination norms when they conflict with the statist norm of territorial integrity only underscores to sub-state groups the perceived irrelevance of international law to the problems faced by minorities and indigenous peoples throughout the world. 

The right to opposed unilateral secession stands in obvious tension with the claim to territorial integrity and unity of existing states. Governments have enshrined the doctrine of territorial unity in countless international declarations and other instruments, often tied to, or twinned with, declarations concerning self-determination. ... 

In stark contrast to its response to the Yugoslav crisis, the EU confirmed the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, instead of endorsing the claimed rights of Chechnya, for example in the following Declaration of the EU presidency on behalf of the Union on 17 January 1995d ... 

The European Union would again urge strongly that there should be an immediate cessation of hostilities in order to facilitate the bringing of humanitarian aid to the population and allow negotiations to begin without delay. The European Union takes note in this connection of the proposal made by the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. It calls for a peaceful settlement to the conflict which respects the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. 

In accordance with the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, this shall not be construed as authorizing or enconraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political... 

The EU opposed Russia s action in this instance. The states of the EU demanded that a peacefiil and lasting solution to the conflict in Georgia must be based on full respect for the principles of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity recognised by international law, the Final Act of the Helsinki Conferenee on Seeurity and Cooperation in European and United Nations Seeurity Council resolutions. In this context, the Council deplores... 

Numerous resolutions have been adopted that have confirmed the continued territorial integrity of various states under threat of secession. In fact, different categories of states can be distinguished here. The first relates to states that might face challenges to their territorial unity in future. For instance, in December 2007, the government of Iraq requested that the Security Council adopt a resolution which affirmed the unity and territorial integrity of... 

In 1996, the OSCE called for a settiement respecting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, while offering ... 

Eastern Sudan, on the other hand, has aehieved a lesser status. Confirming in the preamble the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan , Artiele 1 of its setdement reiterates that ... 

Declare that the provisions of the Memorandum cannot contradict the generally accepted norms of international law, and also will not be interpreted or acted upon in contradiction with existing international agreements, decisions of the OSCE, the Joint Declaration of 19 January 1996 of the Presidents of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova, which recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Repubhc of Moldova. 

The events in Georgia, of course, were preceded by their own protracted history of settlement attempts. Before the armed action of 2008, both South Ossetia and Abkhasia maintained themselves as quasi-independent states under the cover of Russian peacekeeping forces. As opposed to Transdniestria, however, the territories border Russia directly. The UN Security Gouncil had firmly committed itself to the maintenance of the territorial integrity and unity of Georgia. Indeed, as late as April 2008, the Council had restated that commitment in a resolution. 

E.g., UN Security Council Resolution 876 (1993), 19 October 1993, S/RES/876 (1993), at para. 1 and 1752 (2007), 13 April 2007, S/RES/1752(1007), at para. 1, [rjeaffirms the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders . Full text available at http //www.unomig.org/data/file/945/071015 SRES 1781.pdf, accessed 3 November 2008. 

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