Self-determination is the ability of the inhabitants of a certain territory to decide their political system and economy. Just as the decision and management of the policies they deem appropriate.
Self-determination is a concept that operates in the law and the
Politic science. And what is used to refer to the freedom of the nations to
decide their path? Although in other fields, such as psychology, it can be used
to refer to the ability of a person to make their own decisions.
This self-determination of nations and countries refers to the
processes of independence. That is to say, the countries already constituted as
sovereign and independent presupposed this capacity for self-management and
decision. However, in practice, they are quite conditioned by the decisions of
other countries or the de facto powers.
On the other hand, the territories that seek to become independent, regardless
of the reasons, do not have this self-determination. They are seeking it
through the said process.
Consequences of self-determination
Self-determination, that is, that a territory manages to establish itself as an
independent country, entails a series of consequences, among the most
outstanding, are:
- Preparation of a constitution.
- Election of its political regime.
- Election of the economic system.
- Development of your own currency
Y monetary politics.
- Implementation of the system of
Justice and from other institutions.
- Expulsion of the international
organizations to which they belonged.
- Request entry to the new
organizations to which you would like to belong.
- Set a new politics
internationally and seek support in other countries.
The right to self-determination is one of the best-known aspects
of this concept. It is the right of a given people to choose their way of
Government and decide everything necessary, with total freedom.
The UN collects this principle in article one of his letter. One of the
purposes of the United Nations is “to foster friendly relations among nations
based on respect for the principle of equal rights and the self-determination
of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal
peace.”
Now, not everything can be considered a people or capable of
self-determination. The UN, so that there would not be a constant threat to the
territorial integrity of any country, established a series of limits:
- It is a colonized
territory: The territory that wants to become independent and
become its State is under colonial domination. The military occupation
would also fit.
- There is a violation of
human rights: If human rights are continually violated
in the territory, its inhabitants have international support for
secession.
- It would not fit in
legally constituted States: The States that do not suffer from
the previous premises and have been legally constituted would not be
capable of developing self-determination processes within them.
It should also be noted that the constitutions of the countries themselves
expressly and emphatically prohibit the development of fragmentation processes
in the country.
Examples
Throughout recent history, we can see some examples of
territories that have experienced this route:
- Algeria: The African
country was under French colonial rule since 1830. After the continued
exploitation of the territory, and the division between Muslims and
Europeans, national liberation movements arose, but the French Government
strongly oppressed them. Finally, after the Second World Warthe coalition
of pro-independence forces, the National Liberation Front achieved
independence after eight years of war ending in 1962.
- South Sudan: Sudan’s colonial history dates back to 1820, when the Egyptians invaded the country, but they never fully controlled the southern part of the country. At the end of the 19th century, the British-Egyptian alliance carried out a joint invasion of Sudan. In 1956 Sudan managed to gain independence from these two countries, but that is when tensions between the north and the south began to begin, inspired by great religious differences. Finally, after years of civil war and intermediate agreements, in 2011, South Sudan approved its independence in a referendum agreed between the central government and the liberation forces.
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