Annexation (
Latin
ad, to, and
nexus, joining) is the
de
jure incorporation of some territory into another
geo-political entity (either adjacent or non-contiguous). Usually,
it is implied that the territory and population being
annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the
two merging entities. It can also imply a certain measure of
coercion,
expansionism or
unilateralism on the part of the stronger of
the merging entities. Because of this, more positive terms like
political union or
reunification are sometimes preferred.
Annexation differs from
cession and
amalgamation, because unlike cession
where territory is given or sold through treaty, or amalgamation
where both sides are asked if they agree with the merge, annexation
is a unilateral act where territory is seized and held by one state
that tries to make its move legitimate by the recognition of the
international community.
Annexation,
Encyclopaedia Britannica
During
World War II the use of
annexation deprived whole populations of the safeguards provided by
international laws governing
military occupations. Changes were introduced to international law
through the
Fourth Geneva
Convention that makes it much more difficult for a state to
bypass international law through the use of annexation.
Annexation and international law after 1948
The
Fourth Geneva
Convention (GCIV) of 1949, emphasised an important
international law. The
United
Nations Charter (
June 26,
1945) had prohibited war of aggression (See articles
1.1, 2.3, 2.4) and GCIV
Article 47,
the first paragraph in Section III: Occupied territories,
restricted the territorial gains which could be made through war by
stating:
Article
49 prohibits mass movement of people out of or into occupied
territory:
Protocol I (1977): "Protocol Additional to the
Geneva Conventions of 12 August
1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International
Armed Conflicts" has additional articles which cover military
occupation, but many countries including the United States
are not signatory to this additional
protocol.
Examples of annexation after 1947
Kashmir
In 1947,
Indian forces moved into the former princely state of Jammu and
Kashmir
on the request of the Maharajah of Kashmir to help
stave off an attack from across its borders by Pakistan's regular
army and guerrillas who threatened to occupy large chunks of the
state of Jammu & Kashmir, after the Maharaja of Kashmir had
signed an instrument of accession to the Union of India. Jammu and
Kashmir
is an Indian state on the basis of the instrument
(agreement) of ascension, and the Kashmiri people are Indian citizens.
However
its status is disputed by Pakistan
and China
.
Ogaden
In 1954,
former British Ogaden
(a Somali Region
) was annexed by Abyssinia
. Somali nationalists have waged wars of
liberation since 1954. Currently, the
Ogaden National Liberation
Front (ONLF) leads this nationalist effort and is engaged in a
fierce military confrontation with Ethiopia.
Rockall
On
18 September 1955
at precisely 10:16 am, in what would be the final territorial
expansion of the British Empire,
Rockall
was officially annexed by the United Kingdom
when Lieutenant-Commander Desmond Scott
RN, Sergeant
Brian Peel RM, Corporal AA Fraser RM, and James Fisher (a civilian
naturalist and former Royal Marine),
were deposited on the island by a Royal Navy helicopter from HMS Vidal (coincidentally named after the
man who first charted the island). The team cemented in a
brass plaque on Hall's Ledge and hoisted the
Union Flag to stake the UK's claim.
However its status is
disputed by Denmark
(for the
Faroe
Islands
), Ireland
and Iceland
.
Tibet
Tibetan nationalists and human rights
activists have argued that Tibet was occupied
and annexed by People's Republic of China
in the 1950s. This position is
disputed by the PRC government and Chinese nationalists who argue
that Manchu
Dynasty
has exercised sovereignty over Tibet since at least
the 18th century, and that this sovereignty had been
internationally recognized since at least the 20th century.
Hence they would argue that the action in 1959 was an
internationally acceptable example of a central government
reasserting control over an internal region.
Since the
Simla Accord of 1914,
the British Government's position was that China held
suzerainty over Tibet but not full sovereignty—a
position held by no other state. On 29 October 2008 the British
Government issued a statement recognising China's full soverignty,
and so weakened the position of Tibetan nationalists that Tibet was
occupied and annexed by China.Staff,
Britain's suzerain remedy,
The Economist, 6 November 2008
Sikkim
In 1947, a popular vote rejected Sikkim's joining the Indian Union
and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru agreed to a special
protectorate status for Sikkim. Sikkim came under the suzerainty of
India, which controlled its external affairs, defence, diplomacy
and communications, but Sikkim otherwise retained autonomy. A state
council was established in 1955 to allow for constitutional
government under the Chogyal. Meanwhile trouble was brewing in the
state after the Sikkim National Congress demanded fresh elections
and greater representation for the Nepalese. In 1973, riots in
front of the palace led to a formal request for protection from
India. The Chogyal was proving to be extremely unpopular with the
people. In 1975, the Kazi (Prime Minister) appealed to the Indian
Parliament for a change in Sikkim's status so that it could become
a state of India. In April, the Indian Army moved into Sikkim,
seizing the city of Gangtok and disarming the Palace Guards. A
referendum was held in which 97.5% of the voting people (59% of the
people entitled to vote) voted to join the Indian Union. A few
weeks later, on May 16, 1975, Sikkim officially became the 22nd
state of the Indian Union and the monarchy was abolished.
East Timor
Following
an Indonesian invasion in 1975, East Timor
was annexed by Indonesia and was known as Timor
Timur. It was regarded by Indonesia as the country's 27th
province, but this was never recognised by the
United Nations. The people of East Timor
resisted Indonesian forces in a prolonged guerilla campaign. (See:
Indonesian rule in
East Timor).
Following
a referendum held in 1999, under a UN sponsored
agreement between Indonesia
and, in which its people rejected the offer of
autonomy within Indonesia, East Timor achieved independence in 2002
and is now officially known as Timor-Leste
.
West Papua
West Papua
, or Irian
Jaya
as the Indonesian government has re-named it,
isthe territory on the western half of the island of New
Guinea. This area waspreviously known as Netherlands New Guinea.
Unlike Indonesia, which achievedindependence in 1945, West Papua
remained a Dutch colony until August 15, 1962. That yearthe Dutch
ceded control of the territory to the United Nations (the New York
Agreement), and due to military and diplomatic pressure exerted by
Indonesia, the United Nations transferred the de facto authority to
the Indonesian government. The incorporation of western New Guinea
into Indonesia remains controversial with many of the territory's
indigenous population as they did not get a say in their own
future- see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Free_Choice
Western Sahara
In 1975,
and following the Madrid Accords
between Morocco
, Mauritania
and Spain
, the latter
withdrew from the territory and ceded the administration to Morocco
and Mauritania. This was challenged by an
independentist movement, the
Polisario Front that waged a
guerilla war against both Morocco and
Mauritania. In 1979, and after a military
putsch, Mauritania withdrew from the territory which
left it controlled by Morocco. A
United
Nations peace process was initiated in 1991, but it has been
stalled, and as of mid-2007, the UN is holding direct negotiations
between Morocco and the Polisario front to reach a solution to the
conflict.
Jerusalem
In the
aftermath of the 1967 Six Day War, in
which Israel
had captured
Jerusalem
as well as the West Bank
, Gaza
and the
Golan
Heights
, Israel declared East and West Jerusalem one united
city, incorporating the eastern part to form one
municipality. In 1980 Israel passed the
Jerusalem Law, which redeclared the unity of
Jerusalem as Israel's capital, but did not declare its borders. In
other words, Israel annexed East Jerusalem, although many challenge
the legitimacy of this action.
Golan
In 1981,
Israel extended its "laws, jurisdiction and administration" to the
Golan
Heights
(including the Shebaa Farms
/Har Dov), which it captured from Syria
in the 1967
Six Day War. This not entirely
clear "annexation" declaration was declared "null and void and
without international legal effect" by
United Nations
Security Council Resolution 497.
As of today, the only
state to accept the validity of this annexation, except for Israel,
is the Federated States of
Micronesia
.
Kuwait
After
being allied with Iraq
during the
Iran – Iraq War (largely due
to desiring Iraqi protection from Iran
), Kuwait
was invaded and annexed by Iraq (under
Saddam Hussein) in August
1990. Hussein's primary justifications included a charge
that Kuwaiti territory was in fact an Iraqi province, and that
annexation was retaliation for "economic warfare" Kuwait had waged
through
slant drilling into Iraq's
oil supplies. The monarchy was deposed after annexation, and an
Iraqi governor installed.
United States
President George
H. W. Bush ultimately condemned Iraq's actions,
and moved to drive out Iraqi forces.
Authorized by the
UN Security Council, an American
-led coalition of 34 nations fought the Gulf War to reinstate the Kuwaiti Emir. Iraq's invasion (and annexation) was
deemed illegal and Kuwait remains an independent nation
today.
Subnational annexation
Within countries that are
subdivided noncontiguously, annexation
can also take place whereby a lower-tier subdivision can annex
territory under the jurisdiction of a higher-tier subdivision. An
example of this is in the United States, where
incorporated cities and towns often expand
their boundaries by annexing
unincorporated land adjacent to them.
Municipalities can also annex or be annexed by other
municipalities, though this is less common. There are exceptions to
this in the United States, as laws governing the ability and the
extent cities can expand in this fashion are defined by the
individual
states' constitutions.
See also
References
- Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons
in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949. Commentary on Part III : Status and treatment of
protected persons #Section III : Occupied territories Art. 47
by the ICRC
- Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons
in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949. Commentary on Part III : Status and treatment of protected
persons #Section III : Occupied territories Art. 49 by the
ICRC
- Tibet: China Must End Rural Reconstruction Campaign (Human
Rights Watch, 20-12-2006)
- David
Miliband, Written Ministerial Statement on Tibet
(29/10/2008), Foreign Office website, Retrieved 2008-11-25.
"... Like every other EU member state, and the United States, we
regard Tibet as part of the People's Republic of China.
..."
- Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of
Sikkim. 2005-09-29.
http://www.sikkimipr.org/GENERAL/HISTORY/history_of_sikkim.htm.
Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
- Sela,
Avraham. "Jerusalem." The Continuum Political Encyclopedia
of the Middle East. Ed. Avraham Sela. New York: Continuum,
2002. pp. 391-498.
- Frank, Mitch. Understanding the Holy Land: Answering
Questions about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. New York:
Viking, 2005. p. 74.
- "A/35/508-S/14207 of 8 October 1980."
UNISPAL - United Nations
Information System on the Question of Palestine. 8
Octomber 1980. 8 June 2008.
- http://www.mepc.org/journal_vol5/9701_lustick.asp Ian S.
Lustick, 'Has Israel Annexed East Jerusalem?,' Middle East Policy
Council Journal Volume V, January 1997, Number 1
Further reading
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