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Self-Determination

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Self-Determination

The political right of the majority to the exercise of power within the boundaries of a generally accepted political unit, area, or territory.

The principle of self-determination is mentioned in the United Nations Charter and has often been stressed in resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly. The concept is most often used in connection with the right of colonies to independence. It does not relate to attempts at independence by groups, such as the French Canadians or the Nagas of India, who do not possess their own sovereign states.

West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive
If I intervene by killing Renzo and freeing you, even though in the past you told me you would not like me to do this or even though I can infer that, as a pacifist, you would not approve of this, then I have violated rather than protected your self-determination. This is true even though, at the moment, your self-determination is eclipsed because Renzo hypnotized you.
"Pakistan has historically been a proud champion of self-determination," Ambassador Lodhi said.
Speaking on 73rd anniversary of the United Nations Day last month, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi acknowledged the role and contribution of the United Nations and called upon the body to ensure the inalienable right of Kashmiris to self-determination.
The impact of opportunities on the development of self-determination has largely been documented (e.g., Carter, Owens, Trainor, Sun, & Swedeen, 2009), thus emphasizing the need to teach and promote self-determination-related skills.
The example of elders, the hope of youth and the faithfulness of clergy have all been moments of self-determination. Even, from time to time, the example of the faithful non-Indigenous person, living among the People of the Land, has been a moment of self-determination.
Two conceptual systems of self-determination have been previously examined in SDT research.
Hofbauer takes the right to self-determination as an example of areas in international law where uncertainty abounds.
The Resolution reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including their right to have an independent State, and urges all States, specialized agencies and organizations of the United Nations system to continue to support the Palestinian people and help them achieve their right to self-determination as soon as possible.
A PEOPLES right to preserve their own cultural identity and control the course of their political life is known in modern international law as the right of self-determination. It is closely associated with a claim to a territory in which they can observe their customs and practices and govern themselves, a land alluded to, with emotional overtones, as the ancestral domain or homeland.
This survey of the law of self-determination from the perspective of the people treats people as a political idea central to the doctrines of nationalism and liberalism whose interaction with international law defines the right to self-determination.
Coleman, Resolving Claims to Self-Determination: Is There a Role for the International Court of Justice?
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