In international law, self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law, binding, as such, on the U
Moluccans in The Hague protesting Indonesia under Suharto's treatment of East Timor, calling for freedom for East Timor, Papua, Aceh and Maluku, 1986
Southern Sudanese expressed joy and jubilation on their day of independence, July 9, 2011, from Sudan.
Celebration of the Declaration of Independence of Kosovo in 2008
Donetsk status referendum organized by separatists in Ukraine. A line to enter a polling place, 11 May 2014
Secession is the unilateral withdrawal of an integral part of a state's territory. Secession generally aims to establish a separate political entity, typically a sovereign state, although it may inste
Self-determination
…is to be made, nor what the outcome should be (whether independence, federation, protection, some form of autonomy or full assimilation) Further, no right to secession is recognized under international law. The concept emerged with the rise of nationalism in the 19th century and came into prominent use in the 1860s…
Hashim Thaçi (left) and then-US Vice President Joe Biden with the Declaration of Independence of Kosovo
September 1999 demonstration for independence from Indonesia
A girl during the Nigerian Civil War of the late 1960s. Pictures of the famine caused by Nigerian blockade garnered sympathy for the Biafrans worldwide.