Self-determination of peoples

Self-determination appears firmly entrenched in the corpus of international law in only three areas: as an anti-colonialist standard, as a ban on foreign military occupation, and as a requirement that all racial groups be given full access to government. Peoples under colonial domination have the right to external self-determination, that is, to opt for the establishment of a sovereign State, or the free association or integration with an independent State, or 'the emergence into any other political status freely determined by the people' (1970 UN Declaration on Friendly-Relations). The same right accrues to peoples subjected to foreign military occupation, after their obtaining or recovering independence. Any racial group denied full access to government in a sovereign State is entitled to either external self-determination (independence, integration into an existing State, etc.) or even internal self-determination (that is, in the words of the Supreme Court of Canada in Reference re Secession of Quebec, the 'pursuit of its political, economic, social and cultural development within the framework of an existing State').

More specifically, there now exists in the body of international law both a general principle, serving as an overarching guideline, and a set of specific customary rules dealing with individual issues (the rule on the external self-determination of colonial peoples and peoples under foreign occupation; the rule on the internal self-determination, of racial groups that have been subject to discrimination in being denied equal access to government). These rules specify, with regard to certain areas, the general principle. The role of the principle is to cast light on borderline situations and to serve as a general standard for the interpretation of both.customary and treaty law.

The principles discussed above are closely intertwined: They supplement and support one another and also condition each other's application. International subjects must comply with all of them. Also, in the application of any one of the principles, all the others must simultaneously be borne in mind.