A declaration of independence, declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state. In 2010, the UN's International Court of Justice ruled in an advisory opinion in Kosovo that "International law contains no prohibition on declarations of independence", though the state from which the territory wishes to secede may regard the declaration as rebellion, which may lead to a war of independence or a constitutional settlement to resolve the crisis.
List of declarations of independence
State | Declaration | Date | Association | Signatories | First recognizing state(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albania | Albanian Declaration of Independence | November 28, 1912 | Ottoman Empire | (Assembly of Vlorë) | Austria-Hungary |
Armenia | Declaration of Independence of Armenia | May 28, 1918 | Soviet Russia | (Armenian National Congress (1917)), Armenian Revolutionary Federation | Ottoman Empire |
Armenia | (Declaration of State Sovereignty of Armenia) | August 23, 1990 | Soviet Union | Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Supreme Council of Armenia secretary | Lithuania |
Artsakh | Proclamation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic | September 2, 1991 | Soviet Union | Nagorno-Karabakh Regional and Shahumyan District Councils of People's Deputies of the Azerbaijan SSR | |
Azawad | (Azawadi Declaration of Independence) | April 6, 2012 | Mali | National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad | |
Azerbaijan | (Declaration of Independence of Azerbaijan) | May 28, 1918 | Soviet Russia | Azerbaijani National Council | Ottoman Empire |
Azerbaijan | Act on Restoration of State Independence of Azerbaijan | October 18, 1991 | Soviet Union | (Supreme Council of Azerbaijan) | Turkey |
Bangladesh | Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence | March 26, 1971 | Pakistan | (Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh) | Bhutan |
Belarus | Third Constituent Charter | March 25, 1918 | Soviet Russia | Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic | |
(Belarus) | Announcement of the Declaration of Independence of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia | July 31, 1920 | Poland | Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Byelorussia, trade unions | Soviet Russia |
Belarus | (Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic) | July 27, 1990 | Soviet Union | (Supreme Soviet of the BSSR) | Turkey |
Belgium | Belgian Declaration of Independence | October 4, 1830 | Netherlands | (Provisional Government of Belgium) | |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | (Bosnian Declaration of Independence) | March 1, 1992 | Yugoslavia | Bulgaria | |
Bougainville | Bougainville Declaration of Independence | May 1990 | Papua New Guinea | ||
Brazil | Declaration of the Independence of Brazil | September 7, 1822 | Portugal | Pedro I of Brazil | United States |
Bulgaria | Bulgarian Declaration of Independence | September 22, 1908 | Ottoman Empire | (Ferdinand of Bulgaria) and the Government of Bulgaria | Russia |
Burma | (Burmese Declaration of Independence) | January 4, 1948 | United Kingdom | ||
Catalonia | Declaration of the Catalan Republic as a state of the Iberian Federation | April 14, 1931 | Spain | Francesc Macià, Generalitat Government of Catalonia | |
Catalonia | Declaration of the Catalan state within the Federal Republic of Spain | October 6, 1934 | Spain | Lluís Companys, Generalitat Government of Catalonia | |
Catalonia | (Declaration from the representatives of Catalonia) as the Catalan Republic | October 27, 2017 | Spain | ||
Central America(present day Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua) | Act of Independence of Central America | September 15, 1821 | Spain | ||
Chile | Chilean Declaration of Independence | February 12, 1818 | Spain | National Congress | Portugal |
Colombia | Colombian Declaration of Independence | July 20, 1810 | Spain | ||
Comoros | July 6, 1975 | France | Guinea | ||
Crimea | Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Crimea | March 11, 2014 | Ukraine | Supreme Council of Crimea | Russia |
Croatia | Declaration of the Establishment of the Sovereign and Independent Republic of Croatia | June 25, 1991 | Yugoslavia | Iceland | |
Czechoslovakia | (Czechoslovak Declaration of Independence) | October 18, 1918 | Austria-Hungary | Czechoslovak National Council | United States |
Dominican Republic | February 27, 1844 | (Haiti) | United Kingdom | ||
East Timor | East Timorese declaration of independence | November 28, 1975 | Portugal | Morocco | |
Egypt | Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence | February 28, 1922 | United Kingdom | Unilateral grant of independence by the British government | United Kingdom |
Estonia | Estonian Declaration of Independence | February 24, 1918 | Germany Russia | (Estonian Salvation Committee) | Finland |
Estonia | Estonian Reconfirmation of Independence | August 20, 1991 | Soviet Union | (Congress of Estonia) | Iceland (reconfirmed earlier recognition) |
Finland | Finnish Declaration of Independence | December 6, 1917 | Russia | Parliament of Finland | Soviet Russia |
First Mexican Empire (present day Mexico) | (Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire) (real independence)[] | September 28, 1821 | Spain | Supreme Provisional Governmental Board | United Kingdom |
Florida | Florida's Constitution of 1861 | January 10, 1861 | United States | (Florida State Legislature) | |
(Galicia) | Declaration of the Republic of Galicia | June 27, 1931 | Spain | ||
Georgia, Democratic Republic of | Georgian Declaration of Independence, 1918 | May 26, 1918 | Soviet Russia | Georgian National Council | Germany |
Georgia, Republic of | Act of Restoration of State Independence of Georgia | April 9, 1991 | Soviet Union | Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia | Switzerland |
Georgia, State of | Georgia's secession declaration | January 29, 1861 | United States | ||
Greece | Greek Declaration of Independence | January 15, 1822 | Ottoman Empire | First National Assembly | Haiti |
Guinea-Bissau | Guinea-Bissau Declaration of Independence | September 24, 1973 | Portugal | ||
Haiti | (Haitian Declaration of Independence) | January 1, 1804 | France | Jean-Jacques Dessalines | France |
Hungary | (Hungarian Declaration of Independence) | April 14, 1849 | Habsburgs | ||
Iceland | Icelandic Declaration of Independence | June 17, 1944 | Denmark | United States | |
India | (Declaration of the Independence of India) | January 26, 1930 | United Kingdom | ||
Indonesia | Proclamation of Indonesian Independence | August 17, 1945 | Netherlands | Sukarno & Mohammad Hatta | Kingdom of Egypt |
Iraq | Iraq Declaration of Independence | October 3, 1932 | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | |
Ireland | Proclamation of the Irish Republic | April 24, 1916 | United Kingdom | (Provisional Government of the Irish Republic) | |
Irish Republic | Irish Declaration of Independence | January 21, 1919 | United Kingdom | Dáil Éireann | Soviet Russia |
Israel | Israeli Declaration of Independence | May 14, 1948 | United Kingdom | (Jewish People's Council) | United States |
Katanga | Katangan Declaration of Independence[] | July 11, 1960 | Congo-Léopoldville | ||
Korea | (Korean Declaration of Independence) | March 1, 1919 | Japan | Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea | China |
Kosova | Proclamation of the Republic of Kosova | September 22, 1992 | FR Yugoslavia | Assembly of Kosovo | Albania |
Kosovo | Kosovo declaration of independence | February 17, 2008 | Serbia UN Administration | "Democratically elected leaders of our people" | Costa Rica |
Latvia | Latvian Declaration of Independence | November 18, 1918 | Germany Soviet Russia | (People's Council of Latvia) | Soviet Russia |
Latvia | On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia | May 4, 1990 | Soviet Union | Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR | Iceland |
Liberia | (Liberian Declaration of Independence) | July 16, 1847 | American Colonization Society | Liberian Constitutional Convention | United Kingdom |
Lithuania | Act of Independence of Lithuania | February 16, 1918 | Germany Soviet Russia | (Council of Lithuania) | Germany |
Lithuania | Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania | March 11, 1990 | Soviet Union | (Supreme Council of Lithuania) | Iceland |
(Lower Canada) | (Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada) | February 22, 1838 | United Kingdom | (Robert Nelson) | |
Macedonia | September 8, 1991 | Yugoslavia | Bulgaria | ||
Malaya (present day Malaysia) | Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 | August 31, 1957 | United Kingdom | Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister of Malaysia | United Kingdom |
Mississippi | (A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union) | January 9, 1861 | United States | ||
Moldova | (Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova) | August 27, 1991 | Soviet Union | (Parliament of the Republic of Moldova) | Romania |
Montenegro | Montenegro declaration of independence | June 3, 2006 | Serbia and Montenegro | Assembly of the Republic of Montenegro | Iceland |
Morocco | Moroccan Declaration of Independence | January 11, 1944 | France | Istiqlal Party | |
Netherlands | Act of Abjuration | July 26, 1581 | Spain | Union of Utrecht | |
Northern America (present day) Mexico | (Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America) | November 6, 1813 | Spain | Congress of Anáhuac | |
Northern Cyprus | Declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus | November 15, 1983 | Cyprus | Turkey | |
Northern Epirus | Northern Epirote Declaration of Independence | February 28, 1914 | Albania | (Provisional Government of Northern Epirus) | |
(North Solomons) | September 1, 1975 | Territory of Papua and New Guinea (Australia) | Unknown | Vatican City | |
Norway (Kingdom of Norway) | (Declaration of Independence of Norway) (short after[], sovereign under the (Swedish monarchy)), and the Constitution of Norway | May 17, 1814 | Denmark-Norway (As of Treaty of Kiel) | Norwegian Constituent Assembly | |
Padania | (Padanian Declaration of Independence) | September 15, 1996 | Italy | ||
Pakistan | Lahore Resolution | March 24, 1940 | United Kingdom | (Muslim League (Pakistan)) | |
Palestine | Palestinian Declaration of Independence | November 15, 1988 | Palestinian territories | Palestinian National Council | Arab League |
Peru | Act of the Declaration of Independence of Peru | July 28, 1821 | Spain | José de San Martín | Argentina |
Philippines | Philippine Declaration of Independence | June 12, 1898 | Spain | 98 representatives of (Dictatorial Government of the Philippines) (ratified on September 29, 1898, by the (Malolos Congress)) | |
Provinces of the Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina Bolivia Uruguay) | Argentine Declaration of Independence | July 9, 1816 | Spain | Congress of Tucumán | Hawaii |
Rhodesia | Rhodesian Unilateral Declaration of Independence | November 11, 1965 | United Kingdom | Ian Smith and the rest of the Cabinet | |
Romania | Romanian Declaration of Independence | May 22, 1877 | Ottoman Empire | King Carol I | |
Russia | Belovezha Accords | December 12, 1991 | Soviet Union | Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR | |
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | Bir Lehlou Declaration | February 27, 1976 | Spanish Sahara | Polisario Front | Madagascar |
Scotland | Declaration of Arbroath | April 6, 1320 | England | Scottish leaders | |
Serbia | The Proclamation (Proglašenije/Проглашеније) | February 1809 | Ottoman Empire | Karađorđe Petrović and Serbian MPs | |
Singapore | Proclamation of Singapore | August 9, 1965 | Malaysia | Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore | United Kingdom |
Czechoslovakia | (Martin Declaration) | October 30, 1918 | Austria-Hungary | (Slovak National Council) | France |
Slovakia | (Slovak National Council's Declaration of Independence of the Slovak Nation) | July 17, 1992 | Czechoslovakia | Slovak National Council | |
Slovenia | June 25, 1991 | Yugoslavia | Croatia | ||
Somaliland | (Somaliland Declaration of Independence) | May 18, 1991 | Somalia | ||
South Carolina | Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union | December 24, 1860 | United States | South Carolinians in Charleston | |
Sri Lanka | Declaration of (Independence of Sri Lanka) (Then known as "Ceylon") | February 4, 1948 | United Kingdom | ||
Texas, Republic of | Texas Declaration of Independence | March 2, 1836 | Mexico | France | |
Texas, State of | (A Declaration of the Causes which Impel the State of Texas to Secede from the Federal Union) | February 1, 1861 | United States | Texas Legislature | |
Tibet | Tibet's Declaration of Independence | February 13, 1913 | China | 13th Dalai Lama | Mongolia |
Turkmenistan | About Independence and Bases of a State System of Turkmenistan | October 27, 1991 | Soviet Union | none | Turkey |
Ukraine | (IV Universal) | January 22, 1918 | Soviet Russia | Central Council of Ukraine | |
Ukraine | Declaration of Independence of Ukraine | August 24, 1991 | Soviet Union | Verkhovna Rada | Canada Poland |
United States | United States Declaration of Independence | July 2, 1776 | Great Britain | Second Continental Congress | Morocco |
(United Tribes of New Zealand) | Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand | October 28, 1835 | — | Māori chiefs | United Kingdom |
Uzbekistan | Declaration of Independence | August 31, 1991 | Soviet Union | Supreme Council of Uzbekistan | Turkey |
Venezuela | (Venezuelan Declaration of Independence) | July 5, 1811 | Spain | National Congress | |
Vermont | Vermont Declaration of Independence | January 15, 1777 | United States | ||
Vietnam | Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam | September 2, 1945 | France | Hồ Chí Minh | China |
See also
Explanatory notes
- No reference in original Albanian text to the declaration being the work of the Assembly of Kosovo. The language used in the declaration differs from that employed in acts of the Assembly of Kosovo in that the first paragraph commences with the phrase "We, the democratically-elected leaders of our people . . .", whereas acts of the Assembly of Kosovo employ the third person singular. Moreover, the procedure employed in relation to the declaration differed from that employed by the Assembly of Kosovo for the adoption of legislation. It was not transmitted to the Special Representative of the Secretary General and was not published in the Official Gazette of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo. As the practice shows, he would have been under a duty to take action with regard to acts of the Assembly of Kosovo which he considered to be ultra vires. Taking all factors together, the authors of the declaration of independence of 17 February 2008 did not act as one of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government within the Constitutional Framework, but rather as persons who acted together in their capacity as representatives of the people of Kosovo outside the framework of the interim administration.
- The Continental Congress voted in favor of the Declaration of Independence on July 2. Versions were not printed until July 4 and later, while the signatories did not sign the Matlack declaration until August.
References
- (PDF). Icj-cij.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-21. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
- "Inglaterra: primer país que reconoce la Independencia de México" (in Spanish). Memoria Politica de México. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- . Archived from the original on 2020-05-20.
- Ashmore, Harry S., ed. (1961). "Encyclopædia Britannica: a new survey of universal knowledge, Volume 11". p. 85. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- Mohy, Mahmoud (2017-10-30). "EXCLUSIVE: Indonesian President's Advisor: 'We have a long history with Egypt'". Egypt Today. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957
- Philippine History. Rex Bookstore, Inc. 2004. p. 162. ISBN .
- Tucker, Spencer (2009). The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 364. ISBN .
- Singapore was forced out of Malaysia by the Malaysian Parliament, and the proclamations were then agreed by the two governments. See the Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965 2017-06-28 at the Wayback Machine (1985 Rev. Ed.) and the Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
- Agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia as an independent and sovereign state
- Agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia as an independent and sovereign state/proclamation of singapore
- Singapore Act 1966
- Ukraine and Russia: The Post-Soviet Transition by Roman Solchanyk, , 2000, ISBN (page 100)
Canadian Yearbook of International Law, Vol 30, 1992, University of British Columbia Press, 1993, ISBN (page 371)
Szporluk, Roman (24 February 2020). Russia, Ukraine and the Breakup of the Soviet Union. Hoover Press. ISBN ., p. 355 - A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation : U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates 1774-1875. Library of Congress. 2003. pp. 506–507.
Tuesday July 2, 1776 [...] Resolved, That these United colonies are, and, of right, ought to be, Free and Independent States; that they are absolved of all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connexion between them and the state of Great Britain, is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.
- Coelho, Chris (2013), Timothy Matlack, Scribe of the Declaration of Independence, McFarland, p. 61, ISBN
- US-Morocco Diplomatic Relationship 2015-08-12 at the Wayback Machine. Official Web site of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United States of America.
- Dolan, Kerry A. (November 21, 2013). "Why Morocco Matters To The U.S." Forbes. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
- The Lord Glenelg (25 May 1836), "EXTRACT of a DESPATCH from Lord GLENELG to Major-General Sir RICHARD BOURKE, New South Wales", written at London, Documents > Declaration of Independence, Christchurch: Waitangi Associates, retrieved 22 May 2010
External links
- Media related to Declarations of independence at Wikimedia Commons