Self-determination: Principle of Action or Impracticable Charter

Table of Contents

Why the Initiative of Self-determination?

The Latin phrase ‘ius cogens’ (meaning ‘compelling law’) is a fundamental principle of international law that is accepted as a norm by all member states of the United Nations (UN) and cannot be suppressed by any power.

The principle of self-determination is a charter of the UN that states that a people, community, or nation has the right to choose its political identity, form of government, the exercise of sovereignty, and independent external relations with no interference.

The UN is charged with the burden of interpreting the charter’s principle. As such the principle of self-determination is one of those compelling laws.

Why the Initiative of Self-determination?

It was a response to curb the authoritarianism of the era and enthrone equality, liberty, and freedom. The idea began with the American and French revolutions in the 18th century. Shortly after WWI, Woodrow Wilson conceived the idea of self-determination as a roadmap for redrawing European and world maps and putting in place a new understanding and a just world. Then after WWII, it became a charter of the UN and a legal right under international law. Ever since its adoption by the UN, it saw the decolonization of countries formerly held under dominion by European nations and latterly, the independence of the colonies.

Today, the principle is applied and interpreted by groups fighting or struggling within a state for autonomy or independence for reasons of consequences. In this age, there are hundreds of nations, groups, and people seeking autonomy or independence. One can ask: What is the role of the UN in those matters? Is self-determination a principle of action or just an impractical charter?

UN should do more. It should be proactive in dealing with nations or people crying for freedom or seeking autonomy. They should be listened to and understood. I think it will make for a better and more peaceful world. It may even help curtail the rate of migrations all over the world and reduce the power and control of despots.

Comments

The stories of how Jesus was conceived as narrated in the Qur’an and Bible

Table of Contents Revelations or Representation? The Mary Question The Qur'an The Bible Today, I have chosen the eve of Christmas to write about how Jesus was conceived as narrated in the Qur’an and the Bible. Doing this, I intend to infer Mary’s role as the ark who delivered the child to the world. I must declare at this point that this is not an academic paper, even though I pose the question: Revelations or representation? Revelations or Representation? Some scriptural scholars have argued that there are elements of biblical events and incidents noted in the Qur’an and because the bible came first before the Qur’an such events and incidents must have been from the Bible. Some have argued that they were as results of divine revelation, that is, God communicating his mind to humans. Whichever side you take, this writing aims to uplift human spirits to righteousness, peace and joy and seeks to bridge the gap between Christianity and Islam. The Mary Q...

The Digital Vallum: Rethinking Nigeria’s Northern Border Mechanics Through Hadrianic Stratagems

Introduction The contemporary security architecture of northern Nigeria faces an existential crisis of geography. Across the vast, semi-arid plains of the North-West and the rugged, marshy terrains of the North-East, the traditional concept of West African border management has effectively collapsed. Porous frontiers shared with Niger, Chad, and Cameroon have morphed into gray-zone corridors, facilitating the unhindered influx of armed bandits, cattle rustlers, and jihadist insurgencies like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Faced with thousands of kilometres of unmonitored borderland, contemporary security discourse often defaults to a false dichotomy: the impossible task of building physical walls across the Sahel, or the passive acceptance of territorial fluidity. To break this impasse, state strategists must look backward to leap forward. In 122 AD, the Roman Empire faced a structurally analogous dilemma on its northernmost frontier in Britain. Empero...

Same-Sex Marriage in Igbo Cultural Traditions

Table of Contents The Igbo Tribe Same-Sex Marriage – Definition & Brief History Same-Sex Marriage in Igbo Cultural Traditions Conclusion This writing claims that same-sex marriage in Igbo culture is necessary, an improvisation, and a ‘like with like’ construal. By construal, it places Igbo same-sex marriage in a social psychological context and views an individual as finding out ways or means to understand and interpret his-her surroundings, and the behaviour and actions of the people around and towards him-her. The reason for this claim is not far-fetched. The Igbo Tribe The Igbo is a major ethnic group in Nigeria with an estimated population of about 32 million. It is one of the largest in Africa adding to 18% of the total 177 million people of Nigeria. Igbo land consists of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states of Nigeria. However, Igbos can be found in these other states of Nigeria: Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River. Outside of Nigeria, the Igbo tribe ...

The Old Man in Blackfoot’s religion: A god battered by Paradoxes

Table of Contents The Old Man in Blackfoot’s Religion His Creative Powers The Sun in Blackfoot’s Religion To describe the Old Man in Blackfoot’s religion as a sage without good fortune is a contradiction in terms or better still, a decrepit god battered by his paradoxes. The notion of the Old Man otherwise known as “Na’pi” in Blackfoot’s religion is a central figure in Blackfeet cosmology. The Blackfeet are a Native American tribe from the Great Plains. Some writers have reasoned that the Blackfoot tribe consists of four different groups of Native Americans. There are the Siksika, Kanai, and Northern Pikuni who live in Canada. The fourth group, the Amskapi Pikuni settled mainly in Montana. Some writers have suggested that there are about 16,000 registered members, with over 80,000 people claiming Blackfoot heritage. Can the Old Man, who is a god be considered wise and foolish at the same time? Understood in this light confines the notion into a competing duality and ...

Religious/Irreligious Beliefs in the UK: An Idiographic Mapping

Table of Contents Ideographic Mapping Collective and Organised vs Individual and Spontaneous Experiences The measure of a Collective Value In this writing, I consider religion or no religion from the viewpoints of conscious subjectivity and Agency. By this, I mean that religion or no religion can be viewed either as a subject, such as an individual who has the conscious power to relate his/her feelings, desires or beliefs within the bounds allowed by the law, conventions, and responsibilities, on the one hand, or as an agency that has the power of influence over other people, organizations, societies and even civilizations (‘civilization’, here understood as a society or group of people), on the other. Ideographic Mapping The choice of the phrase ‘An Ideographic Mapping’ as part of the title emphasizes the conscious but rigid specification of the influences of the many religious or irreligious beliefs. The German philosopher, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) argued that space and t...

iPostThisWeek

Search This Blog