Part IV Action on Behalf of Peoples and Populations, Ch.38 National Liberation in the Context of Post- and Non-Colonial Struggles for Self-Determination

Subject(s):

Armed conflict, international — Armed conflict, non-international — Belligerents — UN Charter — Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment — Access to justice — Hostage taking — Terrorism — Terrorism, financing — War crimes

This chapter examines the contemporary viability of self-determination and liberation conflicts in the context of the use of force and the limits placed on that force. Drawing on the parameters of restraint developed in humanitarian and human rights laws, it explores the role of force in the struggles for self-determination. The chapter begins with an assessment of the role played by coercion in the internal affairs of states, followed by a discussion on self-determination in relation to jus in bello, jus ad bellum, terrorism, and human rights. It then considers the normative and legal limits placed on force between states compared to the limits on force utilized within states between governments and non-state actors. The chapter concludes by analysing the extent to which existing rules are affected by international support for ‘legitimate’ revolutionary armed conflicts for self-determination.