JoseMaria Arraiza

1
Autonomy self-determination in ethnic
conflicts

• Jose-Maria Arraiza
• Txemako1_at_gmail.com
• PhD Researcher, Åbo Akademy Institute
• Olympia Summer Course 2009

2
Self-determination and secession in international
law

• Woodrow Wilsons 14 points. A principle.
• Not mentioned in League of Nations Covenant.
• International treaties
• United Nations Charter
• Art. 1(2). UN purpose is to develop friendly
  relations among nations based upon equal rights
  and self-determination of peoples.
• Designed against aggression.
• 1966 International Covenants on Civil and
  Political Rights and on Economic, Social and
  Cultural Rights
• Common Article 1 All peoples have the right of
  self-determination. By virtue of that right they
  freely pursue their political status and their
  economic, social and cultural development.

3

• United Nations General Assembly Resolutions
• 1960 On Granting Independence to Colonial
  Countries (G. A. Res. 1514/XV).
• All peoples have the right of self-determination.
• Salt water doctrine.
• 1970 Friendly Relations Declaration (G. A. Res.
  2625/XXV).
• Operationalizes Common Art. 1 (ICCPR/ICESCR)
• Emergence into a new sovereign state
• Free association or integration with State
• Any other political status
• 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
  Peoples
• Right of self-determination and autonomy
• Control over land and natural resources.

4

• International decisions
• League of Nations decision on Ålands Islands.
• Memel Territory Statute (Int. Court of Justice).
• Kosovo UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
• (Upcoming Advisory Opinion on Kosovo (ICJ)).
• Human rights treaty bodies
• Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discr.
• Human Rights Committee.
• Domestic courts
• Tatarstan (Russian Constitutional Court, 1992)
• Quebec (Supreme Court of Canada, 1998)
• Katangese Peoples Congress v. Zaire (African
  Commission on Human Rights, 1992)

5

• Autonomy auto nomos self-government
• A legal regime whereby powers of
  self-government, including legislative competence
  concerning one or more specified areas are
  conferred on a distinct group of individuals
  within the overall constitutional make-up of the
  state in question (Krystian Myntti).
• Devolution of competences (i.e., education)
  together with law-making or regulatory powers.
• Special participatory arrangements (quotas).
• Cultural rights (language, education, cultural
  heritage).
• Land rights (indigenous peoples).

6
Examples

• Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua
• Miskitos, Ramas and Garifunas.
• First autonomy considered in the Treaty of
  Managua 1848. The Miskito () will enjoy the
  right to govern themselves and all persons
  residing in their district, in accordance with
  their own customs (), not being incompatible
  with the sovereign rights of () Nicaragua
• Sandinista initially ignores Miskito claims
• Contra war engages the Miskito in both sides
• The Bogota Accords (1984) aim for autonomy
• Bottom up consultation and 1986 Law on Autonomy.
• Stagnation period. Subsidiary laws only passed in
  2003.
• Tension remains, declaration of independence in
  April 2009.

7
Kosovo

• Albanian claims for self-government lead to the
  recognition of a Socialist Autonomous Province in
  the Constitution of 1974.
• Tensions increase after Titos death.
• Milosevic explodes minority within the minority
  problem (Serbs in Kosovo) to gain political
  support. .
• Rambouillet Accords foresees an autonomy regime,
  but there is no agreement.
• NATO intervention leads to interim UN
  Administration pending a final status (UNSC
  1244).
• New minorities suffer the backlash.
• Supervised independence with a degree of
  internal decentralization through the Attisahri
  plan.

8
Aceh (Indonesia)

• Majority Acehnese. Declaration of Independence in
  1976 in pursuance of an Islamic state.
• Fall of Soeharto facilitates Law 44/99 on a
  Special Status for Aceh and 2001 Law on Autonomy.
• Religious, educational and cultural competences.
• Some control over natural resources.
• Sharia
• 2004 Tsunami leads to peace brokered by
  Attisahri.
• 2006 Memorandum of Understanding between the Free
  Aceh Movement and the Gov. of Indonesia.
• Broad devolution of powers
• Cultural rights, Kanun Aceh, Wali Nanggroe.
• Consent of the Aceh Administration for approval
  of laws.

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Conclusion

• No right of unilateral secession in international
  law.
• Autonomy is not a magic formula to address ethnic
  conflict, but it has proven useful and necessary.
  
• Lack of a theoretical model for conflict
  situations.
• Tension with central authority always remains,
  but autonomy helps canalize it through political
  means.
• Balancing functionality and claims for wider
  powers remains problematic.
• Decentralization may lead to further
  polarization.
• Resource allocation is contentious.
• The creation of new minorities require balancing
  rights .

10
Thank you