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Sovereign Law Series

“Declaration on the Inadmissibility
of Intervention and Interference in
the Internal Affairs of States” of
1981


Short-Form Reference:

1981 “Declaration on Interference in Internal Affairs of States”

In-Line Micro Reference:

1981 “Internal Affairs of States”

Ratification / Registration:

UN-GA Res. 36/103 (09 Dec 1981)


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Introductory Notes by the Independent Judiciary

Download Sovereign Law Series – This “Sovereign Law Series” is presented by the
Sovereign Court of International Justice (SCIJ), as a proprietary system for standardized
reference and effective use of international law sources. It provides primary sources
of the modern framework of “conventional international law”, which contains
provisions to invoke “customary international law” which is the “Common Law”.
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Introduction & Index

Independence from the UN – The United Nations (UN) is not a “world government”,
and has no authority for any type of “global governance”: The UN is prohibited to
interfere with self-determination of peoples or sovereignty of States (UN Charter,
Articles 1.2, 2.1, 2.7), and is liable for any of its own violations of international law and
rights (2012 Declaration on Rule of Law, Article 2). The UN is not a “world
parliament”, and has no authority to enact any form of “legislation”: The UN General
Assembly (GA) is only a forum for States to codify and declare general recognition of
rights and doctrines of international law (UN Charter, Article 13.1).

Reclaiming Law and Rights – The UN has no authority to “own” or “control”
international law: All the conventions actually belong to the Peoples of the Nations,
and the UN is only authorized to register and publish them (1969 Law of Treaties,
Articles 1(e), 76.1, 80; UN Charter, Article 102). Once a convention recognizes “rights”,
those “may not be revoked or modified” (1969 Law of Treaties, Articles 36.1, 37.2),
and “become binding upon” all States as “customary rules of international law” which
are “recognized” by that convention (Article 38). Therefore, all law and rights
evidenced in conventions belong to the People, and can be invoked by the People and
enforced by the Independent Judiciary, in perpetuity.

Words of Rights in Red – Operative words and phrases most effective for invoking and
enforcing Rights, which are the most used by Barristers and Judges, are printed in Red
font for ease of visual reference. Some key words may be underlined for emphasis.

Commentary in Green – [Expert commentary from Barristers and Judges may be
added in Green font, in Brackets, to guide effective use to assert and enforce rights.]



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Official Text of this Law Source as Ratified

Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention and
Interference in the Internal Affairs of States

Preamble

The General Assembly,

Reaffirming, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, that no State has
the right to intervene directly or indirectly for any reason whatsoever in the internal or
external affairs of any other State;

Reaffirming further the fundamental principle of the Charter of the United Nations
that all States have the duty not to threaten or use force against the sovereignty,
political independence or territorial integrity of other States;

Bearing in mind that the establishment, maintenance and strengthening of
international peace and security are founded upon freedom, equality, self-
determination and independence, respect for the sovereignty of States, as well as
permanent sovereignty of States over their natural resources, irrespective of their
political, economic or social systems or the levels of their development;

Considering that full observance of the principle of non-intervention and non-
interference in the internal and external affairs of States is of the greatest importance
for the maintenance of international peace and security and for the fulfillment of the
purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations;

Reaffirming in accordance with the Charter the right to self-determination and
independence of people under colonial domination, foreign occupation or racist
regimes;

Stressing that the purposes of the United Nations can be achieved only under
conditions where peoples enjoy freedom and States enjoy sovereign equality and
comply fully with the requirements of these principles in their international relations;

Considering that any violation of the principle of non-intervention and non-
interference in the internal and external affairs of States poses a threat to the freedom
of peoples, the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity of States to
their political, economic, social and cultural development, and also endangers
international peace and security;
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Considering that a declaration on the inadmissibility of intervention and interference
in the internal affairs of States will contribute towards the fulfillment of the purposes
and principles of the Charter of the United Nations;

Considering the provisions of the Charter as a whole and taking into account the
resolutions adopted by the United Nations relating to the contents of this principle, in
particular those containing the Declaration on the Strengthening of International
Security, the Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs
of States and the Protection of Their Independence and Sovereignty, the Declaration
of Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation
among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the Definition
of Aggression;

Solemnly declares that:

Article 1

No State or group of States has the right to intervene or interfere in any form or for
any reason whatsoever in the internal and external affairs of other States.

Article 2

The principle of non-intervention and non-interference in the internal and external
affairs of States comprehends the following rights and duties:

Section I

I (a) Sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity, national unity
and security of all States, as well as national identity and cultural heritage of their
peoples;

I (b) The sovereign and inalienable right of a State freely to determine its own
political, economic, cultural and social system, to develop its international relations
and to exercise permanent sovereignty over its natural resources, in accordance with
the will of its people, without outside intervention, interference, subversion, coercion
or threat in any form whatsoever;

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I (c) The right of States and peoples to have free access to information and to
develop fully, without interference, their system of information and mass media and
to use their information media in order to promote their political, social, economic
and cultural interests and aspirations, based, inter alia, on the relevant articles of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the principles of the new international
information order;

Section II

II (a) The duty of States to refrain in their international relations from the
threat or use of force in any form whatsoever to violate the existing internationally
recognized boundaries of another State, to disrupt the political, social or economic
order of other States, to overthrow or change the political system of another State or
its Government, to cause tension between or among States or to deprive peoples of
their national identity and cultural heritage;

II (b) The duty of a State to ensure that its territory is not used in any manner
which would violate the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and
national unity or disrupt the political, economic and social stability of another State.
This obligation applies also to States entrusted with responsibility for territories yet to
attain self-determination and national independence;

II (c) The duty of a State to refrain from armed intervention, subversion,
military occupation or any other form of intervention and interference, overt or
covert, directed at another State or group of States, or any act of military, political or
economic interference in the internal affairs of another State, including acts of reprisal
involving the use of force;

II (d) The duty of a State to refrain from any forcible action which deprives
peoples under colonial domination or foreign occupation of their right to self-
determination, freedom and independence;

II (e) The duty of a State to refrain from any action or attempt in whatever
form or under whatever pretext to destabilize or to undermine the stability of another
State or of any of its institutions;

II (f) The duty of a State to refrain from the promotion, encouragement or
support, direct or indirect, of rebellious or secessionist activities within other States,
under any pretext whatsoever, or any action which seeks to disrupt the unity or to
undermine or subvert the political order of other States;

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II (g) The duty of a State to prevent on its territory the training, financing and
recruitment of mercenaries, or the sending of such mercenaries into the territory of
another State and to deny facilities, including financing, for the equipping and transit
of mercenaries;

II (h) The duty of a State to refrain from concluding agreements with other
States designed to intervene or interfere in the internal and external affairs of third
States;

II (i) The duty of States to refrain from any measure which would lead to the
strengthening of existing military blocs or the creation or strengthening of new
military alliances, interlocking arrangements, the deployment of interventionist forces
or military bases and other related military installations conceived in the context of
great-power confrontation;

II (j) The duty of a State to abstain from any defamatory campaign, villification
or hostile propaganda for the purpose of intervening or interfering in the internal
affairs of other States;

II (k) The duty of a State, in the conduct of its international relations in the
economic, social, technical and trade fields, to refrain from measures which would
constitute interference or intervention in the internal or external affairs of another
State, thus preventing it from determining freely its political, economic and social
development. This includes, inter alia, the duty of a State not to use its external
economic assistance programme or adopt any multilateral or unilateral economic
reprisal or blockade and to prevent the use of transnational and multinational
corporations under its jurisdiction and control as instruments of political pressure or
coercion against another State, in violation of the Charter of the United Nations;

II (l) The duty of a State to refrain from the exploitation and the distortion of
human rights issues as a means of interference in the internal affairs of States, of
exerting pressure on other States or creating distrust and disorder within and among
States or groups of States;

II (m) The duty of a State to refrain from using terrorist practices as state policy
against another State or against peoples under colonial domination, foreign
occupation or racist regimes and to prevent any assistance to or use of or tolerance of
terrorist groups, saboteurs or subversive agents against third States;

II (n) The duty of a State to refrain from organizing, training, financing and
arming political and ethnic groups on their territories or the territories of other States
for the purpose of creating subversion, disorder or unrest in other countries;

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II (o) The duty of a State to refrain from any economic, political or military
activity in the territory of another State without its consent;

Section III

III (a) The right of States to participate actively on the basis of equality in solving
outstanding international issues, thus contributing to the removal of causes of
conflicts and interference;

III (b) The right and duty of States fully to support the right to self-
determination, freedom and independence of peoples under colonial domination,
foreign occupation or racist regimes, as well as the right of these peoples to wage both
political and armed struggle to that end, in accordance with the purposes and
principles of the Charter of the United Nations;

III (c) The right and duty of States to observe, promote and defend all human
rights and fundamental freedoms within their own national territories and to work for
the elimination of massive and flagrant violations of the rights of nations and peoples,
and in particular, for the elimination of apartheid and all forms of racism and racial
discrimination;

III (d) The right and duty of States to combat, within their constitutional
prerogatives, the dissemination of false or distorted news which can be interpreted as
interference in the internal affairs of other States or as being harmful to the
promotion of peace, cooperation and friendly relations among States and nations;

III (e) The right and duty of States not to recognize situations brought about by
the threat or use of force or acts undertaken in contravention of the principle of non-
intervention and non-interference.

Article 3

The right and duties set out in this Declaration are interrelated and are in accordance
with the Charter of the United Nations.

Article 4

Nothing in this Declaration shall prejudice in any manner the right to self-
determination, freedom and independence of peoples under colonial domination,
foreign occupation or racist regimes, and the right to seek and receive support in
accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.


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Article 5

Nothing in this Declaration shall prejudice in any manner the provisions of the Charter
of the United Nations.

Article 6

Nothing in this Declaration shall prejudice action taken by the United Nations under
Chapters VI and VII of the Charter of the United Nations.