List of areas not recognized as independent states by the United Nations
This list collects various geopolitical units that are not recognized by the United Nations as independent states . So-called micronations , which are usually founded by a very small group of people (mostly 2–15 people), are not listed. The list of micronations has its own wiki page.
Most of these countries are part of a nation with its own national identity that is different from their mother country split have. They are therefore referred to as “break-away” states. Although they are states according to the three-element theory , the majority of the established states do not recognize them as such. These countries are referred to in German as de facto regimes .
Some territories are self-governing autonomous regions or protectorates with military protection and informal diplomatic missions abroad by another state.
Current state structures
Non-members of the United Nations with limited international recognition
- The Republic of Abkhazia is a self- proclaimed state in the South Caucasus recognized by Nauru , Nicaragua , Russia , Syria and Venezuela as well as three other internationally unrecognized member states of the Community of Unrecognized States , Artsakh , South Ossetia and Transnistria . The leadership of Abkhazia invokes the region's centuries of independence, while Georgia claims it as part of its national territory.
- After the occupation of independent Georgia by Bolshevik Russia in 1921, Abkhazia was initially separated from Georgia, but in 1931 it became an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Georgian SSR . In 1992 the Supreme Soviet of the Abkhaz ASSR proclaimed independence from Georgia, which led to a war (1992-1994). The June 1994 ceasefire has largely held up, leaving Abkhazia out of the control of the Georgian government. In the course of the Caucasus War in 2008 , the independence of Abkhazia was recognized:
- on August 26, 2008 from Russia,
- on September 5, 2008 from Nicaragua,
- on September 10, 2009 from Venezuela
- on December 15, 2009 from Nauru
- on May 23, 2011 from Vanuatu ,
- on September 18, 2011 from Tuvalu ,
- on May 29, 2018 from Syria.
Vanuatu and Tuvalu withdrew recognition in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
- The Republic of China since the defeat in controlled Chinese civil war in 1949, only the island of Taiwan and some smaller islands. By resolution 2758 of the UN General Assembly of October 25, 1971, it lost a large part of its diplomatic recognition as well as its seat at the United Nations to the People's Republic of China . The Republic of China is currently officially recognized by 22 of the 193 member states of the United Nations. To this end, she is recognized as the sole representative of China by the UN non-member state of Vatican City . However, it maintains non-official relationships with most countries through institutions such as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Bureau .
- The Republic of Kosovo has been operating under the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since 1999, independently of Serbia on the basis of Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council . Legally, it was an autonomous Serbian province. The province unilaterally declared itself independent on February 17, 2008. The independence is far from 114 of the 193 United Nations member states acknowledged .
- The Republic of South Ossetia is a self-proclaimed state in northern Georgia , recognized by Nauru, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria and Venezuela as well as three other internationally unrecognized member states of the Commonwealth of Unrecognized States, Abkhazia, Arzach and Transnistria.
- After the occupation of independent Georgia by Bolshevik Russia in 1921, it became part of the Soviet Union as the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast in Georgia. Independence was proclaimed in 1991 and an armistice was agreed in 1992. After renewed military conflicts and an intervention by Russia, the independence of South Ossetia was recognized:
- on August 26, 2008 from Russia,
- on September 5, 2008 from Nicaragua,
- on September 10, 2009 from Venezuela,
- on December 16, 2009 from Nauru and
- on September 19, 2011 from Tuvalu,
- on May 29, 2018 from Syria.
Tuvalu withdrew the recognition in 2014.
- The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus goes back to the Turkish State of Cyprus , which was declared in the northern part of Cyprus in 1975 after Turkish troops intervened in the Cyprus conflict in 1974 and occupied the northern part of the island. In 1983 the Turkish Federal State of Cyprus declared its independence under the name Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus . This is recognized by a UN member state, Turkey. A United Nations plan with the aim of uniting the two Cypriot states was adopted in a referendum in 2004 by the people of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , but was rejected by the people of the part of the island controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus . Further attempts to bring about a reunification have so far been unsuccessful.
- The Cook Islands are a self-governing territory in Oceania that is in free association with New Zealand . Germany recognized the Cook Islands as an independent state in March 2001. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on September 11, 2001. The German ambassador in Wellington is also accredited to the Cook Islands. A total of 52 states recognized the Cook Islands as an independent state by December 2018, including China, Australia and Switzerland . The Cook Islands have been recognized by New Zealand since 1993.
- Like the Cook Islands, Niue is a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand, and a parliamentary monarchy in the Commonwealth of Nations . By September 2016, 20 states had recognized Niue as an independent state, including no German-speaking state. Like the Cook Islands, New Zealand has recognized Niue since 1993.
State and state-like areas without the desired international recognition
- The Republic of Artsakh , until 2017 the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh , is a self-proclaimed and partially functioning independent state (since 1991), but is not recognized as independent. The neighboring Armenia does not recognize the state either, but reserves the right to do so in the event that negotiations fail. Internationally it is seen as part of Azerbaijan , but is predominantly inhabited by Armenians . The republic is part of the community of non-recognized states whose member states recognize each other.
- The Republic of Somaliland (since 1991) is located in northwest Somalia . In May 1991, politicians in the north proclaimed an independent Somaliland republic, which now comprises five of the eighteen administrative regions of Somalia. This corresponds to British Somaliland , which stretched between Ethiopia , Djibouti , Puntland and the Gulf of Aden .
- Transnistria is the part of the Republic of Moldova east of the Dniester Riverand since 1990 a self-appointed, partially functioning state without international recognition of any UN member state. The majority of the population consists of Eastern Slavs, as opposed to the majority of Moldovans as a whole. The republic is part of the community of non-recognized states whose member states recognize each other. Transnistria has asked several times to be admitted to the Russian Federation .
Territories under military occupation
- The State of Palestine was proclaimed in 1988 and is currently recognized by 138 states. At the UN , the state has observer status . Part of the claimed national territory is militarily occupied by Israel .
- See also the articles International Recognition of the State of Palestine , Palestinian Territories , Gaza Strip and West Bank , which contain articles on areas in the Palestine region .
- The Democratic Arab Republic of the Sahara controls a remainder of the Western Sahara , an area that has been claimed and largely administered by Morocco since the withdrawal of Spain in 1976 - initially partly also by Mauritania . The republic was proclaimed in 1976 by the Polisario Front and is currently recognized by 48 states . (However, among these states is neither Spain nor any other great power or any European state.)
- The DARS is a full member of the African Union , but the majority of the AU individual states do not yet (or in the meantime not) recognize the republic. The sovereignty claims have not been clarified and the United Nations is seeking a referendum through the MINURSO mission to clarify the situation. A UN-monitored ceasefire has existed since 1991.
State structure without the right to international recognition
- KhaatumoState of Somalia was founded in 2012 in the north of the Federal Republic of Somalia as a further federal state in an area that is claimed by both the federal state of Puntland and Somaliland , which is striving for independence and which has been the subject of several military conflicts in the border dispute between Somaliland and Puntland . So far, none of the parties has been able to obtain permanent, uniform de facto control. Khaatumo is not considered a federal state by the Somali government.
Historical state structures
States with limited international recognition
- Rhodesia was a British colony that unilaterally declared its independence in 1965, which - like the proclamation of the Republic in 1970 - was only recognized by South Africa. After negotiations between the white minority government and moderate black leaders, in 1979 it became Zimbabwe-Rhodesia , which wasalso not internationally recognizeduntil the proclamation of the Republic of Zimbabwe in 1980.
- Biafra controlled an area in eastern Nigeria from secession in May 1967 to final military decline in January 1970. It was recognized by four African states ( Ivory Coast , Gabon , Zambia , Tanzania ) and Haiti .
- The People's Republic of Kampuchea (1979–1989) was established by the Vietnamese occupying power after the Vietnamese invasion and occupation and the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Only a few Eastern Bloc countries recognized this, while the UN, China and most other states continued to recognize the overthrown Democratic Kampuchea of the Khmer Rouge.
- Homelands (also called Bantustan) officially granted independence by South Africa during apartheid and recognized exclusively by South Africa and the other three homelands. In fact, they were completely dependent on South Africa and have been an integral part of South Africa again since the end of apartheid in 1994:
- Transkei (1976-1994)
- Bophuthatswana (1977-1994)
- Venda (1979-1994)
- Ciskei (1981-1994)
- Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (1996–1999). The former Chechen ASSR declaredits independence from the Soviet Union and Russia in 1991 as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria . It has been reintegrated into Russiasince the Second Chechen War . However, a government in exile persists.
- The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996-2001) was only recognized by Saudi Arabia , Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates ; all other states viewed the government of President Burhānuddin Rabbāni as the legitimate representative of Afghanistan during the Afghan Civil War .
- The Republic of Crimea (March 11-18, 2014) was only recognized by Russia; in Russia's opinion, the area has since formed the Russian Federal District of Crimea . The Ukraine considers the peninsula continue as part of its territory.
States without the desired international recognition
- Azawad in Mali declared its independence on April 6, 2012, was not recognized by any state and was recaptured in early 2013 by Malian troops with massive French help.
- In 1960 Katanga declared independence from the Republic of the Congo, which had recently gained independence from Belgium. Secession was the main cause of the Congo crisis . Despite support from Belgium, Katanga was not recognized by any state; In 1963, the breakaway province was conquered by UN troops and the secession ended.
- Bougainville (Republic of Northern Solomon Islands) (1990–1997) signed a peace treaty with Papua New Guinea , which should give the island autonomy within a decade ,subject to a referendum on independence .
- Gagauzia (1990–1994) is now part of the Republic of Moldova .
- Republic of Serbian Krajina (1991–1995) is now part of Croatia .
- Republika Srpska (1992–1995) is today one of the two entities of the federal state of Bosnia and Herzegovina .
- Anjouan (1997-2002) is now part of the Comoros .
- Mohéli (1997–1998) is now part of the Comoros .
- Tamil Eelam was the name given to theareas in the north and east of Sri Lanka under the administration of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)during the civil war in Sri Lanka (1983-2009). Internationally, the state structure was not recognized by any state; the LTTE was viewed by many states as a terrorist organization.
- The People's Republic of the Congo was proclaimed at the height of the Simba rebellion on September 7, 1964 in Stanleyville, today's Kisangani , by lumumbist rebels. The rebels received support from the socialist camp, but no diplomatic recognition. The uprising was suppressed by government troops by December 1964.
- Federal State of New Russia (May 24, 2014 - May 18, 2015) was a union between the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic . The project was declared over in May 2015.
- Islamic State , abbreviated IS , refers to the organization of the same name classified as a terrorist group as well as a caliphate that it proclaimed on June 29, 2014 in Syria and Iraq. In the areas conquered by the organization, civilian state structures soon developed alongside military ones. However, the caliphate was not recognized by any other state. In ongoing military confrontation with regular Syrian or Iraqi army associations, opposing rebel militias and international forces, the IS lost until fall 2017, the control of all major cities, most recently on the functioning as the capital of the Caliphate Rakka .
State structure without the right to international recognition
- South Kasai claimed regional autonomy within the Democratic Republic of the Congo from June 1960 to the end of 1961.
- The Republic of Kurdistan (January 22 - December 16, 1946) was a state that was proclaimed around the city of Mahabad in Iran . The area is now part of Iran.
- Kachin State is the northernmost state of Myanmar and has beencontrolledby the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO)since 1962, but is not diplomatically recognized by any country. The KIO and the Myanmar Union formalized the status quo in 1994 with the creation of the "Kachin State Special Region # 1", which is still part of the Myanmar Union, but is de facto controlled by the KIO.
- Ajaria , nominally an autonomous republic within Georgia , was de facto exclusively under the control of its republic government from 1991-2005, outside the sphere of influence of the Georgian central government, but without formally claiming the status of an independent state. Today it is again an Autonomous Republic in the State Union of Georgia.
- On the territory of today's Republic of Azerbaijan , temporary autonomous structures emerged in the 1990s
- Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (1990–1991) is now part of Azerbaijan .
- Talysh Mugan Autonomous Republic (proclaimed 1993) is now part of Azerbaijan .
- In the area of today's Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time of the Yugoslav wars, temporarily created autonomous structures
- Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna (1993–1994; previously 1992–1993 Croatian Community of Herceg-Bosna ) claimed the status of an autonomous state, but this was rejected by the internationally recognized government of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. With the establishment of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1994, it was officially dissolved as an independent political unit.
- Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia (1993–1995) claimed the status of an autonomous part of the state, but this was rejected by the internationally recognized government of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Autonomous entities that emerged on the territory of the failed state of Somalia from 1991 onwards, which saw themselves as part of a common federal state of Somalia, although such a state did not yet exist at the time of its establishment and by its creation from 2012 either had already perished or was not recognized and have been integrated into other states.
- Awdalland(1995 and 2009) was founded in the far northwest by opponents of the Somaliland regime and in rejection of its policy of secession from a common Somali state, but without being able to permanently question the de facto control exercised by Somaliland over the area. The same applies to Saylac & Lughaya State of Somalia (2011), which was founded a little later with a claim to roughly the same area and with a comparable political goal .
- Azania State of Somalia (2011-2013). Foundation for the area of the former Jubaland ,supportedby the southern neighbor Kenya , which was dissolved in 2013 in what is now the state of Jubaland.
- Himan and HeebState of Somalia (2010-2015) was attached to what is now the state of Galmudug .
- Jubaland (1998–2001), supported by the Somali Patriotic Movement . The re-establishment as Jubaland State of Somalia in 2013 is a federal state of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
- HiiraanState of Somalia (2010-2015). Founded by clan leaders and the military in Nairobi, but they were only one of several warring factions in the Somali region concerned. Since 2015, the de facto regime of Hiiraan and leaders of the neighboring Middle Shabelle region have been involved in the formation of the new Somali state of Hirshabelle.
- MaakhirState of Somalia (2007-2009), was united with Puntland by its government , without the current state of Puntland being able to gain permanent control over this area, which was also claimed by Somaliland , which was striving for independence . In the southern part of the disputed area, the Northland State of Somalia (2008) was proclaimed. The political currents and clan structures that were behind these two foundings are also responsible for the Khaatumo State of Somalia , which was founded in the same region in 2012 and still has an unclear status .
- Southwest Somalia (2002-2005), supported by the Rahanweyn resistance army . Founded in 2014 as South West State, it is now a state of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Recognition decree ( memento of September 10, 2008 on WebCite ) (PDF; 230 kB).
- ↑ a b russland.RU of September 11, 2009: Venezuela recognizes South Ossetia and Abkhazia ( Memento of July 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b net-tribune.DE of December 15, 2009: Pacific state Nauru recognizes Abkhazia and South Ossetia ( Memento of March 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Pristina: Kosovo declares itself independent , Spiegel Online , February 17, 2008.
- ^ On Day of Solidarity with Palestinians, Ban stresses urgency of reaching two-state solution. In: UN News Center. UN Publications, November 29, 2012, accessed November 30, 2012 .
- ↑ Putin signs order to recognize Crimea as a sovereign independent state , RT.com, March 17, 2014.
- ↑ Thomas Kacza: The Congo Crisis 1960-1965 . Centaurus-Verlagsgesellschaft, Pfaffenweiler 1990, ISBN 978-3-89085-477-9 , p. 164.
- ↑ New Russia has ended , Gaseta.ru, May 20, 2014 (Russian).
- ↑ Russian-backed 'Novorossiya' breakaway movement collapses , Ukraine Today , May 20, 2015 (English).