Declaration of independence

Assertion by a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state

This article is about the general document. For the United States' declaration of independence, see United States Declaration of Independence. For other uses, see Declaration of independence (disambiguation).

A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state. In 2010, the UN's International Court of Justice ruled in an advisory opinion in Kosovo that "International law contains no prohibition on declarations of independence",[1] though the state from which the territory wishes to secede may regard the declaration as rebellion, which may lead to a war of independence or a constitutional settlement to resolve the crisis.

## Contents

* 1 List of declarations of independence
* 2 See also
* 3 Explanatory notes
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## List of declarations of independence[edit | edit source]

This incomplete list is not intended to be exhaustive.

State  | Declaration  | Date  | Year  | Association  | Signatories | First recognizing state

|
|
|
|
|
|

Albania | Albanian Declaration of Independence | November 28 | 1912 |  Ottoman Empire | Assembly of Vlorë |  Austria-Hungary
File:Flag of Armenia (3-2).svg Armenia | Declaration of Independence of Armenia | May 28 | 1918 |  Russia | Armenian National Congress (1917) Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF Dashnak) |  Ottoman Empire
Armenia | Declaration of State Sovereignty of Armenia | August 23  | 1990  |  Soviet Union | Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Supreme Council of Armenia secretary Ara Sahakian |  Lithuania
Republic of Artsakh | Proclamation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic | September 2  | 1991  |  Soviet Union | Nagorno-Karabakh Regional and Shahumyan District Councils of People's Deputies of the Azerbaijan SSR  |
File:MNLA flag.svg Azawad | Azawadi declaration of independence | April 6 | 2012 |  Mali | National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad |
File:Flag of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan.svg Azerbaijan | Declaration of Independence of Azerbaijan | May 28 | 1918 |  Russia | Azerbaijani National Council (Hasan bey Aghayev, Fatali Khan Khoyski, Nasib Yusifbeyli, Jamo bey Hajinski, Şefi bey Rustambeyli, Nariman bey Narimanbeyov, Javad Malik-Yeganov, Mustafa Mahmudov) |  Ottoman Empire
Azerbaijan | Act on Restoration of State Independence of Azerbaijan | October 18  | 1991  |  Soviet Union | Supreme Council of Azerbaijan |  Turkey
File:Flag of Bangladesh (1971).svg Bangladesh | Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence | March 26 | 1971 |  Pakistan | Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh |  Bhutan
Belarus | Third Constituent Charter | March 25 | 1918 |  Russia | Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic |
Belarus | Announcement of the Declaration of Independence of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia | July 31 | 1920 | File:Flag of Poland (1919-1928).svg Poland | Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Byelorussia, trade unions |  Russia
Belarus | Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic | July 27 | 1990 |  Soviet Union | Supreme Soviet of the BSSR |  Turkey
Belgium | Belgian Declaration of Independence | October 4 | 1830 |  Netherlands | Provisional Government of Belgium |
File:Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1946–1992).svg Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian Declaration of Independence | March 1 | 1992 |  Yugoslavia |  |  Bulgaria
File:Flag of Bougainville.svg Bougainville | Bougainville Declaration of Independence | May | 1990 |  Papua New Guinea | Bougainville Interim Government |
Brazil | Declaration of the Independence of Brazil | September 7 | 1822 | File:Flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves.svg Portugal | Pedro I of Brazil | File:Flag of the United States (1820-1822).svg United States
Bulgaria | Bulgarian Declaration of Independence | September 22 | 1908 |  Ottoman Empire | Ferdinand of Bulgaria and the Government of Bulgaria |  Russia (5 February 1909)
Burma | Burmese Declaration of Independence | January 4 | 1948 |  United Kingdom |  |
Catalonia | Declaration of the Catalan Republic as a state of the Iberian Federation | April 14 | 1931 |  Spain | Francesc Macià, Generalitat Government of Catalonia |
Catalonia | Declaration of the Catalan state within the Federal Republic of Spain | October 6 | 1934 |  Spain | Lluís Companys, Generalitat Government of Catalonia |
Catalonia | Declaration from the representatives of Catalonia as the Catalan Republic | October 27 | 2017 |  Spain |  |
File:Flag of the Federal Republic of Central America.svg Central America | Act of Independence of Central America | September 15 | 1821 |  Spain |  |
Chile | Chilean Declaration of Independence | February 12 | 1818 |  Spain | National Congress | File:Flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves.svg Portugal
Colombia | Colombian Declaration of Independence | July 20 | 1810 |  Spain |  |
File:Flag of the Comoros (1963–1975).svg Comoros | Comorian Declaration of Independence | July 6 | 1975 |  France | - |  Guinea
Crimea | Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Crimea | March 11 | 2014 |  Ukraine | Supreme Council of Crimea |  Russia
File:Flag of Croatia (1990).svg Croatia | Declaration of the Establishment of the Sovereign and Independent Republic of Croatia | June 25 | 1991 |  Yugoslavia |  |  Iceland
Czechoslovakia | Czechoslovak Declaration of Independence | October 18 | 1918 |  Austria-Hungary | Czechoslovak National Council |  United States
File:Flag of the Dominican Republic (up to 1844).svg Dominican Republic | Dominican Declaration of Independence | February 27 | 1844 | File:Flag of Haiti (1859–1964).svg Haiti |  |  United Kingdom
File:Flag of East Timor (3-2).svg East Timor | East Timorese declaration of independence | November 28 | 1975 |  Portugal |  |  Morocco
File:Flag of Egypt (1922–1958).svg Egypt | Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence | February 28 | 1922 |  United Kingdom | Unilateral grant of independence by the British government |  United Kingdom
Estonia | Estonian Declaration of Independence | February 24 | 1918 |  Russia | Salvation Committee |  Russia
Estonia | Estonian Reconfirmation of Independence | August 20 | 1991 |  Soviet Union | Congress of Estonia |  Iceland (reconfirmed earlier recognition)
Finland | Finnish Declaration of Independence | December 6 | 1917 |  Russia | Parliament of Finland |  Russia
File:Bandera del Primer Imperio Mexicano.svg First Mexican Empire
(present day Mexico) | Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire
(real independence)[clarification needed] | September 28 | 1821 |  Spain | Supreme Provisional Governmental Board |  United Kingdom (January 4, 1825)[2]
File:Flag of Florida (1861–1865).svg Florida | Florida's Constitution of 1861 | January 10 | 1861 | File:Flag of the United States (1859-1861).svg United States | Florida State Legislature |
File:Bandeira galega civil.svg Galicia | Declaration of the Republic of Galicia | June 27 | 1931 |  Spain |  |
File:Flag of Georgia (1918–1921, 4-5).svg Georgia, Democratic Republic of | Georgian Declaration of Independence, 1918 | May 26 | 1918 |  Russia | Georgian National Council |  Germany
Georgia, Republic of | Act of Restoration of State Independence of Georgia | April 9 | 1991[3] |  Soviet Union | Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia |  Switzerland
File:Flag of the State of Georgia (1861, red).svg Georgia, State of | Georgia's secession declaration | January 29 | 1861 |  United States |  |
Greece | Greek Declaration of Independence | January 1 OS | 1822 |  Ottoman Empire | First National Assembly |  Haiti (1822)
Guinea-Bissau | Guinea-Bissau Declaration of Independence | September 24 | 1973 |  Portugal |  |
Haiti | Haitian Declaration of Independence | January 1 | 1804 |  France | Jean-Jacques Dessalines | File:Flag of the Kingdom of France (1814-1830).svg France
(April 17, 1825)[4]
Hungary | Hungarian Declaration of Independence | April 14 | 1849 |  Habsburgs |  |
Iceland | Icelandic Declaration of Independence | June 17 | 1944 |  Denmark |  |  United States
India | Declaration of the Independence of India | January 26 | 1930 |  United Kingdom |  |
Indonesia | Proclamation of Indonesian Independence | August 17 | 1945 |  Netherlands | Sukarno & Mohammad Hatta | File:Flag of Egypt (1922–1958).svg Kingdom of Egypt[5]
File:Flag of Iraq (1924–1959).svg Iraq | Iraq Declaration of Independence | October 3 | 1932 |  United Kingdom |  |  United Kingdom
Ireland | Proclamation of the Irish Republic | April 24
(Easter Monday) | 1916 |  United Kingdom | Provisional Government of the Irish Republic |
Irish Republic | Irish Declaration of Independence | January 21 | 1919 |  United Kingdom | Dáil Éireann |  Russia
Israel | Israeli Declaration of Independence | May 14 | 1948 |  United Kingdom | Jewish People's Council |  United States
File:Flag of Katanga.svg Katanga | Katangan Declaration of Independence |  | 1960 | File:Flag of Congo-Léopoldville (1960-1963).svg Congo-Léopoldville |  |
File:Flag of Korea (1899).svg Korea | Korean Declaration of Independence | March 1 | 1919 |  Japan | Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea |  China (1933)
File:Flag of Kosova (1991–1999).svg Kosova | Proclamation of the Republic of Kosova | September 22 | 1992 |  FR Yugoslavia | Assembly of Kosovo |  Albania
Kosovo | Kosovo declaration of independence | February 17 | 2008 |  Serbia
UN Administration | "Democratically elected leaders of our people"[a] |  Costa Rica
Latvia | Latvian Declaration of Independence | November 18 | 1918 | File:Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).svg Germany
Russia | People's Council of Latvia |  Russia
Latvia | On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia | May 4 | 1990 |  Soviet Union | Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR |  Iceland
Liberia | Liberian Declaration of Independence | July 16 | 1847 | File:Flag of the United States (1847–1848).svg American Colonization Society | Liberian Constitutional Convention | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (WFB 2000).svg United Kingdom
File:Flag of Lithuania 1918-1940.svg Lithuania | Act of Independence of Lithuania | February 16 | 1918 |  Germany
Russia | Council of Lithuania | File:Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).svg Germany
Lithuania | Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania | March 11 | 1990 |  Soviet Union | Supreme Council of Lithuania |  Iceland
File:Flag of the Patriote movement (Lower Canada).svg Lower Canada | Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada | February 22 | 1838 | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (WFB 2000).svg United Kingdom | Robert Nelson | none
File:Flag of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1963–1991).svg Macedonia | Independence of the Republic of Macedonia | September 8 | 1991 |  Yugoslavia |  |  Bulgaria
Malaya
(present day Malaysia) | Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 | August 31 | 1957 |  United Kingdom | Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister of Malaysia |  United Kingdom[6]
File:Flag of Mississippi (1861–1865).gif Mississippi | A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union | January 9 | 1861 | File:Flag of the United States (1859-1861).svg United States |  |
Moldova | Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova | August 27 | 1991 |  Soviet Union | Parliament of the Republic of Moldova |  Romania
Montenegro | Montenegro declaration of independence | June 3 | 2006 |  Serbia and Montenegro | Assembly of the Republic of Montenegro |  Iceland
Morocco | Moroccan Declaration of Independence | January 11 | 1944 |  France | Istiqlal Party |
Netherlands | Act of Abjuration | July 26 | 1581 |  Spain | Union of Utrecht |
Northern America
(present day) Mexico | Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America | November 6 | 1813 |  Spain | Congress of Anáhuac |
Northern Cyprus | Declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus | November 15 | 1983 | File:Flag of Cyprus (1960–2006).svg Cyprus |  |  Turkey
File:Flag of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.svg Northern Epirus | Northern Epirote Declaration of Independence | February 28 | 1914 | File:Flag of Albania (1914–1920).svg Albania | Provisional Government of Northern Epirus |
File:Flag of Bougainville.svg North Solomons | Declaration of Independence of the Republic of the North Solomons | September 1 | 1975 |  Territory of Papua and New Guinea (Australia) | Unknown |  Vatican City
File:Flag of Norway (1814–1821).svg Norway
(Kingdom of Norway) | Declaration of Independence of Norway (short after[clarification needed], sovereign under the Swedish monarchy), and the Constitution of Norway | May 17 | 1814 |  Denmark-Norway
(As of Treaty of Kiel) | Norwegian Constituent Assembly |
File:Flag of Padania.svg Padania | Padanian Declaration of Independence | September 15 | 1996 | File:Flag of Italy (1946–2003).svg Italy |  |
Pakistan | Pakistan Resolution | March 24 | 1940 |  United Kingdom | Muslim League (Pakistan) |
Palestine | Palestinian Declaration of Independence | November 15 | 1988 |  Palestinian territories

Jordan (claimed the West Bank until 1988)

| Palestinian National Council | File:Flag of the Arab League.svg Arab League
File:Flag of Peru (1821-1822).svg Peru | Act of the Declaration of Independence of Peru | July 28 | 1821 |  Spain | José de San Martín |  Argentina
File:Philippines Flag Original.svg Philippines | Philippine Declaration of Independence | June 12 | 1898 |  Spain

United States

| 98 representatives of Dictatorial Government of the Philippines[7] (ratified on September 29, 1898 by the Malolos Congress[8]) |
File:Flag of Argentina (alternative).svg Provinces of the Río de la Plata
(present-day
Argentina
Bolivia
Uruguay) | Argentine Declaration of Independence | July 9 | 1816 |  Spain | Congress of Tucumán |  Hawaii
Rhodesia | Rhodesian Unilateral Declaration of Independence | November 11 | 1965 |  United Kingdom | Ian Smith and the rest of the Cabinet | none
Romania | Romanian Declaration of Independence | May 22 | 1877 |  Ottoman Empire | King Carol I |
File:Flag of Russia (1991–1993).svg Russia | Belavezha Accords | December 12 | 1991 |  Soviet Union | Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR |
File:Flag of Scotland (1542–2003).svg Scotland | Declaration of Arbroath | April 6 | 1320 |  England | Scottish leaders |
File:Flag of Revolutionary Serbia.svg Serbia | The Proclamation (Proglašenije/Проглашеније) | February | 1809 |  Ottoman Empire | Karađorđe Petrović and Serbian MPs |
Singapore | Proclamation of Singapore[9] | August 9 | 1965 |  Malaysia[10][11] | Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore |  United Kingdom
(confirmed earlier recognition)[12]
Slovakia | Slovak National Council's Declaration of Independence of the Slovak Nation | July 17 | 1992 |  Czechoslovakia | Slovak National Council |
Slovenia | Slovenian Declaration of Independence | June 25 | 1991 |  Yugoslavia |  |  Croatia
Somaliland | Somaliland Declaration of Independence | May 18 | 1991 |  Somalia |  | none
File:South Carolina Sovereignty-Secession Flag.svg South Carolina | Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union | December 24 | 1860 | File:Flag of the United States (1859-1861).svg United States | South Carolinians in Charleston |
Sri Lanka | Declaration of Independence of Sri Lanka (Then known as "Ceylon") | February 4 | 1948 |  United Kingdom |  |
File:Flag of the Republic of Texas (1836-1839).svg Texas, Republic of | Texas Declaration of Independence | March 2 | 1836 | File:Flag of Mexico (1823-1864, 1867-1893).svg Mexico |  |  France
File:Flag of Texas (1839–1879).svg Texas, State of | A Declaration of the Causes which Impel the State of Texas to Secede from the Federal Union | February 1 | 1861 | File:Flag of the United States (1859-1861).svg United States | Texas Legislature |
File:Flag of Tibet.svg Tibet | Tibet's Declaration of Independence | February 13 | 1913 |  China | 13th Dalai Lama | none
Turkmenistan | Declaration of independence |  | 1991 |  Soviet Union | none |  Turkey
Ukraine | IV Universal | January 22 | 1918 |  Russia | Central Council of Ukraine |
Ukraine | Declaration of Independence of Ukraine | August 24 | 1991 |  Soviet Union | Verkhovna Rada |  Canada
Poland[13]
File:Flag of the United States (1776–1777).svg United States | United States Declaration of Independence | July 2[b] | 1776 | File:Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg Great Britain | Second Continental Congress | File:Flag of Morocco (1666–1915).svg Morocco[16][17]
File:Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand.svg United Tribes of New Zealand | Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand | October 28 | 1835 | -- | Māori chiefs |  United Kingdom[18]
Uzbekistan | Declaration of Independence | August 31 | 1991 |  Soviet Union | Supreme Council of Uzbekistan |  Turkey
Venezuela | Venezuelan Declaration of Independence | July 5 | 1811 |  Spain | National Congress |
File:Flag of the Vermont Republic.svg Vermont | Vermont Declaration of Independence | January 15 | 1777 | File:Flag of the United States (1776–1777).svg United States

British Quebec

Vietnam | Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam | September 2 | 1945 |  France | Hồ Chí Minh |  China
Western Sahara | Bir Lehlou declaration | February 27 | 1976 | File:Flag of Spain (1945 - 1977).svg Spanish Sahara | Polisario Front |  Madagascar

## See also[edit | edit source]

* Independence referendum
* List of national independence days
* List of sovereign states by date of formation
* Political history of the world
* Separatism
* Unilateral declaration of independence

## Explanatory notes[edit | edit source]

1. ^ No reference in original Albanian text to the declaration being the work of the Assembly of Kosovo. The language used in the declaration differs from that employed in acts of the Assembly of Kosovo in that the first paragraph commences with the phrase "We, the democratically-elected leaders of our people . . .", whereas acts of the Assembly of Kosovo employ the third person singular. Moreover, the procedure employed in relation to the declaration differed from that employed by the Assembly of Kosovo for the adoption of legislation. It was not transmitted to the Special Representative of the Secretary General and was not published in the Official Gazette of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo. As the practice shows, he would have been under a duty to take action with regard to acts of the Assembly of Kosovo which he considered to be ultra vires. Taking all factors together, the authors of the declaration of independence of 17 February 2008 did not act as one of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government within the Constitutional Framework, but rather as persons who acted together in their capacity as representatives of the people of Kosovo outside the framework of the interim administration.
2. ^ The Continental Congress voted in favor of the Declaration of Independence on July 2.[14] Versions were not printed until July 4 and later, while the signatories did not sign the Matlack declaration until August.[15]

Further information: Lee Resolution

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ "Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Respect of Kosovo" (PDF). Icj-cij.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-21. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
2. ^ "Inglaterra: primer país que reconoce la Independencia de México" (in Spanish). Memoria Politica de México. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
3. ^ "Act of Restoration of State Independence of Georgia". Archived from the original on 2020-05-20.
4. ^ Ashmore, Harry S., ed. (1961). "Encyclopædia Britannica: a new survey of universal knowledge, Volume 11". p. 85. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
5. ^ Mohy, Mahmoud (2017-10-30). "EXCLUSIVE: Indonesian President's Advisor: 'We have a long history with Egypt'". Egypt Today. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
6. ^ Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957
7. ^ Philippine History. Rex Bookstore, Inc. 2004. p. 162. ISBN 978-971-23-3934-9.
8. ^ Tucker, Spencer (2009). The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 364. ISBN 978-1-85109-951-1.
9. ^ Singapore was forced out of Malaysia by the Malaysian parliament, and the proclamations were then agreed by the two governments. See the Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965 Archived 2017-06-28 at the Wayback Machine (1985 Rev. Ed.) and the Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
10. ^ Agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia as an independent and sovereign state
11. ^ Agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia as an independent and sovereign state/proclamation of singapore
12. ^ Singapore Act 1966
13. ^ Ukraine and Russia: The Post-Soviet Transition by Roman Solchanyk, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000, ISBN 0742510182 (page 100)
Canadian Yearbook of International Law, Vol 30, 1992, University of British Columbia Press, 1993, ISBN 9780774804387 (page 371)
Szporluk, Roman (24 February 2020). Russia, Ukraine and the Breakup of the Soviet Union. Hoover Press. ISBN 978-0-8179-9543-0., p. 355
14. ^ A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation : U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates 1774-1875. Library of Congress. 2003. pp. 506–507. "Tuesday July 2, 1776 [...] Resolved, That these United colonies are, and, of right, ought to be, Free and Independent States; that they are absolved of all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connexion between them and the state of Great Britain, is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."
15. ^ Coelho, Chris (2013), Timothy Matlack, Scribe of the Declaration of Independence, McFarland, p. 61, ISBN 978-0-7864-7443-1
16. ^ US-Morocco Diplomatic Relationship Archived 2015-08-12 at the Wayback Machine. Official Web site of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United States of America.
17. ^ Dolan, Kerry A. (November 21, 2013). "Why Morocco Matters To The U.S." Forbes. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
18. ^ The Lord Glenelg (25 May 1836), "EXTRACT of a DESPATCH from Lord GLENELG to Major-General Sir RICHARD BOURKE, New South Wales", written at London, Documents > Declaration of Independence, Christchurch: Waitangi Associates, retrieved 22 May 2010

## External links[edit | edit source]

* Media related to Declarations of independence at Wikimedia Commons