Annexation

Ceremonies during the annexation of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Annexation (Latin ad, to, and nexus, joining) is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity (either adjacent or non-contiguous). Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size. It can also imply a certain measure of coercion, expansionism or unilateralism on the part of the stronger of the merging entities. Because of this, more positive terms like political union or reunification are sometimes preferred. Annexation differs from cession and amalgamation, because unlike cession where territory is given or sold through treaty, or amalgamation (where the authorities of both sides are asked if they agree with the merge), annexation is a unilateral act where territory is seized and held by one state and legitimized via general recognition by the other international bodies (i.e. countries and intergovernmental organisations).

The international settlement following World War I included an unambiguous anti-annexationist norm. However, during World War II the use of annexation deprived whole populations of the safeguards provided by international laws governing military occupations. The authors of the Geneva Convention IV made a point of "giving these rules an absolute character". Making it much more difficult for a state to bypass international law through the use of annexation.

Annexation and international law after 1948

The Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV) of 1949 amplified the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 in respect to the question of the protection of civilians. GCIV also emphasised the United Nations Charter: the United Nations Charter (June 26, 1945) had prohibited war of aggression (See articles 1.1, 2.3, 2.4) and GCIV Article 47, the first paragraph in Section III: Occupied territories, restricted the effects of annexation on the rights of persons within those territories:

Protected persons who are in occupied territory shall not be deprived, in any case or in any manner whatsoever, of the benefits of the present Convention by any change introduced, as the result of the occupation of a territory, into the institutions or government of the said territory, nor by any agreement concluded between the authorities of the occupied territories and the Occupying Power, nor by any annexation by the latter of the whole or part of the occupied territory.

Article 49 prohibits mass movement of people out of or into occupied territory:

Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive. ... The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.

Protocol I (1977): "Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts" has additional articles which cover military occupation, but many countries including the United States are not signatory to this additional protocol.

Examples of annexation since 1948

Portuguese India

Main article: 1961 Indian annexation of Goa

In 1954, the residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, a Portuguese enclave within India, ended Portuguese rule with the help of nationalist volunteers. From 1954 to 1961, the territory enjoyed de facto independence. In 1961, the territory was merged with India after its government signed an agreement with the Indian government.

In 1961, India and Portugal engaged in a brief military conflict over Goa and Daman and Diu, Portuguese enclaves within India. India invaded and conquered the areas after 36 hours of fighting, ending 451 years of Portuguese colonial rule in India. The action was seen in India as a liberation of historically Indian territory. In Portugal however, the loss of Goa and the Daman and Diu was seen as a national tragedy. Goa and Daman and Diu were incorporated into India.

Sikkim

In 1947, a popular vote rejected Sikkim's joining the Indian Union and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru agreed to a special protectorate status for Sikkim. Sikkim came under the suzerainty of India, which controlled its external affairs, defence, diplomacy and communications, but Sikkim otherwise retained autonomy. A state council was established in 1955 to allow for constitutional government under the Chogyal. Meanwhile trouble was brewing in the state after the Sikkim National Congress demanded fresh elections and greater representation for the Nepalese. In 1973, riots in front of the palace led to a formal request for protection from India. The Chogyal was proving to be extremely unpopular with the people. In 1975, the Kazi (Prime Minister) appealed to the Indian Parliament for a change in Sikkim's status so that it could become a state of India. In April, the Indian Army moved into Sikkim, seizing the city of Gangtok and disarming the Palace Guards. A referendum was held in which 97.5% of the voting people (59% of the people entitled to vote) voted to join the Indian Union. A few weeks later, on May 16, 1975, Sikkim officially became the 22nd state of the Indian Union and the monarchy was abolished.

Ogaden

In 1954, former British Ogaden (a Somali Region) was annexed by Abyssinia. Somali nationalists have waged wars of liberation since 1954. Currently, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) leads this nationalist effort and is engaged in a fierce military confrontation with Ethiopia, the new name of Abyssinia.

Rockall

On 18 September 1955 at precisely 10:16 am, in what would be the final territorial expansion of the British Empire, Rockall was officially annexed by the British Crown when Lieutenant-Commander Desmond Scott RN, Sergeant Brian Peel RM, Corporal AA Fraser RM, and James Fisher (a civilian naturalist and former Royal Marine), were deposited on the island by a Royal Navy helicopter from HMS Vidal (coincidentally named after the man who first charted the island). The team cemented in a brass plaque on Hall's Ledge and hoisted the Union Flag to stake the UK's claim. However its status is disputed by Denmark (for the Faroe Islands), Ireland and Iceland.

East Timor

Following an Indonesian invasion in 1975, East Timor was annexed by Indonesia and was known as Timor Timur. It was regarded by Indonesia as the country's 27th province, but this was never recognised by the United Nations. The people of East Timor resisted Indonesian forces in a prolonged guerilla campaign. (See: Indonesian rule in East Timor).

Following a referendum held in 1999, under a UN sponsored agreement between Indonesia and, in which its people rejected the offer of autonomy within Indonesia, East Timor achieved independence in 2002 and is now officially known as Timor-Leste.

Western Sahara

In 1975, and following the Madrid Accords (illegal according to international laws) between Morocco, Mauritania and Spain, the latter withdrew from the territory and ceded the administration to Morocco and Mauritania. This was challenged by a national liberation movement, the Polisario Front, that waged a guerilla war against both Morocco and Mauritania. In 1979, and after a military putsch, Mauritania withdrew from the territory which left it occupied by Morocco. A United Nations peace process was initiated in 1991, but it has been stalled, and as of mid-2010, the UN is holding direct negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front to reach a solution to the conflict.

West Bank

Judea and Samaria were occupied by Jordan in 1948. The area was renamed the West Bank and it was annexed to Jordan in 1950 at the request of a Palestinian delegation . At the insistence of the Arab League Jordan was considered a trustee only . Although only the United Kingdom and Pakistan recognized annexation by Jordan, the British did not consider it Sovereign to Jordan . It was not condemned by the UNSC and it remained under Jordanian rule until 1967 when it was occupied, though not annexed, by Israel. Jordan did not officially relinquish its control over the West Bank until 1988 .

East Jerusalem

During the 1967 Six Day War, Israel captured the East Jerusalem, then a part of the West Bank, from Jordan. On June 27, 1967, Israel extended its law and jurisdiction to East Jerusalem and some of the surrounding area, incorporating about 70 square kilometers of territory into the Jerusalem Municipality. Although at the time Israel informed the United Nations that its measures constituted administrative and municipal integration rather than annexation, later rulings by the Israeli Supreme Court indicated that East Jerusalem had become part of Israel. In 1980, Israel passed the Jerusalem Law as part of its Basic Law, which declared Jerusalem the "complete and united" capital of Israel. In other words, Israel annexed East Jerusalem.. The annexation was declared null and void by UNSC Resolutions 252, 267, 271, 298, 465, 476 and UNSC res 478

Jewish neighborhoods have since been built in East Jerusalem, and Israeli Jews have since also settled in Arab neighborhoods there, though some Jews may have returned from their 1948 expulsion after the Siege of Jerusalem (1948).

No countries recognized Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem, except Costa Rica, and those who maintained embassies in Israel did not move them to Jerusalem. Not to be mistaken with International Law or Conventions, the United States Congress has passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which recognizes Jerusalem as the united capital of Israel and instructs the government to relocate the U.S. embassy there, but the bill has been waived by Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama on national security grounds.

Golan Heights

Israel captured two-thirds of the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War, and subsequently built Jewish settlements in the area. In 1981, Israel passed the Golan Heights Law, which extended Israeli "law, jurisdiction, and administration" to the area, including the Shebaa farms area. This declaration was declared "null and void and without international legal effect" by United Nations Security Council Resolution 497. The only state that recognized the annexation is the Federated States of Micronesia.

Kuwait

After being allied with Iraq during the Iran – Iraq War (largely due to desiring Iraqi protection from Iran), Kuwait was invaded and annexed by Iraq (under Saddam Hussein) in August 1990. Hussein's primary justifications included a charge that Kuwaiti territory was in fact an Iraqi province, and that annexation was retaliation for "economic warfare" Kuwait had waged through slant drilling into Iraq's oil supplies. The monarchy was deposed after annexation, and an Iraqi governor installed.

United States President George H. W. Bush ultimately condemned Iraq's actions, and moved to drive out Iraqi forces. Authorized by the UN Security Council, an American-led coalition of 34 nations fought the Gulf War to reinstate the Kuwaiti Emir. Iraq's invasion (and annexation) was deemed illegal and Kuwait remains an independent nation today.

Subnational annexation

See also: Municipal annexation in the United States

Within countries that are subdivided noncontiguously, annexation can also take place whereby a lower-tier subdivision can annex territory under the jurisdiction of a higher-tier subdivision. An example of this is in the United States, where incorporated cities and towns often expand their boundaries by annexing unincorporated land adjacent to them. Municipalities can also annex or be annexed by other municipalities, though this is less common in the United States. Laws governing the ability and the extent cities can expand in this fashion are defined by the individual states' constitutions.

Annexation of neighbouring communities occures in Canada, where the Unicity concept of city planning is popular. The city of Calgary, for example, has in the past annexed the communities of Bridgeland, Riverside, Sunnyside, Hillhurst, Hunter, Hubalta, Ogden, Forest Lawn, Midnapore, Shepard, Montgomery, and Bowness.

Further reading

• Adam Roberts. Transformative military occupation: applying the laws of war and human rights, 100 The American Journal of International Law. vol 100 pp. 580–622 (2006)