Self-determination: Principle of Action or Impracticable Charter

Table of Contents

Why the Initiative of Self-determination?

The Latin phrase ‘ius cogens’ (meaning ‘compelling law’) is a fundamental principle of international law that is accepted as a norm by all member states of the United Nations (UN) and cannot be suppressed by any power.

The principle of self-determination is a charter of the UN that states that a people, community, or nation has the right to choose its political identity, form of government, the exercise of sovereignty, and independent external relations with no interference.

The UN is charged with the burden of interpreting the charter’s principle. As such the principle of self-determination is one of those compelling laws.

Why the Initiative of Self-determination?

It was a response to curb the authoritarianism of the era and enthrone equality, liberty, and freedom. The idea began with the American and French revolutions in the 18th century. Shortly after WWI, Woodrow Wilson conceived the idea of self-determination as a roadmap for redrawing European and world maps and putting in place a new understanding and a just world. Then after WWII, it became a charter of the UN and a legal right under international law. Ever since its adoption by the UN, it saw the decolonization of countries formerly held under dominion by European nations and latterly, the independence of the colonies.

Today, the principle is applied and interpreted by groups fighting or struggling within a state for autonomy or independence for reasons of consequences. In this age, there are hundreds of nations, groups, and people seeking autonomy or independence. One can ask: What is the role of the UN in those matters? Is self-determination a principle of action or just an impractical charter?

UN should do more. It should be proactive in dealing with nations or people crying for freedom or seeking autonomy. They should be listened to and understood. I think it will make for a better and more peaceful world. It may even help curtail the rate of migrations all over the world and reduce the power and control of despots.

Comments

Nigeria’s Ordeal: Either Shamelessness Has Been Democratised or Patronised by the Political Elite

The Death of Moral Restraint In classical ethics, shame ( aidos ) is considered the essential buffer between temptation and transgression. It is the quiet voice that preserves integrity when no one is watching, and the social weight that enforces accountability when everyone is. To say that Nigeria is suffering an ordeal is to state the obvious; to diagnose that ordeal as a crisis of shamelessness goes straight to the heart of the nation’s condition. Nigeria’s tragedy is not merely economic failure, weak infrastructure, or institutional decay. Those are symptoms. The underlying disease is the complete loss of public and private shame: a moral decay that began as a patronised tool of the political class and has since been democratised across everyday civil society. The Antecedents: How Shamelessness Took Root The historical road to this point was paved in stages: The Rupture of Traditional Ethics Prior to modern statehood, indigenous African societies relied heavily on comm...

Echo-Collate: The Inevitable Vanguard of Electoral Integrity in Nigeria

In a modern democracy, the ballot box is the bedrock of legitimacy. Yet, for millions of Nigerians, the primary challenge of governance has long been ensuring that the votes cast at polling units faithfully reflect the results declared at collation centres. The introduction of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV) marked a watershed moment in Nigeria's electoral evolution, promising real-time transparency by making polling unit result sheets (Form EC8A) publicly accessible. However, as experience has demonstrated, a single institutional system, no matter how well-designed remains susceptible to technical bottlenecks, network downtime, server overloads, human delay, and trust deficits. Enter Echo-Collate ( collate.echobeacon.net ), built upon the robust infrastructure of EchoBeacon.net. Designed as an independent, real-time shadow and backup tooling framework for INEC’s IReV, Echo-Collate represents a technological response to Niger...

The Connection between a Personal Name and Name Groups in Shawnee Social Organisation

Table of Contents Shawnee People The Divisions The Name Groups and Personal Names I’m always attracted to and interested in the culturally distinct and characteristic elements of different traditions or societies. Reading about the Shawnee people of Native American tribes is no different. I immediately fell in love with the linkage between Shawnee name groups and personal names. The name groups seem to present the Shawnee as a one-descent group with five major divisions. To examine this connection between a personal name and name group, a brief description of Shawnee will help in understanding the Shawnee social organisation. Shawnee People The term ‘Shawnee’ written in different forms ( Shaawanwaki, Shaawanowi lenaweeki, and Shawano ) is Algonquian like the archaic term ‘ shaawanwa ’ meaning ‘south.’ Thus, the term ‘Shawnee’ is (pronounced shaw-nee ) meaning the ‘southern people.’ The Shawnees are categorised as Algonquian-speaking North American Indian people whose pristine ho...

Anchored in the Storm: Living Authentic African Identity in the Age of Hyper-Modernity

The Crisis of Belonging Modernity has unleashed a globalizing force that flattens cultural distinctions, replacing localized ancestral wisdom with uniform, hyper-consumerist ideals. For the contemporary African, this manifests as a profound existential tension: how to honour an inheritance built on community, moral dignity, and natural balance while living in a digital landscape driven by individualism, performative aesthetics, and immediate gratification. Living an authentic African identity today is not about escaping into a romanticized past. It is an intentional, daily practice of reclaiming internal autonomy in a world designed to erode it. Forces Assaulting Traditional Life To resist modern cultural pressures, one must first recognize how they systematically undermine traditional ways of living: Individualism vs. Ubuntu (I am because we are) Hyper-modern culture elevates the solitary ego. Success is measured by personal accumulation and self-promotion, directly contra...

Book Review: The Grumbling Warehouse by Joseph Nnabugwu

Title: The Grumbling Warehouse Author: Joseph Nnabugwu Genre: Allegorical Fiction / Political Satire Publication Date: January 3, 2018 Summary At first glance, The Grumbling Warehouse presents itself as a modest beast fable set in the industrial heartlands of Middle England. Yet, beneath its deceptive simplicity lies a sharp political allegory examining institutional stratification, labour exploitation, and the systemic illusion of meritocracy. By utilizing an anthropomorphic workforce of mice within a fish warehouse, Joseph Nnabugwu constructs a claustrophobic microcosm of modern organizational dynamics and social hierarchy. Plot & Setting: The Mechanics of the Warehouse The narrative centres on a fish processing facility governed by strict, inflexible regulations. The workforce consists entirely of mice who are divided into four distinct "formations" based on qualifications. Crucially, Nnabugwu inserts a subtle satirical paradox into the structure of th...

iPostThisWeek

Search This Blog