Annexation,(Latin ad, to, and nexus, joining) in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to be an illegal act.: "Annexation means the forcible acquisition of territory by one State at the expense of another State. It is one of the principal modes of acquiring territory... in contrast to acquisition a) of terra nullius by means of effective occupation accompanied by the intent to appropriate the territory; b) by cession as a result of a treaty concluded between the States concerned (Treaties), or an act of adjudication, both followed by the effective peaceful transfer of territory; c) by means of prescription defined as the legitimization of a doubtful title to territory by passage of time and presumed acquiescence of the former sovereign; d) by accretion constituting the physical process by which new land is formed close to, or becomes attached to, existing land. Under present international law, annexation no longer constitutes a legally admissible mode of acquisition of territory as it violates the prohibition of the threat or use of force. Therefore annexations must not be recognized as legal." It is distinct from the concepts of conquest,Kohen, p.288, refers to clause 101 of the PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE, 1933, April 5th, General List: No. 43. TWENTY-SIXTH SESSION, LEGAL STATUS OF EASTERN GREENLAND: "Conquest only operates as a cause of loss of sovereignty when there is war between two States and by reason of the defeat of one of them sovereignty over territory passes from the loser to the victorious State." which describes the gaining of physical control, and cession, in which territory is given or sold through treaty.
Annexation can be legitimized if generally recognized by other states and international bodies.: "Annexation is distinct from cession. Instead of a State seeking to relinquish territory, annexation occurs when the acquiring State asserts that it now holds the territory. Annexation will usual follow a military occupation of a territory, when the occupying power decides to cement its physical control by asserting legal title. The annexation of territory is essentially the administrative action associated with conquest. Mere conquest alone is not enough, but rather the conquering State must assert it is now sovereign over the territory concerned. For example, the defeat of Germany and Japan in 1945 led to their occupation by the United States and allies for a number of years, but the States themselves were not absorbed by the Allied Powers part of their respective territories. Examples of annexation in contemporary practice are not common, and are generally viewed as illegal."
The illegality of annexation means that states carrying out such acts usually avoid using the word annexation in describing their actions; in each of the unresolved annexations by Israel, Morocco and Russia, the states have avoided characterizing their actions as such.
Evolution of international law
Illegality International law regarding the use of force by states evolved significantly in the 20th century. Key agreements include the 1907 Porter Convention, the 1920 Covenant of the League of Nations and the 1928 Kellogg–Briand Pact, culminating in Article 2(4) of Chapter I of the United Nations Charter, which is in force today: "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations".
These principles were reconfirmed by the 1970 Friendly Relations Declaration. Since the use of force against territorial integrity or political independence is illegal, the question as to whether title or sovereignty can be transferred in such a situation has been the subject of legal debate. '[A]nnexation by the use of force of the territory of another State or part thereof' is an act of aggression according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Occupation and annexation Illegally annexed territory is considered as still occupied under international law and the provisions of international humanitarian law continue to apply. For precision, such territory may be referred to as "occupied and illegally annexed". In a report to the United Nations General Assembly, Michael Lynk contrasted de jure annexation as a formal declaration by a state that it is claiming permanent sovereignty over territory and de facto annexation without the formal declaration as a descriptive term for a state establishing facts on the ground as the prelude to a future claim of sovereignty.
The Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV) of 1949 amplified the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 with respect to the question of the protection of civilians, and the rules regarding inviolability of rights have "an absolute character",Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949.Commentary on Part III : Status and treatment of protected persons #Section III : Occupied territories Art. 47 by the ICRC making it much more difficult for a state to bypass international law through the use of annexation.
Annexations since the founding of the United Nations Unresolved Israeli annexations
East Jerusalem
During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured East Jerusalem, a part of the West Bank, from Jordan. While Jordan had annexed the West Bank in 1950, it was considered an illegal occupation and Jordan was recognized as the legal sovereign by the United Kingdom and possibly Pakistan. On 31 July 1988, Jordan relinquished this claim. It has remained occupied until the present day. On 27 June 1967, Israel unilaterally 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 purported to annex East Jerusalem.Sela, Avraham. "Jerusalem." The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed. Avraham Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002. pp. 391–498.Frank, Mitch. Understanding the Holy Land: Answering Questions about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. New York: Viking, 2005. p. 74."A/35/508-S/14207 of 8 October 1980." UNISPAL – United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine. 8 October 1980. 8 June 2008 The annexation was declared null and void by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions 252, 267, 271, 298, 465, 476 and 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 Battle for Jerusalem. Only Costa Rica recognized Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem, and those countries who maintained embassies in Israel did not move them to Jerusalem. The United States Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which recognizes Jerusalem as the united capital of Israel and requires the relocation of the U.S. embassy there in 1995.Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, , November 8, 1995, 109 Stat. 398. The act included a provision permitting the president to delay its implementation due to national security concerns. This waiver was used by presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump, but was allowed to expire in 2019.
West Bank excluding East Jerusalem
Law professor Omar M. Dajani and others discuss de facto annexation (also referred to as "creeping annexation"). The debate considers whether, in all the circumstances, there is a pattern of behavior sufficient to conclude that Israel is in violation of the international prohibition against annexation, even absent a formal declaration.
Golan Heights
Israel occupied 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 Federated States of Micronesia recognized the annexation and in 2019, the United States joined in recognition.
The vast majority of Syrian Druze in Majdal Shams, the largest Syrian village in the Golan, have held onto their Syrian passports. When Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, 95% of the Majdal Shams residents refused Israeli citizenship, and are still firmly of that opinion, in spite of the Syrian Civil War.
On 29 November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly reaffirmed it was "[d]eeply concerned that Israel has not withdrawn from the Syrian Golan, which has been under occupation since 1967, contrary to the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions," and "[s]tress[ed] the illegality of the Israeli settlement construction and other activities in the occupied Syrian Golan since 1967." The General Assembly then voted by majority, 110 in favour to 6 against (Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, United States), with 59 abstentions, to demand a full Israeli withdrawal from the Syrian Golan Heights.
On 25 March 2019, the United States recognized the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory. In response, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated "the status of Golan has not changed", and the decision received worldwide condemnation with European members of the United Nations Security Council noting "we raise our strong concerns about the broader consequences of recognizing illegal annexation and also about broader regional consequences" and that "annexation of territory by force is prohibited under international law", adding that unilateral changes to borders violate "the rules-based international order and the UN Charter".
Moroccan annexation of Western Sahara
The annexation of Western Sahara occurred in two stages: 1976 and 1979.
In 1975, and following the Madrid Accords between Mauritania, Morocco, and Spain, the last Spanish troops withdrew from the territory and ceded the administration to Mauritania and Morocco. On 14 April 1976, the two countries annexed it between themselves via the Western Sahara partition agreement. This was challenged by an independentist movement, the Polisario Front that waged a guerrilla war against both Mauritania and Morocco. On 14 August 1979, after a military putsch, Mauritania renounced all territorial claims to Western Sahara and withdrew its troops. This prompted Morocco to extend its annexation to formerly Mauritanian-controlled areas.
A United Nations peace process was initiated in 1991, but it has been stalled, and as of mid-2012, the UN is holding direct negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario front to reach a solution to the conflict. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a partially recognized state that has claimed the entire region since 1976.
Russian annexations
In March 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula, which had been a part of Ukraine since 1991 and administers the territory as two federal subjects – the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. The UN General Assembly considers the Russian possession of Crimea and Sevastopol to be an "attempted annexation" and the Russian Federation an "occupying power".