Filed with Key Arguments (MOC) · Related: 60.1 Israel-Palestine · Sources, Books & Media (MOC)
Below is a non-exhaustive chronology of some of the best-known attempts to change frontiers by force since the U.N. Charter entered into force (24 Oct 1945). In every case the aggressor claimed a legal or historical right, but the international community, invoking Article 2(4) and the corollary rule against “the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war,” treated the move as illegal.
| Year(s) | Aggressor & act of force | Territory claimed / annexed | Principal U.N. reaction | Status today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940-91 | U.S.S.R. occupies & annexes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania | Three sovereign states incorporated as Soviet republics (June 1940) | Western powers issued the Welles Declaration; the U.N. and most states never recognised Soviet title, maintaining legal continuity of the Baltic republics (en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org) | Independence restored 1991; non-recognition doctrine regarded as a precedent for later cases |
| 1950-51 | People’s Republic of China invades & absorbs Tibet | PLA enters October 1950; “Seventeen-Point Agreement” signed 1951 | GA Res. 1353 (1959), 1723 (1961) deplored the violation of Tibetan self-determination (claudearpi.net, tibetadvocacy.org) | PRC sovereignty remains uncontested by most states, but U.N. resolutions are still cited by Tibetan advocates |
| 1961 | India seizes Goa, Daman & Diu from Portugal (Operation Vijay) | 36-hour air-sea-land campaign, 17-19 Dec 1961 | Portugal protested in SC; Soviet veto prevented condemnation. Later GA debates subsided; de facto acceptance followed (en.wikipedia.org) | Territory remains an Indian state; episode still cited as a Charter-breach case |
| 1967-81 | Israel captures West Bank, East Jerusalem, Golan Heights; later extends law | Basic Law “Jerusalem, Capital of Israel” (1980) & Golan Law (1981) | SC 478 (Jerusalem) and SC 497 (Golan) declared the annexations “null and void” (unscr.com, unscr.com) | No state embassies in Jerusalem until 2018; no state recognises Israeli sovereignty in Golan except U.S. (2019) |
| 1974-present | Turkey invades northern Cyprus | July–Aug 1974 intervention; 37 % of island occupied | SC 353 demanded withdrawal & respect for Cyprus’ territorial integrity (unscr.com) | Turkish troops remain; “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” recognised only by Turkey |
| 1975-99 | Indonesia invades & annexes East Timor | 7 Dec 1975 invasion; province declared “Timor Timur” | SC 384 & 389 called for withdrawal and self-determination (digitallibrary.un.org) | Indonesia withdrew 1999; Timor-Leste independent 2002 |
| 1975-present | Morocco occupies most of Western Sahara | “Green March” Nov 1975; annexation by royal decree | SC 380 urged Morocco to pull back and resume talks (digitallibrary.un.org) | Territory still disputed; UN-backed referendum stalled |
| 1990–91 | Iraq invades & annexes Kuwait | 2 Aug 1990 proclamation: “Iraq’s 19th province” | SC 660 condemned invasion; SC 678 authorised force; Kuwait liberated Feb 1991 (digitallibrary.un.org) | |
| 2014 | Russia seizes & annexes Crimea & Sevastopol | 18 Mar 2014 accession treaty | GA Res. 68/262 affirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity; SC draft vetoed by Russia (securitycouncilreport.org) | |
| 2022 | Russia annexes Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson | 30 Sep 2022 decrees after staged referendums | GA Res. ES-11/4 (12 Oct 2022) declared the annexations invalid (143–5 vote) (docs.un.org) |
What these cases show
- Article 2(4) has been breached many times, but every permanent change listed above met with some level of collective non-recognition, sanctions, or armed reversal.
- Security-Council enforcement varies: when the veto is absent (Iraq 1990) coercive measures follow; when it is present (Crimea, Syria-allied Russia) the General Assembly becomes the forum of censure.
- Non-recognition can endure: the Baltic, East Timor and (so far) Crimea precedents illustrate that the illegality of annexation does not lapse with time.
Bottom line: The Charter norm against acquisition of territory by force is one of the most frequently violated rules of international law—but it is also among the most consistently defended, through military reversal, sanctions, or decades-long diplomatic non-recognition.