The General Assembly,
Deeply concerned at the gravity of the international situation and the
increasing threat to universal peace due to armed intervention and other direct
or indirect forms of interference threatening the sovereign personality and the
political independence of States,
Considering that the United Nations, in accordance with their aim to eliminate
war, threats to the peace and acts of aggression, created an Organization, based
on the sovereign equality of States, whose friendly relations would be based on
respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples and
on the obligation of its Members to refrain from the threat or use of force
against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State,
Recognizing that, in fulfilment of the principle of self-determination, the
General Assembly, in the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial
Countries and Peoples contained in resolution 1514(XV) of 14 December 1960,
stated its conviction that all peoples have an inalienable right to complete
freedom, the exercise of their sovereignty and the integrity of their national
territory, and that, by virtue of that right, they freely determine their
political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development,
Recalling that in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the General Assembly
proclaimed that recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and
inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world, without distinction of any kind,
Reaffirming the principle of non-intervention, proclaimed in the charters of the
Organization of American States, the League of Arab States and the Organization
of African Unity and affirmed at the conferences held at Montevideo, Buenos
Aires, Chapultepec and Bogot , as well as in the decisions of the Asian-African
Conference at Bandung, the First Conference of Heads of State or Government of
Non-Aligned Countries at Belgrade, in the Programme for Peace and International
Cooperation adopted at the end of the Second Conference of Heads of State or
Government of Non-Aligned Countries at Cairo, and in the declaration on
subversion adopted at Accra by the Heads of State and Government of the African
States,
Recognizing that full observance of the principle of the non-intervention of
States in the internal and external affairs of other States is essential to the
fulfilment of the purposes and principles of the United Nations,
Considering that armed intervention is synonymous with aggression and, as such,
is contrary to the basic principles on which peaceful international cooperation
between States should be built,
Considering further that direct intervention, subversion and all
forms of indirect intervention are contrary to these principles and,
consequently, constitute a violation of the Charter of the United Nations,
Mindful that violation of the principle of non-intervention poses a threat to
the independence, freedom and normal political, economic, social and cultural
development of countries, particularly those which have freed themselves from
colonialism, and can pose a serious threat to the maintenance of peace,
Fully aware of the imperative need to create appropriate conditions which would
enable all States, and in particular the developing countries, to choose without
duress or coercion their own political, economic and social institutions,
In the light of the foregoing considerations, solemnly declares:
1. No State has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason
whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State. Consequently,
armed intervention and all other forms of interference or attempted threats
against the personality of the State or against its political, economic and
cultural elements, are condemned.
2. No State may use or encourage the use of economic, political or any other
type of measures to coerce another State in order to obtain from it the
subordination of the exercise of its sovereign rights or to secure from it
advantages of any kind. Also, no State shall organize, assist, foment, Finance,
incite or tolerate subversive, terrorist or armed activities directed towards
the violent overthrow of the regime of another State, or interfere in civil
strife in another State.
3. The use of force to deprive peoples of their national identity constitutes a
violation of their inalienable rights and of the principle of non-intervention.
4. The strict observance of these obligations is an essential condition to
ensure that nations live together in peace with one another, since the practice
of any form of intervention not only violates the spirit and letter of the
Charter of the United Nations but also leads to the creation of situations which
threaten international peace and security.
5. Every State has an inalienable right to choose its political, economic,
social and cultural systems, without interference in any form by another State.
6. All States shall respect the right of self-determination and independence of
peoples and nations, to be freely exercised without any foreign pressure, and
with absolute respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Consequently,
all States shall contribute to the complete elimination of racial discrimination
and colonialism in all its forms and manifestations.
7. For the purpose of the present Declaration, the term "State" covers both
individual States and groups of States.
8. Nothing in this Declaration shall be construed as affecting in any manner the
relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations relating to the
maintenance of international peace and security, in particular those contained
in Chapters VI, VII and VIII.
