National Liberation Movement:

The Concept of People:

As per the traditional definition of int law, people are not considered as
subjects of international law.
Concept of people entered int law in 1945 with UN charter
The development of ideology of the nation State, which says that people
belonging to a particular nation have the right to a State of their own, gave
way to the concept of people in international law

Decolonization and the Concept of people:

People under colonial powers struggled for decolonization and there right
was acknowledged by the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly)
resolution no 1514 which was a Declaration on Granting of Independence to
Colonial Countries and Peoples
This further strengthened the position of people as international personality
National Liberation Movements (NLMs)
NLMs are representative of people not yet constituted as States. The right of
self-determination under the UN charter gave birth to emergence of NLM in
international law. NLM represents people who are struggling for their right of
self-determination as provided under UN charter.
Conditions for Recognition of NLMs:
NLM represents oppressed people internationally
Existence of liberated areas
Recognition by regional organizations
Legal Rights Relating to the Status of NLM:
Rights of NLM flow from recognition of its legitimacy. These rights are as
follow:
Right to participate in UN proceedings as observers
Eligibility for aid by the UN

 NLM members enjoy the status of freedom fighters and hence treated
as POWS(Prisoners of War) if they fall into the hands of enemy

Decolonization and the concept of people:

When the United Nations was founded in 1945, some 750 million people, nearly a
third of the world's population, lived in Territories that were dependent on colonial
Powers. Today, fewer than 2 million people live under colonial rule in the 16
remaining non-self-governing territories. The wave of decolonization, which
changed the face of the planet, was born with the UN and represents the world
bodys first great success.
Declaration on the Granting of Independence by UNGA:
The subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a denial of
fundamental human rights, is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and is an impediment to the
promotion of
world peace and co-operation.

ii

Peace ful Coexistence and the rights of People:

NLMs:
Representatives of people
Conditions for Recognition of NLMs:
Existence of effective authority in liberated areas
The United Nations General Assembly, by resolution 3247 (XXIX) of 29 November 1974, decided to invite
also the national liberation movements recognized by the Organization of African Unity (OAU, later
transformed into the AU) and/or by the League of Arab States (AL) in their respective regions to
participate in the United Nations Conference on the Representation of States in Their Relations with
International Organizations as observers.
Status of NLM:
Right to participate in Un proceedings
PLO
Eligibility for aid
NLM combatants enjoy the status of freedom fighters

German Philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel