Belligerent occupation

Belligerent or military occupation occurs when one nation's military garrisons all or part of a foreign nation during an invasion or after a war. The Hague Convention of 1907 and the customary laws of belligerent occupation govern belligerent occupation in international law. The Fourth Geneva Convention adapted in 1949 governs treatment of civilian noncombatants during an occupation.

Table of contents

1 Historical occupations 2 List of significant contemporary occupations 3 List of disputed occupations 3.1 Disputed by local population 3.2 Disputed by guest forces 3.3 Disputed by some on both sides 4 List of significant presence whose status as occupation is disputed by present forces 5 Further reading 6 External links 7 Reference

Historical occupations

• Nazi occupation of the countries of Europe which spawned resistance movements, especially in France, see French Resistance.
• From 1948 to 1967, Jordan occupied what they called the West Bank (Judea and Samaria and the East Jerusalem), while Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip.
• Allied (USSR, USA, UK, & France) occupation of Germany after the Second World War
• East Timor - by Indonesia (now independent)
• Taiwan and the Pescadores - by the Republic of China military forces, as delegated by the Allied Command (formally ceded by Treaty of San Francisco and Treaty of Taipei by Japan)

List of significant contemporary occupations

This list should not support nor condemn any of the situations listed.

• Iraq - by the United States and its allies (see U.S.-led occupation of Iraq)
• Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - by the United States
• Haiti - by the United States
• Western Sahara - by Morocco

List of disputed occupations

Some presences are often referred to as occupations, but their status as an occupation are often disputed when not every party in the situation agrees that it is even an occupation at all.

Disputed by local population

• Ceuta, Melilla and Plazas de Soberania - administered by Spain, claimed by Morocco
• Corsica - administered by France
• Falkland Islands - administered by the United Kingdom, claimed by Argentina
• Lower tip of Gibraltar - administered by the United Kingdom, claimed by Spain
• Israel - unrecognized by most of the Arab world, though recognized by Egypt and Jordan
• Lebanon - by Syria since 1979 (disputed by some pro-Syria populations)
• Northern Cyprus - garrisoned by Turkey, claimed by Greece

Disputed by guest forces

In this case, "guest" may or may not mean "invited".

• Basque Country - by Spain and France
• Catalonia - by Spain and France
• Chechnya - claimed by Russia
• East Turkistan - annexed by China (claimed as historically China)
• Golan Heights and East Jerusalem - annexed by Israel
• Inner Mongolia - annexed by China (claimed as historically China)
• Kaliningrad Oblast - annexed by Russia (though its previous population as long since been expelled and replaced by Russians), claimed by Poland through post-war treaty
• Lower Kuril Islands: Kunashir/Kunashiri, Iturup/Etorofu, Shikotan, Habomai - annexed by Russia (who considers the matter non-negotiable)
• Ryūkyū Islands; - garrisoned by the United States, claimed and administered by Japan
• Tibet - annexed by China since 1951 (claimed as historically China)

Disputed by some on both sides

• North Korea and South Korea - see Korean Conflict
• Northern Ireland - administered by the United Kingdom, claimed by Ireland (though now claimed on condition of internal democratic consent)
• The West Bank and Gaza Strip - by Israel since 1967 (see Israeli-Palestinian conflict)

Further reading

• David Kretzmer, Occupation of Justice: The Supreme Court of Israel and the Occupied Territories, State University of New York Press, April, 2002, trade paperback, 262 pages, ISBN 0791453383; hardcover, July, 2002, ISBN 0791453375

External links

• Belligerent Occupation
• The International Laws of Belligerent Occupation by Professor Francis Boyle (Point of view hostile to Israel)
• The Law of Belligerent Occupation Michal N. Schmitt (regarding occupation of Iraq)
• Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States and Military Occupation under the Law of War by Richard W. Hartzell

Reference

Adapted from the Wikinfo article, "Belligerent occupation" http://www.wikinfo.org/wiki.php?title=Belligerent_occupation