Dependent territory
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A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State.
There are varying degrees and forms of dependence, commonly distinguished from other subnational entities in that they are not considered to be part of the motherland or mainland of the governing State. In most cases they also represent a different order of separation. A subnational entity typically represents a division of the State proper, while a dependent territory might be an overseas territory that enjoys a greater degree of autonomy. For instance, many of them have more or less separate legal systems from the governing States. Varies among different legal and constitutional traditions, these territories may or may not be considered part of the States.
The areas separately referred to as non-independent are territories that are disputed, are occupied, have a government in exile or have a non-negligible independence movement.
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[edit] Lists of dependent territories
Currently there are 60 dependencies on this list, not including those listed as under China, Finland, and Russia. All claims south of 60 degrees south (in Antarctica) are not recognised or are disputed. They are italicised. Uninhabited territories or territories with no permanent population are marked with hash keys/number symbols (#).
The list includes several territories that are not included in the list of non-self-governing territories [1] listed by the General Assembly of the United Nations (which also includes Western Sahara, since 1990, the General Assembly reaffirmed that the question of Western Sahara was a question of decolonization which remained to be completed by the people of Western Sahara).
A number of political entities have a special position recognized by international treaty or agreement (i.e. Åland in Finland, Hong Kong & Macau in the Peoples Republic of China, and Svalbard in Norway). These are not dependent territories in the strict sense of the meaning, but have in some way a similar position. See List of special entities recognized by international treaty or agreement for more information.
[edit] Australia
Territory | Administration |
---|---|
Ashmore and Cartier Islands # | From Canberra by the Attorney-General's Department.[1] |
Christmas Island | |
Cocos (Keeling) Islands | |
Coral Sea Islands # | |
Australian Antarctic Territory # | From Canberra by the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment and Heritage. |
Heard Island and McDonald Islands # |
|
Norfolk Island | Commonwealth responsibilities administered from Canberra through the Attorney-General's Department.[1] |
[edit] Denmark
Division | Administration |
---|---|
Faroe Islands | Self-governing overseas administrative division since 1948. Part of the Kingdom of Denmark but not of the European Union. |
Greenland | Self-governing overseas administrative division since 1979. Part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Left the European Union in 1986. |
[edit] France
Territory | Administration |
---|---|
Clipperton Island # | Atoll administered by the Minister for Overseas Territories. No permanent population. |
French Polynesia | Overseas collectivity since 2003; Overseas country since 2004. |
Mayotte | Departmental collectivity since 2001; overseas collectivity since 2003. |
New Caledonia | "Sui generis" collectivity since 1999; appears on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. |
Saint Barthélemy | Overseas collectivities since 2007. |
Saint Martin | |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon | Territorial collectivity since 1985; overseas collectivity since 2003. |
Wallis and Futuna | Overseas territory since 1961; overseas collectivity since 2003. |
French Southern and Antarctic Lands # | The French Southern and Antarctic Lands is an Overseas territory since 1955, administered from Paris by an Administrateur Superieur (since May 2000, François Garde assisted by Secretary General Jean-Yves Hermoso). No permanent population. |
[edit] Netherlands
Country | Administration |
---|---|
Aruba | Full autonomy in internal affairs obtained upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986; Government of the Netherlands responsible for defense and foreign affairs. Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands but not of the European Union. |
Netherlands Antilles | Full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Government of the Netherlands responsible for defense and foreign affairs. Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but not of the European Union.
The Netherlands Antilles were to be dissolved on 15 December 2008, but this has been put off to a later, undefined, date. Under that plan Curaçao and Sint Maarten will become autonomous regions in their own right. Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius will become special municipalities of the Netherlands. |
[edit] New Zealand
In free association | Administration |
---|---|
Cook Islands | Self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1965. The Cook Islands are fully responsible for their internal affairs; New Zealand, in consultation, retains some responsibility for external affairs and defence. As of 2005, the Cook Islands have diplomatic relations in their own name with eighteen countries. |
Niue | Self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974. Niue is fully responsible for its internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defence. New Zealand's responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue. |
Territory | Administration |
Tokelau | Self-administering territory of New Zealand. As it moves toward free association with New Zealand, Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution. A UN-sponsored referendum on self-governance in February 2006 did not produce the two-thirds supermajority necessary for changing the current political status. Another one was in October 2007, which failed to reach the 2/3 margin. |
Ross Dependency # | New Zealand's Antarctic claim. |
[edit] Norway
Dependency | Administration |
---|---|
Bouvet Island # | Dependency administered from Oslo by the Polar Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice and the Police. |
Peter I Island # | Dependency (subject to the Antarctic Treaty System) administered from Oslo by the Polar Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice and the Police. |
Queen Maud Land # |
[edit] United Kingdom
Overseas territories | Administration |
---|---|
Anguilla | British overseas territories. |
Cayman Islands | |
Montserrat | |
Pitcairn Islands | |
Turks and Caicos Islands | |
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | |
Bermuda | British overseas territory or self-governing territory as defined by the UK. |
British Antarctic Territory # | The UK's Antarctic claim. |
British Indian Ocean Territory # | British overseas territory administered by a commissioner resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London. |
British Virgin Islands | British overseas territory with internal self-government. |
Falkland Islands | British overseas territory, claimed by Argentina. Falkland Islands also administers South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands through the Governor of the Falkland Islands as representative of the British monarch. |
Gibraltar | British overseas territory, claimed by Spain. |
Saint Helena | British overseas territory. Saint Helena also administers Ascension Island and the island group of Tristan da Cunha. |
Sovereign Base Areas | Administration |
Akrotiri and Dhekelia | British overseas territory administered by the Commander of British Forces, Cyprus. Note SBAs are primarily required as military bases and not ordinary dependent territories |
Crown dependencies | Administration |
Guernsey | Crown dependencies |
Jersey | |
Isle of Man |
[edit] United States
Territory | Administration |
---|---|
American Samoa | Unincorporated and unorganized territory administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. Appears on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. |
Bajo Nuevo Bank # | Disputed territories in the Caribbean Sea between the U.S., Colombia, Jamaica, and possibly Honduras. Often excluded in the list of United States Minor Outlying Islands. |
Serranilla Bank # | |
Guam | Unincorporated organized territory; policy relations between Guam and the U.S. conducted under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. Appears on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. |
Navassa Island # | Unincorporated territory of the U.S. administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior from the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Boqueron, Puerto Rico. Claimed by Haiti and privately via the Guano Islands Act. |
Northern Mariana Islands | Commonwealth in political union with the U.S.; federal funding administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. |
Puerto Rico | Unincorporated organized territory of the U.S. with commonwealth status; policy relations between Puerto Rico and the U.S. conducted under the jurisdiction of the Office of the President. |
United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges # | Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Island, and Palmyra Atoll. Unorganized and unincorporated territories administered from Washington, D.C. by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the Interior. An exception includes Palmyra Atoll, which is incorporated, owned partly private and partly federal, and has nine excluded areas comprising certain tidal and submerged lands within the lagoon and 12 nm of surrounding sea that are continued to be administered by the Office of Insular Affairs of the U.S. Department of the Interior. |
U.S. Virgin Islands | Unincorporated organized territory; policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the U.S. conducted under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. Appears on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. |
Wake Island # | Unincorporated territory supervised by the U.S. Air Force and administered from Washington, D.C. by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Claimed by the Marshall Islands. |
[edit] See also
- List of current heads of government of dependencies
- Associated state
- Asymmetric federation
- Condominium, joint sovereignty over an area shared by two or more states.
- Federacy
- List of autonomous areas by country
- List of sovereign states
- List of subnational entities
- List of territorial disputes
- List of unrecognized countries
- Special member state territories and their relations with the EU
- Suzerainty
- Unclaimed Antarctic territories
- Colony
- Settler colonialism
[edit] References
- ^ a b First Assistant Secretary, Territories Division (2008-01-30). "Territories of Australia". Attorney-General's Department. http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/territories/index.aspx. Retrieved on 2008-02-07. "The Federal Government, through the Attorney-General's Department administers Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Coral Sea Islands, Jervis Bay, and Norfolk Island as Territories."
- George Drower, Britain's Dependent Territories, Dartmouth, 1992
- George Drower, Overseas Territories Handbook, TSO, 1998
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the CIA World Factbook.