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Belligerent occupation

Belligerent or military occupation occurs when one nation's military garrisons occupy all or part of a foreign nation during an invasion (during 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, adopted in 1949, governs treatment of civilian noncombatants during an occupation.

Examples of military occupations

Inclusion in any one of these lists does not support nor condemn any of the situations referred to.

See List of military occupations.

Historical occupations

• Nazi occupation of the countries of Europe which spawned resistance movements.
• 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)

Significant contemporary occupations

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

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 to be an occupation 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 parts 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 to be an occupation by nation of dominant military forces in area

• 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 both sides

• North Korea and South Korea - see Korean Conflict
• 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