Editing Montevideo Convention (section)

==Background==
{{see also|Declarative theory of statehood}}
In most cases, the only avenue open to [[self-determination]] for colonial or national ethnic minority populations was to achieve international legal personality as a nation-state.<ref>[http://www.harvardilj.org/attach.php?id=42 The Postcoloniality of International Law, Harvard International Law Journal, Volume 46, Number 2, Summer 2005, Sundhya Pahuja, page 5] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205215653/http://www.harvardilj.org/attach.php?id=42 |date=2009-02-05 }}</ref> The majority of delegations at the [[International Conference of American States]] represented independent states that had emerged from former colonies. In most cases, their own existence and independence had been disputed or opposed by one or more of the European colonial empires. They agreed among themselves to criteria that made it easier for other dependent states with limited sovereignty to gain international recognition.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}