Montevideo Convention

Montevideo Convention, agreement signed at Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 26, 1933 (and entering into force the following year), that established the standard definition of a state under international law. Adopted by the Seventh International Conference of American States, the convention stipulated that all states were equal sovereign units consisting of a permanent population, defined territorial boundaries, a government, and an ability to enter into agreements with other states. Among the convention’s provisions were that signatories would not intervene in the domestic or foreign affairs of another state, that they would not recognize territorial gains made by force, and that all disputes should be settled peacefully. The agreement was signed by the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Bolivia was the only country attending the conference that refused to sign the agreement.