Friendly Relations Declaration (1970)

As of 30 September 2026. Information only, not legal advice – see the disclaimer.

The Friendly Relations Declaration was adopted on the 25th anniversary of the United Nations. It elaborates seven principles derived from the Charter: the prohibition of the threat or use of force, the peaceful settlement of disputes, non-intervention in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, the duty to co-operate, equal rights and self-determination of peoples, sovereign equality, and the fulfilment in good faith of Charter obligations. It is the standard reference text for the inter-State principle of non-intervention. In debates on cyber and information operations it is cited in particular on non-intervention, on the duty to refrain from propaganda for wars of aggression, and on the duty not to organise or support subversive activities directed at another State.

• Principle 1 (prohibition of the threat or use of force) – Restates Art. 2(4) of the Charter; provides that “States have the duty to refrain from propaganda for wars of aggression”; addresses the organisation or encouragement of irregular forces and participation in acts of civil strife or terrorist acts in another State.
• Principle 2 (peaceful settlement of disputes) – Elaborates Art. 2(3) and Art. 33 of the Charter.
• Principle 3 (non-intervention) – “No State or group of States has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State.” Prohibits the use of economic, political or any other type of measures to coerce another State, and the organisation, assistance, fomenting, financing, incitement or toleration of subversive activities directed towards the violent overthrow of the regime of another State; every State has an inalienable right to choose its political, economic, social and cultural systems.
• Principle 4 (co-operation) – Duty of States to co-operate with one another in the maintenance of international peace and security.
• Principle 6 (sovereign equality) – Includes the inviolability of territorial integrity and political independence.

In Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (1986) the International Court of Justice relied on the Declaration as evidence of opinio juris for the principles of non-use of force and non-intervention and identified coercion as the defining element of prohibited intervention (see icj_nicaragua). The 2015 GGE report (A/70/174, para. 28) lists non-intervention in the internal affairs of other States among the principles applicable to State use of ICTs. Several national positions on international law and cyberspace (compiled in UN Doc. A/76/136) discuss whether cyber operations directed at elections or other governmental functions, or large-scale information operations, can meet the threshold of coercion; States differ on how the coercion element should be understood. The duty to refrain from propaganda for wars of aggression is referred to in discussions on information operations, together with Art. 20 ICCPR (see iccpr) and the 1936 Broadcasting Convention (see broadcasting_1936).

No recent developments recorded.

• charter
• icj_nicaragua
• ict_norms
• iccpr
• broadcasting_1936
• germany

• UN Doc. A/RES/2625 (XXV) – Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations, accessed 2026-09-27
• ICJ – Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America), accessed 2026-09-27
• UN Doc. A/70/174 – Report of the GGE (2015), accessed 2026-09-27
• UN Doc. A/76/136 – Official compendium of voluntary national contributions on international law and ICTs, accessed 2026-09-27

• 2026-09-27: Entry created (draft).
• 2026-09-30: Entry reviewed and finalised.