OAU adopts a convention on African refugee protection

Britain ended colonial rule in Aden and the surrounding territories; the People’s Republic of South Yemen became independent under the National Liberation Front. Independence followed years of armed...

Nauru became independent after prolonged Australian administration, first under a League of Nations mandate and later as a UN trust territory. German colonial rule and phosphate extraction had...

Mauritius became an independent state after British colonial rule. The transition followed long political organizing across a society shaped by slavery, indenture, plantation sugar, and migration. The...

Swaziland became an independent kingdom under King Sobhuza II. British colonial administration ended, but the new state inherited a land system shaped by colonial concession and dispossession....

Spanish Guinea became the independent Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Independence ended Spain’s colonial administration, but authoritarian rule and political violence soon constrained the new state....

Biafran forces surrendered to the Nigerian federal government, ending nearly three years of war. Blockade and famine killed large numbers of civilians, while relief agencies and journalists drew...

Fiji became independent from Britain after a constitutional settlement between political leaders. The colonial economy had relied on sugar and indentured Indian labor, while colonial policies...

The UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations. Newly independent states had pushed the UN to address sovereignty, non-intervention,...

The Awami League won a majority in Pakistan’s National Assembly, based on strong support in East Pakistan. The result gave Bengali voters a mandate for autonomy under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Six-Point...

Before a huge gathering in Dhaka, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for resistance and outlined a civil-disobedience program after the elected majority was denied power. The speech stopped short of a...