Legal Status of Hawaii - Legal Issues

Legal Issues

The main issues surrounding the legal status of Hawaii are:

• The role of the United States in the Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom;
• The Queen's protest and unanswered request for intervention;
• The Queen's abdication, including legal issues of duress and applicability;
• The legality of Annexation under U.S. and International Laws;
• Treaties between the United States and Hawaii;
• Hawaii's international standing, including membership in the Family of Nations and treaty relationships with other countries;
• The validity of the Statehood Plebiscite;
• The unilateral removal by the United States of Hawaii from the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories Eligible for Decolonization without consultation, and the potential reinstatement and application of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514 to Hawaii;
• The implications of the Blue Water Thesis and other international decolonization standards;
• The Kingdom lands seized in the Overthrow and subsequently granted in fee to the Territory and State by the United States;
• International Human Rights issues, including provisions of the Genocide Convention;
• Environmental protection issues in general;
• Environmental cleanup issues (particularly military ordnance and contamination);
• International Native Rights issues (e.g. U.N. DRIP);
• Native and Non-Native self-determination; and
• Enforcement.