The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933) sets forth what is generally accepted as the legal criteria for the establishment of a nation-state: (1) A permanent population, (2) a defined territory, (3) a government, and (4) the capacity to enter into relations with other states.

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"We are serving a cause defined within the United Nations' framework ... to bring the entire Malian territory under the legitimate authority of the Malian president and then the leaders who will be elected by the Malians, " Hollande said Saturday.

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"We are serving a cause defined within the United Nations' framework ... to bring the entire Malian territory under the legitimate authority of the Malian president and then the leaders who will be elected by the Malians, " Hollande said in Timbuktu.

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