An entity, to be considered a state, must have certain characteristics, such as territory, population, government, and sovereignty. Article 1 of the 1933 Convention on Rights and Duties of States (the Montevideo Convention) provides that “the state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications:

(a) permanent population

(b) defined territory

(c) a government

(d) capacity to enter into relations with other States.”