The dispute dates back to events in the 20th century. In 1959

The dispute dates back to events in the 20th century. In 1959, Alaska was admitted to the Union. However, opponents believe this was done contrary to international law as the vote for statehood did not follow United Nations rules. Specifically, the vote did not allow Alaskans the option of independence. Although this argument has no de facto legal standing because the various international documents that support the existence of a people's right to self-determination also contain parallel statements supportive of the conclusion that the exercise of such a right must be sufficiently limited to prevent threats to an existing state's territorial integrity or the stability of relations between sovereign states. International law does not specifically grant component parts of sovereign states the legal right to secede unilaterally from their 'parent' state.

Alaska became a territory of the United States in 1867 when it was purchased from the Russian Empire. Events in the 20th century such as World War II and the Cold War led to the decision to add Alaska as a state to the American Union. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act into United States law on 7 July 1958, which paved the way for Alaska's admission into the Union on January 3, 1959.

The vote for statehood was held in 1958. Voters approved the measure by a 6 to 1 margin [1]. Critics of Alaskan statehood, though, claim the vote was flawed [2]. The United Nations Charter requires that a non-self governing territory be given ballot choices of remaining a territory, becoming a separate and independent nation, accept Commonwealth status, or becoming a state. The options on the ballot were for statehood or to remain a territory. There was no option for independence on the ballot. Other people argue that there is no such provision in the UN Charter and that the corresponding UN Articles in Chapters XII and XIII of the United Nations Charter relate to former colonial territories.

Critics of the vote also note that American military personnel voted in the election. This is also pointed to as a violation of international law which specifies that only the civilian population of a territory may vote. Despite the criticism, the United Nations decolonization committee later removed Alaska from the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

The debate is considered by some to resemble the same academic discourse being argued by several other activist groups in the United States, including arguments around the legal status of Hawaii and the legal status of Texas.[3][4] The situation most closely resembles Hawaii as the Hawaiian statehood vote also lacked an option for independence.