#9066: Territory code request for Abkhazia

[Doug Ewell]

Mats Blakstad wrote:

> I want to add localization data for Abkhazia, even though it do not -
> like many other territories - have an ISO code. If people prefer to
> work on a list matching ISO they can easily extract territory
> information for only ISO codes. However, I don't understand why that
> should prevent other people from collecting and maintaining
> localization data for new territories.
>
> Where can I add my patch and how is the process to move forward with
> this ticket?

You'll have to wait for a reply from an actual CLDR team member, but my
guess is that the reply will be something along these lines:

ISO 3166-1 code elements are based on United Nations criteria: to be
included, a state must be either a UN member state, a member of one of
its specialized agencies (such as UNESCO), or a party to the Statute of
the International Court of Justice. Kosovo is not included although it
is a member of the IMF and the World Bank Group.

CLDR, like many standards and data sets, uses ISO 3166-1 to identify
"countries" or "regions." The main reason for delegating this to ISO is
to avoid getting embroiled in political arguments over what constitutes
a country.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia are certainly two of the most politically
controversial "countries" on the planet. They are recognized as
independent only by Russia and a small handful of other nations.
Identifying them as separate nations would generally be regarded as a
statement about Georgian sovereignty.

CLDR does make an exception in the case of Kosovo, which is recognized
by roughly half of UN member states.

--
Doug Ewell | http://ewellic.org | Thornton, CO ����