You have no valid arguments regardless the definition of the word state by international law, because there is no such requirement. However, if you so insist, here is another source, International bodies charged with enforcing international law also recognize that de facto states are bound by it. See Appellants' Br. at 20-21. Most recently, the International Tribunal formed by the U.N. Security Council to prosecute humani- tarian law violations in the former Yugoslavia defined "state" to include de facto regimes as well as recognized governments State: A State Member or non-Member of the United Nations or a self-proclaimed entity de facto exercising governmental functions, whether recognized as a State or not. 1