Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

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Image:Unpoflag.png Flag of UNPO
Image:Worldmap UNPO.png Number of UNPO members, which are on territory of official countries
Headquarters	The Hague, Netherlands
Members of UNPO	63 (Last update: February 2006)
General Secretary	Marino Busdachin (2003)
Foundation	February 11 1991
Number of total represented people	ca. 200 millions
Homepage	www.unpo.org

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is a democratic, international organization. Its members are indigenous peoples, occupied nations, minorities and independent states or territories who have joined together to protect their human and cultural rights, preserve their environments, and to find non-violent solutions to conflicts which affect them. UNPO provides a legitimate and established international forum for member aspirations and assists its members in effective participation at an international level.

UNPO members are generally not represented diplomatically (or only with a minor status, such as observer) in major international institutions, such as the United Nations. As a result, their ability to participate in the international community and to have their concerns addressed by the global bodies mandated to protect human rights and address conflict, is limited.

UNPO is dedicated to the five principles enshrined in its Charter: Nonviolence, Human rights, Self-determination and democracy, Environmental Protection, and Tolerance.

Note: In spite of the "UN" in its acronym, UNPO is not related to the United Nations.

Contents 1 Historical background 2 Members 2.1 Former members 3 See also 4 External links

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Historical background

On February 11, 1991, UNPO was founded at the Peace Palace, The Hague, the location of the International Court of Justice. Representatives of Armenia, Australian Aboriginals, the Cordillera, the Crimean Tatars, East Turkestan, Estonia, Georgia, the Greek Minority in Albania, Iraqi Kurdistan, Latvia, Palau, Taiwan, Tatarstan, Tibet and West-Papua convened to found an organization that would embody, promote, and affirm the value of democracy, tolerance, non-violence and the right to selfdetermination. They had long experienced difficulties in effectively addressing their concerns to Members of the United Nations, and were struggling to preserve their cultural identities and protect basic human rights. Therefore they decided to create UNPO, an organization that would combine their efforts and find non-violent ways to make governments listen to their concerns. Since the founding of UNPO, and after more than a decade’s worth of work in world politics, six Members, Estonia, Latvia, Armenia, Georgia, Palau and East Timor, have been admitted to the UN. Meanwhile, the struggles of oppressed nations and peoples worldwide have continued. On November 10, 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Ogoni leader and UNPO Vice-Chairman of the General Assembly, was executed along with eight co-defendants. Their crime was their demand of sound environmental practices and compensation for the devastation of Ogoni territories.

This and several other incidents bear witness to the fact that the initial purpose of UNPO remains. Continuing to support the struggles and further the causes of its Members, the work undertaken by UNPO has not gone unnoticed.

Since 1991 the non-violent methods by which UNPO achieves its goals have been recognized throughout the world. UNPO has been awarded the 1991 Tolerance Award, 1992 Social Innovation Award (The Body Shop), 1998 Petra Kelly Peace Award (Heinrich Böll Foundation) and was nominated for the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize and 1994 Right Livelihood Award.

Members

in the AMERICAS Buffalo River Dene Nation Lakota (Dakota or Sioux Indians) Mapuche Nahuals del Alto Balsas Nuxálk in AFRICA Cabinda Batwa (Pygmies) Maasai Ogoni Oromo Somaliland Southern Cameroons Vhavenda Zanzibar

in ASIA Aceh (on Sumatra); see also Free Aceh Movement Ahwazi Assyrians; see also Assyria Buryatia; see also Buryat Chin Chittagong Hill Tracts Cordillera East Turkestan Mon Montagnards Nagalim Iraqi Turkoman Karenni State (Kayah State) Khmer Krom Kurdistan Mari; see also Mari El Shan Sindh South Moluccas Taiwan (represented by the DPP) Tibet; see also Government of Tibet in Exile and Tibetan people Tuva West Balochistan

in EUROPE Abkhazia Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia Bashkortostan Circassia; see also Circassians Chuvashia Crimean Tatars Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Gagauzia Greeks in Albania Hungarians in Romania Ingushetia Ingria Komi Kosovo Kumyk Rusyns Sanjak Scania (Skåneland) Udmurtia

in OCEANIA & Australasia Aboriginals of Australia Bougainville Ka Lahui Hawai'i Maohi West Papua (represented by the OPM)

Former members

The following former members of the UNPO have since gained United Nations (UN) recognition:

-four former constitutive republics of the Soviet Union:

1. two of the three Baltic republics (the third being Lithuania), which considered themselves never legally having acceeded as Stalin annexed them by force:
   1. Estonia
   2. Latvia
2. two in Transcaucasia:
   1. Armenia
   2. Georgia

-other:

1. East Timor, former Portuguese colony, annexed by Indonesia
2. Palau (or Belau), formerly part of the US-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

See also

Image:Unpo.png

• Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples
• Flag of UNPO

External links

• UNPO website
• UNPO's "Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples"
• UNPO Tartu Coordination Office (Eastern Europe and Northern Asia)
• Fourth World: Nations Without a State, Nadesan Satyendra
• List of relevant linkscs:Organizace nezastoupených států a národů

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