Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
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Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO)
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| Headquarters | The Hague, Netherlands | |||
| Membership | 471 population groups | |||
| Leaders | ||||
| - | Secretary-General | Marino Busdachin (since 2003) |
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| Establishment | February 11, 1991 | |||
| Website http://www.unpo.org/ |
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| 1 | Last updated in December 2011. | |||
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), formed on the 11th of February[1], 1991[2] in The Hague, the Netherlands, is an international organization of political organisations and governments representing self-proclaimed "indigenous peoples, minorities, and unrecognised or occupied territories". The organization trains groups in how to best market their causes. Some former members, like Armenia, East Timor, Estonia, Latvia and Georgia, have gained full independence and joined the United Nations.[3][4] Despite the "UN" in its acronym, UNPO is an NGO and not an agency of the United Nations.
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[edit] History
UNPO was conceived of in the 1980s by three leaders of separatist movements in China. Michael van Walt van Praag, long a lawyer for the 14th Dalai Lama, wanted to provide legal expertise for the leaders of aspirant states. Tibetan activist Tsering Jampa, and Uyghur separatist Erkin Alptekin were dismayed that Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians were getting more attention than they were getting, so they decided to create a united organization with van Praag, that would publicize the various independence and autonomy causes during increasingly common periods of separatist violence in the relevant areas. UNPO chose for its founding headquarters in 1991 The Hague in the Netherlands because of the local support, where popular postcolonialist feelings led to the renaming of several streets after the various states of the dismantled Dutch Empire. A key UNPO goal was to replicate the success of the 14th Dalai Lama's propagating of the Tibetan independence message, and they often used his name for their own publicity in the early years of the organization.[5]
To this end, UNPO trains its members in international law, international organizations, diplomacy, and public relations. It aims to be the go-to resource for "reporters searching for background on a breaking story in an inhospitable locale". UNPO has tried to build its credibility by being the first organization to release information from remote areas, typically press releases from groups like MOSOP. Like Amnesty International, its techniques include issuing action alerts and portraying itself as an objective source of information. For its members, UNPO teaches spokespeople to use words and phrases that ensure the most sympathetic media coverage, like "peaceful protest" instead of just "protest"; "peaceful demonstration" instead of just "demonstration"; and "they've killed people in 5 neighboring villages" instead of "we've been fighting". UNPO is funded by member contributions and donations from corporations and governmental agencies.[6]
[edit] Aims
UNPO declares its aims to be to protect the members' human and cultural rights, preserve their environments, and to find non-violent solutions to conflicts which affect them. UNPO provides a forum for member aspirations and assists its members to participate 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 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 Covenant:
- The equal right to self-determination;
- Adherence to the internationally accepted human rights standards as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments;
- Adherence to the principles of democratic pluralism and rejection of totalitarianism and religious intolerance;
- Promotion of non-violence and the rejection of terrorism as an instrument of policy; and
- Protection of the natural environment.
All members are required to sign and abide by the UNPO Covenant.[citation needed] UNPO members are required to be nonviolent.[6]
[edit] Members
The following are the 47 members listed on the UNPO Nations & People page[7], the organizations that currently represent them, and the dates on which they joined the UNPO[8] (original members listed with blue background):
[edit] Suspended members
- Buffalo River Dene Nation -- 19 December 2004 to 9 October 2009
- Burma -- 15 May 2008 to 13 February 2010
- Buryatia -- 3 February 1996 to 13 February 2010
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria -- 6 August 1991 to 10 September 2010- Inkeri -- 17 January 1993 to 9 October 2009
Komi -- 17 January 1993 to 9 October 2009
Mari -- 6 August 1991 to 9 October 2009- Nahua del Alto Balsas -- 19 December 2004 to 20 September 2008
- Shan -- 17 April 1997 to 6 February 2010
- Tuva -- 3 February 1996 to 13 February 2010
West Papua -- 11 February 1991 to 20 September 2008
[edit] Former members
Some members of the UNPO have left because of United Nations recognition, autonomy agreements, or for other reasons.
- Former socialist republics of the Soviet Union, with UN recognition, withdrew after independence was restored in 1991[citation needed]:
- Others with UN recognition:
Timor-Leste joined 17 January 1993, withdrew 27 September 2002; former Portuguese colony annexed by Indonesia in 1975 and independent since 2002
Palau joined 11 February 1991, withdrew 15 December 1994; formerly part of the US–administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and independent since 1994
- Left for other reasons:[9][dead link]
Aceh joined 6 August 1991, membership discontinued 1 March 2008; reached autonomy agreement with Indonesia in 2005
Albanians in Macedonia joined 16 April 1994, membership discontinued 1 March 2008; reached agreement on wider rights with Macedonia in 2001
Bashkortostan joined 3 February 1996, withdrew 30 June 1998- Sanjak Bosniaks joined 17 January 1993
Bougainville joined 6 August 1991, membership discontinued 1 March 2008; reached autonomy agreement with Papua New Guinea in 2000- Cabinda joined 17 April 1997
Chuvash joined 17 January 1993, membership discontinued 1 March 2008
Gagauzia joined 16 April 1994, membership discontinued 1 December 2007; reached autonomy agreement with Moldova in 1994
Ingushetia joined 30 July 1994, membership discontinued 1 March 2008
Kumyk joined 17 April 1997, membership discontinued 1 March 2008
Khalistan joined 24 January 1993, membership discontinued 4 August 1993; suspension made permanent 22 January 1995
Lakotah Nation joined 30 July 1994, membership discontinued 1 December 2007; followed by the declaration of the Republic of Lakotah
Maohi joined 30 July 1994, membership discontinued 1 December 2007
Nuxalk joined 23 September 1998, membership discontinued 1 March 2008
Rusyn joined 23 September 1998, membership discontinued 1 December 2007
Sakha joined 3 August 1993, withdrew 30 June 1998- Scania joined 19 January 1993
Talysh joined 26 June 2005, membership discontinued 1 March 2008
Tatarstan joined 11 February 1991, membership discontinued 1 March 2008- Tsimshian joined 2 February 2007
[edit] Secretaries General
- Michael van Walt van Praag 1991–1997
- Tsering Jampa 1997–1998
- Helen S. Corbett 1998–1999
- Erkin Alptekin 1999–2003
- Marino Busdachin 2003–2010[10]
- Karl Habsburg-Lothringen – Since 19 January 2002, the Director General of the Organization[11]
- Ngawang Choephel since 2010
[edit] See also
- Federal Union of European Nationalities
- Micronations
- United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories
- Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples
- List of national liberation movements recognized by intergovernmental organizations
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.worldstatesmen.org/International_Organizations2.html#UNPO World Statesman.org. Retrieved February 7, 2012
- ^ [1] UNPO official website 'About UNPO'. Retrieved February 7, 2012
- ^ Barbara Crossette, Those Knocking, Unheeded, at U.N.'s Doors Find Champion, New York Times, 18 December 1994.
- ^ Tishkov, Valerie, An Anthropology of NGOs, Eurozine, July 2008
- ^ Gluckman, Ron (1998). "World's wanna-be republics find a home with UNPO". Asiaweek. http://www.gluckman.com/unpo.html. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ a b Bob, Clifford (2005). The Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents, Media, and International Activism. Cambridge University Press. pp. 47–48, 76–77.
- ^ [2] UNPO official website, Members of the UNPO
- ^ http://www.worldstatesmen.org/International_Organizations2.html#UNPO World Statesman.org. Retrieval date unknown
- ^ http://www.unpo.org/map.html[dead link]
- ^ UNPO Presidency & Secretariat, UNPO web site.
- ^ UNPO. "UNPO Steering Committee appoints Karl von Habsburg as the organizations new Director-General". UNPO Website. Archived from the original on 2011-04-23. http://replay.web.archive.org/20100903011451/http://www.unpo.org/article/132. Retrieved 23 April 2011. This position is separate from the "Seccetary General" as the UNPO Website explains "This is a newly created senior position within the UNPO, aimed at further enhancing the fundamental rights of its Members world-wide."
