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The UNPO 20th Anniversary Commemorative Publication, Provisional Programme of the Conference Tracing the Past to Look Forward and Press Releases can be found in the top right corner on this webpage.
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Friday, 11 February 2011
Conference: “Tracing the Past to Look Forward”
Location: Peace Palace, The Hague
Time: 8:30 am (Registration & Security Check)
9:00 am until 1:30 pm (Conference)
Session I: Reflections on 20 Years of UNPO
Session II: Autonomy and the Right to Self-Determination
UNPO Photo Exhibition: “Unhidden Faces”
Location: The Atrium, The Hague City Hall
Time: 5:00 pm
Opening: Prayer chant led by Khmer Krom Buddhist Monks, followed a welcoming address by Ms. Marjolein de Jong, Vice Mayor of The Hague
Duration: 11 February 2011 – 2 March 2011
PLEASE NOTE: Registration is required prior to attendance at the Peace Palace Conference. However, the photo exhibition is free and open to the public, and will remain in place until 2 March 2011.
Any questions, press inquires or comments can be directed to Ms. Caroline de Bruin, through e-mail cdebruin[at]unpo.org or by telephone +31 070 36 46504
UNPO is a not-for-profit organization and relies on membership fees, grants and donations, which help the organization sustain its work and activities. This includes the events to celebrate UNPO’s 20th Anniversary throughout 2011. Celebrate with us and click here to make a donation.
The Peace Palace in The Hague, seat of the International Court of Justice, plays host to the Vice President of Zanzibar and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia during commemorative activities marking the 20th Anniversary of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization.
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On 11th February 1991, leaders and representatives of non-violent freedom struggle movements, including Tibet, East Turkestan, the Crimean Tatars, Australian Aboriginals, the Baltic States and the Greek Minority in Albania convened at the Peace Palace in The Hague and founded UNPO.
Twenty years later, a variety of events taking place on 11th February 2011 in The Hague, City of Peace and Justice, will mark UNPO’s 20th Anniversary, recognizing the organization’s crucial role in giving voice to marginalized nations and peoples around the world. An international group of Founding Fathers will gather alongside current Members and honorary guests from around the world to share in the successes of the previous two decades.
The anniversary remains a bittersweet reminder of the critical situation of minority populations, indigenous peoples and occupied or unrecognized territories in the world today since rather than reduce in its scope and mandate, UNPO has instead grown from 15 founding members to more than 50 today.
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An international conference at the Peace Palace, the seat of the International Court of Justice, entitled “Tracing the Past to Look Forward” will investigate the evolution of understanding the terms Self-Determination and Autonomy over the previous two decades. Key speakers and honorary guests include,
His Excellency, Seif Sharif Hamad, First Vice President of Zanzibar,
Maxim Gundjia, Minster of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia,
Lodi Gyari, Special Envoy to his Holiness the Dalai Lama,
Emma Bonino, Vice President of the Italian Senate (TBC),
Member of International Court of Justice (TBC),
Harry van Bommel, Member of Dutch Parliament from the Socialist Party,
and the the Honourable Ambassador of Bolivia to The Netherlands.
The International Policy Advisor of the City of The Hague will congratulate UNPO´s 20th anniversary on behalf of the Mayor of The Hague.
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The anniversary will also see the opening of a Photo Exhibition entitled "Unhidden Faces" at the Atrium, City Hall of The Hague, which will run until 2nd March 2011. The exhibition will showcase images depicting UNPO’s Members, their diversity in ethnicity, culture, religion and politics which remain largely unknown to world. It will be opened on 11th February 2011 at 4p.m. by a prayer chant led by Khmer-Krom Buddhist Monks, followed by a welcoming address by Ms. Marjolein de Jong, Vice Mayor of The Hague. For more information on the Photo Exhibition please visit to website of The Hague Municipality.
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Any questions, press inquires or comments can be directed to Ms. Caroline de Bruin, through e-mail cdebruin[at]unpo.org or by telephone +31 070 36 46504
The UNPO 20th Anniversary Commemorative Publication, Provisional Programme of the Conference Tracing the Past to Look Forward and Press Releases can be found in the top right corner.
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The 20th Anniversary of UNPO will be marked by events that celebrate the organization’s past while charting a path for its future. The anniversary, taking place on February 11 remains a bittersweet reminder of the critical situation of minority populations, indigenous peoples and occupied or unrecognized territories across the world since rather than reduce in its scope and mandate, UNPO has instead grown from 15 founding members to more than 50 today.
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On 11 February, 1991, leaders and representatives of non-violent freedom movements from around the world came together at the seat of international law, the Peace Palace in The Hague, with a revolutionary idea. Representing occupied nations, indigenous peoples, minorities and other vulnerable or disenfranchised populations, their aim was to create an international forum where unrepresented nations and peoples could air their legitimate grievances. The result was the establishment of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO).
Two decades later, on 11 February 2011, UNPO will mark the anniversary of this historic meeting with a series of commemorative events in The Hague, including a photo exhibition and an international conference at the Peace Palace. During this commemorative weekend UNPO plans to examine the organization’s experiences over the past two decades and draw lessons which can be applied to UNPO’s future challenges.
UNPO Members have celebrated a number of successes over the past 20 years. Six UNPO Members (Armenia, Belau, East Timor, Estonia, Georgia and Latvia) have achieved full independence and are now official Members of the United Nations. Other UNPO Members have also made important steps towards self-determination. Since its declaration of independence in 2008, UNPO Member Kosova has received official recognition from 74 UN Member states. UNPO Member Somaliland’s success in building a system of relatively stable democratic governance in a decidedly unstable region continues to gain international recognition and respect. Zanzibar formed a peaceful coalition government last year.
In stark contrast to these success stories, many UNPO Members have gained little reprieve from the conditions of repression and discrimination which led them to join the organization. UNPO Members throughout the world continue to endure discrimination, repression and violence at the hands of both undemocratic regimes and unwelcoming societies.
Recent events such as the referendum in South Sudan have called global attention to issues of autonomy and self-determination. While UNPO applauded what it saw as a positive development: the relatively peaceful exercise of a people’s right to self-determination, leaders throughout Africa expressed fear at what it saw as a threatening precedent: an event which may add fuel to secessionist movements in their own states.
The coming years present a daunting array of new challenges for the organization and its Members. Climate change, population growth and the continued effects of the global economic crisis have affected UNPO Members more acutely than much of the world. The effects of global climate change and population growth are expected to drastically increase conflict over the control and distribution of increasingly scarce resources, particularly among groups that are denied access to political and judicial institutions. The effects of the global financial crisis are likewise felt most strongly among the economically vulnerable.
With these challenges and the organization’s past experiences in mind, UNPO will convene a conference at the Peace Palace on 11 February 2011. Panelists at the conference will review a number of these successes and failures in order to draw lessons from UNPO’s past work. The conference will also explore the concepts of autonomy and self-determination, particularly how the common understanding of these terms has evolved and changed over the past decades. UNPO Members, including Seif Sharif Hamad, first Vice President of Zanzibar and Maxim Gundjia, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia, will present their experiences of these concepts.
In a continuation of UNPO’s efforts to shed light on the lives of its Members, the UNPO anniversary celebration will also include a photo exhibition entitled “Unhidden Faces” at the Atrium in the City Hall of The Hague. The exhibition will showcase the diverse ethnicities, cultures and religions of UNPO Members, many of whom remain unrecognized or unknown in the world. Ms. Marjolein de Jong, Vice Mayor of The Hague, will open the exhibit at 5pm on 11 February with a welcoming address.
