UNPO Unveils Revamped Preamble
The Preamble to the UNPO Covenant details the rationale behind UNPO and the issues and hopes which UNPO’s Members have held in their quest for greater representations and recognition. As the world has changed, so the need to adapt the Preamble became an important facet in placing UNPO at the forefront in projecting the voices of unrepresented nations and peoples onto the world’s stages and fora. Below is the new Preamble which sets out to do this:
Preamble to the UNPO Covenant
Adopted by the UNPO General Assembly
17 May 2008, Brussels, Belgium
Affirming the principles of Democracy, as enshrined in the Vienna declaration, as fundamental and inalienable human rights;
Noting that political and civil rights are guaranteed to individuals and communities through international law and binding covenants, such as the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights;
Aware that individual rights are inextricably linked to the recognition and protection of collective rights, as well as the free expression of collective identity, religious beliefs, and dignity;
Convinced that the existence and enjoyment of these political and civil rights are themselves the product of past struggles and solidarity, and that a continued and committed effort is still necessary in order to achieve their universal and effective implementation;
Whereas the right to self-determination is enshrined in the United Nations Charter, the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, its implementation should be based on its broadest and most comprehensive understanding; including autonomy, devolution, and power-sharing, and federalism in all its forms, rejecting thereby a narrow focus and charges of secessionism;
Convinced that the principles, methodology, and practice of Gandhian nonviolence and nonviolent civil-resistance are the most effective means of pursuing and enforcing both collective and individual rights, we, the undersigned Nations and Peoples, reaffirm our unreserved commitment to such principles, rejecting in the process terrorism, extremism, and violence in all its forms;
Convinced that the protection of the environment and its natural resources, in particular in the context of climate change and related shortages of potable water, is linked to the fundamental rights of Nations and Peoples everywhere, necessitating respect for the enshrined rights of free, prior, and informed consent, so as to guarantee their right to determine their own future and the protection and respect for their ancestral lands and resources;
Aware that whilst the forceful transfer of populations and other forms of demographic manipulation, including ethnic cleansing, represent serious breaches of universal rights, the free circulation of ideas, information, people, and capital should be guaranteed as central to the promotion and affirmation of freedom and democracy everywhere;
Therefore, by the present Covenant, the Participating Nations and Peoples, represented by the undersigned Representatives, establish amongst themselves the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (the “Organization”).
