Sep 23, 2008

Interview of UNPO General Secretary with Moskovsky Kosomolets


Sample ImageMs Inga Kumskova interviewed Mr Marino Busdachin on UNPO and the situation in the Caucasus.

Below is an interview of UNPO General Secretary Marino Busdachin by Inga Kumskova for Moskovsky Komsomolets:

1) When and why was the UNPO created? Where is it based?
UNPO was founded in 1991 to act as a voice for otherwise unrepresented nations and peoples.  Since 1991, UNPO has had its headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, and has offices in Brussels and Washington DC in addition to a network of associates and consultants based around the world.

2) What is the main aim of the organization?
The main aim of UNPO is to represent nations and peoples in international fora such as the United Nations and its agencies, the institutions of the European Union, the United States Congress, national parliaments, and international organizations.

2) What does the state need to do to become a member of UNPO? How do you decide whether to approve the membership of the country or not?
A prospective member of UNPO must fulfil certain application criteria before its submission is reviewed by the UNPO Secretariat.  If the submission meets these criteria it is put before the UNPO Presidency for approval and subsequent ratification (or not) by the UNPO General Assembly. Details on the membership requirements can be found here: http://www.unpo.org/content/view/6191/61/

3) What kind of previlliges does it give?
UNPO does not provide privileges to its Members, but provides them with serious and meaningful action.  This includes providing its members with a forum in which to share expertise, pool resources, and support their mutual aims.  It is also able to bring the concerns of its Members to the attention of legislators, policy makers, and the international media through its staff and resources, which includes the UNPO website.

4) Does the organization have an ability to influence on the independent countries to recognize the unrecognized territories? How?

UNPO is setting an effective lobby to national goverments, international organizationsn, and opinion and policy makers

UNPO’s events, conferences, and campaigns regularly attract the attention of diplomats interested to learn first hand the developments associated with UNPO Members.  This ensures that the issue of greater recognition remains in the public arena and continues to be a consideration for policy makers.

Conferences on de facto states have also added new literature to the corpus of research on unrepresented nations and peoples.  Again, this helps to maintain attention on the issues at hand and provides researchers within governmental and intergovernmental organizations, such as the European Commission, with the information they need to make informed assessments.  

The process of recognition typically takes decades and involves concerted campaigning that relies not only UNPO but a variety of other actors representing a variety of fields.  

5) Could you describe the way the UNPO works in order to help the unrecognized countries?

UNPO’s work concentrates on advocacy in international fora, promoting human rights for the inhabitants of de facto states, and also supporting the democratization process in these de facto states.

6) Are Abkhazia and South Ossetia among the UNPO member-states? When and how did they join the organization? What are their prospectives within the organization?

Abkhazia has been a UNPO Member since 1992.  As with all of UNPO’s members, Abkhazia subscribes to the UNPO Covenant and is a proactive member of the organization.

South Ossetia was never a UNPO Member.

7) How many unrecognized states are the members of UNPO?
Abkhazia, Somaliland, Kosova, and Taiwan are UNPO Members which can be categorized as ‘unrecognized’ or ‘de facto’ states.

8) Could the Abkhazia and South Ossetia be a part of UNPO even though they were recognized by Russia and Nicaragua? Do they continue receive the UNPO aid after it?

Abkhazia will, by default, remain a UNPO Member until it is fully represented in the United Nations.  

UNPO’s members cease to be part of the organization once they are fully represented in the United Nations, decide to voluntarily leave the organization, or are instructed to withdraw by the UNPO Presidency for failure to observe the articles of the UNPO Covenant.

Once a UNPO Member becomes fully represented in the United Nations they automatically become a non-voting member of the organization and are termed ‘Supporting Members’.

9) What is the UNPO' attitude to the recognission of Abkhazia and South Ossetia?

UNPO supports the recognition of Abkhazia’s right to self-determination, and as stated by UNPO General Secretary Mr. Marino Busdachin, hopes that it represents the beginning of what is likely to be “a long and slow process which can eventually lead to the admittance of Abkhazia to the United Nations”.  The recognition of Abkhazia by Nicaragua and the Russian Federation will hopefully encourage the international community to seriously consider Abkhazia’s right to self-determination.

In the shorter term, UNPO has called for the convening of an international conference for peace in the Caucasus that will bring together all regional parties in a spirit of community to foster peace and renewed dialogue.  As a consequence, on 3 September 2008,  the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for a Trans-Caucasian conference that would involve the participation on an equal basis of the unrepresented nations and people of the Caucasian region.