A UNPO delegation attended the 46th Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) Congress, which was held in Heerenveen, Fryslan, from 23 to 27 May 2001. The theme of the annual congress was the Present Situation of the National Minorities in Europe. UNPO was represented by Messrs Qenan Sheji, representative of the Albanians in Macedonia, David Broekman, Director Media and Information Centre at the Secretariat in The Hague, and Wolf Mannens, a Dutch lawyer and friend of UNPO.

The congress was well attended by delegates and observers from as far as Kazakstan and even Cameroon. Significant attention was given to the present critical situation in Macedonia, while a senior representative of the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities presented a speech on the topic Basic Principles, National Minorities and the OSCE.

Mr Bujar Ibishi from the Association of Democratic Initiatives Macedonia, in his speech, referred to the invisible part of the crises of Macedonia which came to the surface, such as long-time massive differentiation and discreditation of both ordinary and elite Albanians through educational and employment discrimination.

A delegate from Eastern Europe made the remark that minorities are only heard in times of crises, and that the international community, including the OSCE, has achieved very little to change this unfortunate situation.