Dear UNPO Members, Founders, Partners and Friends,
This year, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization marks its 35th anniversary. It is a moment to celebrate—and also a moment to take stock of why UNPO exists, and why its role is not only still relevant, but increasingly necessary.
First and foremost, this anniversary belongs to our founders. In 1991, at a time of profound geopolitical change, they chose imagination over resignation. They understood something that remains true today: when peoples are excluded from international decision-making, the result is not stability, but fragility. They also understood that representation is not a privilege granted by power; it is a right grounded in dignity. Their vision was bold and simple: to build an organization where those kept outside the international system could stand together, speak for themselves, and insist on a basic principle: peoples matter.
That founding decision continues to shape UNPO’s identity. UNPO is not built around abstractions; it is built around real communities, real histories, and real stakes. It is rooted in self-determination in its fullest sense: the right of peoples to shape their future, protect their identity, choose their political status, and pursue economic, social, and cultural development according to their own priorities. It is equally grounded in non-violence, solidarity, and the conviction that enduring peace cannot be built by silencing those who seek justice.
Thirty-five years later, we are living through another defining moment. The international system is under strain. The credibility of multilateralism has been weakened by selective enforcement, veto politics, shrinking civic space, and a widening gap between commitments on paper and realities on the ground. We also see the normalization of authoritarian practices, the weaponization of law and information, and an alarming tolerance for repression when it is politically convenient. In this context, it is not enough to defend the status quo. The question is being asked—openly and urgently: what comes next?
UNPO’s answer is not a single blueprint, but a clear stance: we must have the courage to rethink. We must be willing to question systems that exclude, models of governance that concentrate power, and notions of “stability” that depend on the denial of rights. When institutions meant to protect human dignity fail to do so consistently, moral responsibility requires more than critique; it requires the determination to imagine and build alternatives.
This is where UNPO’s relevance becomes unmistakable. UNPO has long been more than an advocacy platform. It is a space where political ambition is held to ethical standards; where leadership is measured not only by strategy but by responsibility; and where inclusion is practiced rather than proclaimed. UNPO brings together communities and leaders, academics and practitioners, defenders of culture and defenders of land, and those working in diplomacy as well as under pressure on the ground. It bridges what too often remains separate: the moral and the political, the legal and the lived, the urgent and the long-term.
Our founders created UNPO to make these conversations possible, and to ensure they lead to action. Because the challenges we face are not only technical; they are ethical. They demand leadership that refuses dehumanization, rejects the politics of erasure, and recognizes peoples as agents of their own futures. They require inclusion not as a gesture, but as a condition for legitimate governance and sustainable peace.
As we open this year-long celebration of UNPO’s 35th anniversary, UNPO declares 2026 the Year of Solidarity: a year focused on turning solidarity from principle into practice -by strengthening cooperation across peoples and advancing collective solutions. In a time of uncertainty, we choose steady, ethical leadership over panic, and practical cooperation over resignation. We will keep building networks, convening the hard conversations that lead to real options, and supporting the work of communities on the ground. We will not wait for others to define the future for our peoples. We will continue to build it, together.
To our founders: thank you for the courage and clarity that made UNPO possible. To our members: thank you for your trust, your perseverance, and the dignity with which you carry your struggles and your hopes. To our partners and friends: thank you for standing with communities that are too often asked to accept silence.
UNPO’s story is a reminder that meaningful change rarely begins in rooms of power. It begins when peoples refuse invisibility, build institutions of their own, and insist that justice and representation are not negotiable.
On this 35th anniversary, we reaffirm our purpose: to remain a platform where peoples are heard, where solidarity is practiced, and where the future can be reimagined with courage, ethics, and respect for self-determination. And we renew our commitment to move forward together, with resilience and moral responsibility, toward a more inclusive and credible international order.
With respect and solidarity,
Mercè Monje Cano
Secretary General
