Mission, Vision and Values
Our mission is to provide a platform of solidarity and knowledge exchange for unrepresented peoples worldwide while fostering dialogues with the international community to collaboratively advance a peaceful, democratic, equitable, and sustainable world.
We envision a world where the voices of all peoples and nations are heard, valued, and respected – a world where fundamental rights, including the freedom to determine political status and the pursuit of economic, social, and cultural development, are upheld for everyone.
UNPO believes that true universal peace and development are built on the pillars of solidarity, respect, cooperation, and friendship among all Peoples and Nations. Our vision is a future where peoples and nations thrive under systems of governance that honor fundamental human rights.
This future ensures full and equal participation, empowering all nations and peoples to fully realize their potential within a fair and equitable society. It embraces diversity, encourages positive exchanges and dialogues, and upholds justice within sustainable, democratic, and pluralistic societies.
The values and principles of the UNPO are embodied in the UNPO Covenant and they are followed by all UNPO members:
According to the UN Charter and the ICCPR, the right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law and is expressly recognized as a right for all peoples. For the UNPO, self-determination is understood as the right of Peoples to determine their own destiny and to have a voice in the form of their economic, cultural and social development, including their political status. For the UNPO, the importance of this right lies in the right of choice, with this choice potentially leading to different outcomes for each community.
For the UNPO, self-determination is the bedrock of true democracy by ensuring that all voices are equally heard and considered in decision-making processes.
Democratic pluralism, as understood by the UNPO, is a political system that is inclusive, participatory, representative, accountable, transparent, and responsive to citizens’ aspirations and expectations. Fundamentally, it means governance of, by and for the People. In a truly pluralistic democracy, diversity must be embraced, celebrating the richness of the world’s cultures, forms of expression, and ways of being human. For the UNPO, political inclusion should be fostered by knowledge, communication, freedom of thought, conscience, and belief, as well as openness to persons and groups whose viewpoints differ from one’s own.
The UNPO refers to environmental protection as the preservation of peoples’ natural habitat and resources that safeguard communities’ unique and independent cultures. We believe that the Peoples and Nations, including local populations. indigenous peoples, and other native communities, are the guardians of traditional ecological knowledge that benefits their communities and the future of the entire planet, and are therefore best placed to determine how to protect and preserve their way of life.
Non-violence is understood by the UNPO as an ideology that rejects the use of violent action in a conflict over power to attain social and political objectives. A key goal for the UNPO is to provide a forum to encourage members to adopt non-violent resistance and inter-ethnic tolerance in the face of oppression.
Human rights are international moral and legal norms that aspire to protect all peoples everywhere from severe political, legal, and social abuses. For the UNPO, all human beings, no matter what ethnicity, nationality or legal influence, have universal rights.
