Summary: Working Group on Right of Peoples to Self-determination

Self-determination as a means of conflict prevention

Following up on Monday's discussion on the right to self-determination as a form of conflict prevention, this session included presentations from Mr. Chhime R. Chhoekyapa, the Tibetan representative of his highness the Dalai Lama and Mr. Onoo Seroo, the UNESCO representative who was involved in the 1998 Barcelona conference. Addressing the participants from areas including Palestine, Iraq, the US, and West Africa, the speakers restated the need for a stage whereby the unrepresented peoples and nations of the world can receive attention from the international community without entering into violent conflict in their struggles against subjugation and the repression of fundamental rights.

Mr. Erkin Alptekin, General Secretary of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), opened by saying, "The UN is not a union of nations, but a union of states," reminding participants that there are numerous partisans of minority groups and unrepresented peoples and that humanitarian justice often falls behind the lines of national sovereignty. Consequently, he said, the loss of faith in the international community's ability to be fair drives some unrepresented peoples to desperation and, in their frustration, extremism.

Mr. Alptekin told participants that under international law and confirmed in numerous international covenants including the 1993 Vienna Declaration, the right of self-determination is a basic human right of all peoples.

Echoing sentiments expressed by Ms. Mililani Trask yesterday, Mr. Chhoekyapa asserted that the withholding of the right to self-determination is largely based on territorial greed and racist colonialist attitudes. Bringing Tibet into focus, Mr. Chhoekyapa expressed anxiety over the erosion of traditional Tibetan values under the oppressive rule of China. Those who oppose the right of self-determination argue that it would lead to the formation of hundreds of separate states, resulting in anarchy and chaos. Refuting this extreme view of self-determination, Mr. Chhoekyapa asked that his peoples receive the basic human freedom to determine their social and economic status. Claiming that Tibetans are currently treated as second-class citizens in their own country, and are barred from political and cultural expression, Mr. Chhoekyapa appealed not for independence but for genuine autonomy in Tibet. He asked that Tibet be allowed to manage its own domestic affairs, including education, religion, and its local economy while Beijing handles its foreign affairs and defense. Appealing for the support of the international community, Mr. Chhoekyapa quoted the Dalai Lama: "I remain convinced that most conflict can be resolved through non-violence and dialogue."

The problem of repression of unique cultural identities was further emphasized as a worldwide issue when participants related it to the Kurds in Turkey and the Manchus in North-West China.

Speaking about the outcomes of the preceding UNESCO conference on self-determination as a means of conflict prevention, which took place in Barcelona on 21 to 27 November 1998, Mr. Onoo Seroo from United Nations Education stressed the need for civil society representation. Identifying the right to self-determination as a key ingredient to peace, Mr. Seroo advocated civil society as a platform for the promotion of universal respect for cultural and national diversity through human rights education and the media. He called for greater representation of minority groups, indigenous peoples and other unrepresented peoples and said that the right to self-determination should be ranked higher on the agendas of the UN, governmental organizations and NGOs. Another theme reiterated in his speech was the need for reform of the colonialist, Euro-centric laws in the international arena.

Discussion points
An observation by Mr. Shal Al-Dujaily of the Iraqi Democrats Society, regarding a seemingly unequal representation of the world's unrepresented peoples in today's panel of speakers, brought to mind deeper implications of the difficulty in forming a World Civil Society Organization. He observed that even if a forum is created to allow representation of various civil society groups, that there is still the difficulty of true representation and democracy. Other questions about the legitimacy and necessity of third-party intervention in conflict resolution and prevention were also brought up.

Conclusions
In conclusion, Mr. Joshua Cooper reminded participants of the core principal of this year's Geneva World Civil Society Forum -the need to establish a base for peace and human rights. He emphasized the need for a civil society forum as a public stage as well as the imperative of the formation of a network of solidarity working both at grass roots and international levels.

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