UNPO CONFERENCE 2010

A motion in which farm murders in South Africa are condemned as a serious human rights abuse was accepted by the General Conference of the UNPO (Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation) in Rome . The motion was proposed and motivated by Dr. Pieter Mulder, FF Plus Leader. According to Dr. Mulder, there is an important positive shift in perception abroad with regards to Afrikaners.

Dr. Mulder was also elected as a member of the executive management or presidency of UNPO during the conference. The new UNPO president is Mr. Ngawang Choepel from Tibet .

Dr. Mulder and Mr. Andre Fourie, chairperson of the FF Plus' Foreign Relations Committee, attended the conference. The conference was held in the Italian Senate in Rome . Senator Emma Bonino, vice-president of the Italian Senate and previously an Italian minister as well as senator Marco Perduca of the Italian Democratic Party, acted as hosts.

"The attendance of the conference and the proposing of the motion is part of the FF Plus' internationalising of the South African situation," according to Dr. Mulder. "It does not help to wait until it is too late and then call on the world for assistance. The world should be consistently kept up to date about accomplishments but also human rights abuses in South Africa ," Mulder said.

The conference further dealt with the position of minorities within a democracy. Political solutions such as power sharing, federalism and self-determination were discussed. In a general motion which was accepted by the conference, the importance of the retaining of one's own language and culture in the protection of minorities were stressed.

UNPO (Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation) was established in 1991 as an organisation which works for minorities and indigenous peoples on an international level. Some of the founding members include Tibet , Taiwan , Estonia and Georgia . At present the UNPO has 54 members which represent more than 200 million people from across the whole world.

Statement issued by Dr. Pieter Mulder, FF Plus Leader, June 2 2010

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