Royal Chancellery Press Release:

Mapuche Diplomatic Mission Attends 35th Anniversary Conference of the UNPO

30 August 2026

On 27–28 August a Mapuche diplomatic delegation which also works in conjunction with the Mapuche Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia headed by H.R.H. Prince Antoine V, attended the 35th Anniversary Conference of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), entitled “Reimagining Self-Determination,”  which took place in the international city of peace and justice, The Hague, Netherlands represented at the conference by its Special Envoy Ms Diana Eggleston.

H.E. Werken Reynaldo Mariqueo, Mapuche Special Envoy and Secretary of State for Diplomatic Affairs, Councillor of State, and H.E. Dame Nina Saleh Ahmed, Chancellor–Garde des Sceaux, President of the High Court of Justice, Councillor of the Kingdom, performing their dual roles as co-directors of the Global Indigenous Monarchical Alliance returned to UNPO to participate in its 2026 conference in The Hague, home of the United Nations International Court of Justice, at the Peace Palace.

Their attendance formed part of a diplomatic mission to further the foreign-relations endeavours in support of the Mapuche people through engagement with representatives of sovereign nations, unrepresented nations and peoples from across the world, and to promote greater international respect for and recognition of the rights of the Mapuche people. UNPO represents nations and peoples who are unrepresented within the principal institutions of international governance such as the United Nations, including stateless nations and peoples and communities whose territories remain subject to foreign occupation or state control.

Further discussions were held with Mrs Thinlay Chukki, representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration in Exile; the United Nations Special Rapporteurs Professor Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on minority issues, and Professor Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development; Mr Ben Sitwala Siyambango Nzehengwa of Zambesia or Sebitwane/Makololo country, founder of the Movement for the Survival of the River Races in Zambesia (MOSURIRAZA); and UNPO member, representatives of the Ogaden people and the ONLF organisation of north-eastern Ethiopia.

Self-Determination and the International Legal Order

The right of peoples to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law, while the particular rights of Indigenous peoples are further recognised through international instruments such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and ILO Convention No. 169, among other international provisions.

Yet despite the principles and protections established through the evolution of the international legal system, these mechanisms have repeatedly failed to adequately protect the inherent rights, territories and continued survival of Indigenous peoples throughout the world, leaving many communities vulnerable to repression, dispossession and control by the UN member states within whose internationally recognised borders their ancestral territories have been incorporated.

The Peace Treaty of Westphalia of 1648 contributed to the development of a European order based upon European sovereign states, establishing principles through which these powers sought economic prosperity, greater political stability and an end to historic conflicts between them. The later establishment of the League of Nations in 1920, and subsequently the United Nations in 1945, which replaced it, similarly created international structures by the descendents of those sovereign states intended to promote peace, political stability and cooperation between member states primarily to their own benefit.

Following the colonial era and the emergence of the international institutions of the twentieth century, the former colonial powers now recognised UN member states remained the principal architects and participants of the new international order. Indigenous peoples were excluded from membership and denied participation on equal terms in the creation and implementation of the international laws and political structures that would profoundly affect their own territories and futures.

Significantly, internationally recognised state borders consolidated after the world wars incorporated numerous Indigenous ancestral territories permanently within the boundaries of member states without consultation with them. For many Indigenous nations, this resulted not in genuine decolonisation but in the continuation of colonial relationships within the borders of the modern state a process of internal colonisation.

In place of the restoration of independence over Indigenous sovereign territories, Indigenous peoples were promised forms of self-determination and autonomy operating within existing state boundaries, but without the corresponding restoration of full ownership and control over their ancestral lands and resources.

As a consequence, post-colonial states retained extensive ownership, jurisdiction and control over the natural resources located within Indigenous ancestral territories. Those resources have continued to contribute substantially to member state economies and national development, frequently to the detriment of the Indigenous peoples upon whose lands those resources are situated.

The Continuing Legacy of Colonialism

Today, many Indigenous peoples remain severely impoverished as a direct consequence of the continuing legacy of colonialism and the development of international political and legal systems from which they were historically excluded.

Within existing state borders, numerous Indigenous nations and peoples continue to be denied effective enjoyment of their rights to ancestral territories and their human, political and civil rights. Their cultures, languages and traditions remain under pressure, while the continued survival of their communities is threatened by the activities of national and multinational corporations undertaking extractive operations upon Indigenous territories.

Such activities frequently take place without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples in line with international law, despite the recognition of that principle within modern international Indigenous-rights standards.

Across the world, Indigenous peoples defending Ñuke Mapu – Mother Earth and exercising their right to democratic protest continue to face criminalisation. Indigenous leaders, activists and environmental defenders have been labelled terrorists, imprisoned, disappeared and killed for defending their ancestral territories, communities and Ñuke Mapu – Mother Earth.

The Legacy of Ken Saro-Wiwa

Among the delegates present at the UNPO conference was Noo Saro-Wiwa, daughter of the late Ogoni rights and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.

On 10 November 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his Ogoni compatriots were executed by the Nigerian military state as a consequence of their campaign in defence of Ogoni ancestral territory and against the environmental consequences of oil extraction in Ogoniland, including the operations of Royal Dutch Shell.

Their executions provoked international outrage. President Nelson Mandela was among the international figures who strongly condemned the executions and supported international action against Nigeria, which was subsequently suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations.

The fate of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine remains a powerful reminder of the human cost that Indigenous and minority peoples have endured in defending their ancestral territories and natural resources against powerful state and corporate interests.

Reimagining Self-Determination

The theme of the UNPO 35th Anniversary Conference, “Reimagining Self-Determination,” sought to examine solutions to the failures and limitations of the existing United Nations system and international law, and to explore how autonomy and self-determination may be reclaimed and made meaningful for Indigenous peoples, unrepresented nations and minorities.

Such an approach is essential if these peoples are to receive genuine protection and be enabled to develop in a sustainable manner that safeguards the environment, their ancestral territories, their lives, cultures and traditions.

For the Mapuche, this principle is expressed through the Indigenous ancestral law and philosophy of Itrofill Mongen the protection and interconnectedness of all life on Earth guided by Kimün, ancestral knowledge, in determining actions affecting humanity, community, territory and the natural world.

H.E. Dame Nina Saleh Ahmed, Duchess of Neuquén, stated:

“It is only through the solidarity of Indigenous peoples and minority groups that true autonomy, self-determination, justice and liberation may be attained.

“Together, in unity, we can build a sustainable future that benefits humankind and all other forms of life upon Ñuke Mapu Mother Earth”.

“Our unity is our Newen our strength. Kimün our ancestral knowledge is our guide, and our spirituality is our compass our hope and courage.”

H.R.H. Prince Antoine V applauds the essential work undertaken at UNPO by the Mapuche delegation, the Secretary of State for Diplomatic Affairs and his Royal Chancellor, whose diplomatic mission continues this vital relationship with the international organisation at the highest level in the promotion and protection of Indigenous and minority rights.

The Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia remains committed to advancing international recognition of the rights of the Mapuche people and to standing in solidarity with Indigenous peoples, unrepresented nations and minority communities throughout the world in their continuing pursuit of justice, dignity, autonomy and self-determination.

 

By H.E Dame Nina Saleh Ahmed
Duchess of Neuquén
Chancellor – Garde des Sceaux
President of the High Court of Justice