Place and time: Lossi 36-305, 18 September 2025 16:30-18:00
Moderator: Dr David Ilmar Lepasaar Beecher
Speakers: Maaja Mäll, Mercè Monje Cano (Secretary General of the UNPO)
When the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) was founded in 1991 in The Hague, Estonian intellectuals and dissidents, including Dr. Linnart Mäll, played a key role in shaping its spirit. Emerging at a time when suppressed nations started to reclaim their voice, the UNPO represented a belief that freedom, democracy, and the right to self-determination are universal, and that international order must be built on the equal participation of peoples, not only states.
Today, the UNPO continues as a global alliance of nations, minorities, and indigenous communities, representing over 300 million people and aiding them in defending their cultural rights, addressing political repression, gaining access to decision-making institutions, and training young activists. Its current strategy reflects the urgency of today’s geopolitics: moving beyond symbolic recognition toward proactive agenda-setting, innovation, and solidarity.
In this DeFacto Dialogue, Maaja Mäll, daughter of Dr Linnart Mäll, will reflect on her father's work on the rights of peoples and his role in founding the UNPO, while Mercè Monje Cano, UNPO's Secretary General, will discuss UNPOs present role as both a legacy of unfinished struggles and a platform forging new visions of international cooperation.
The event is organised by the De Facto States Research Unit of the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies.
