From civil rights abuses and lying about the motives of independence groups in the media, to mass murder, and attempted genocide, the UN ignores the plights of almost all independence movements around the World.
The UN is designed to keep peace between nations and within nations. It is not designed to be focused on hearing unrecognized peoples and generally will bias itself in favor of existing nations. Even when people have been killed in a mass murder by a government who is part of the UN, or when historical civil rights have been suspended or abused by a government live on television – the UN and largely the international community, therefore, will not talk about it or allow the atrocities and lack of freedom to be discussed on the world stage. Hence a different forum is needed for many issues dealing with democratic accountability to adequately be heard.
Below are numerous examples of independence movements around the world who have been ignored by the UN, western countries and western media.
DISCUSSION:
The global pursuit of independence and self-determination has been a powerful force for centuries. Yet, the United Nations, an institution designed to promote peace and justice, has consistently ignored the voices of many legitimate independence movements around the world. From the erosion of civil rights to outright violence and suppression, the plights of countless people seeking freedom are systematically overlooked.
The UN’s role, as it stands, is inherently biased in favor of maintaining the status quo—protecting existing nations rather than recognizing unrepresented or oppressed peoples. As a result, the atrocities committed by member states often go unaddressed. Whether it’s the suspension of civil rights, live on television, or the mass killings orchestrated by governments, the UN turns a blind eye. This tendency to overlook the violent repression of independence movements is especially apparent in regions where sovereignty is contested.
One stark example is Cameroon, where the Anglophone regions have endured years of violence and displacement. As noted by Foreign Policy, over half a million people have been displaced due to conflict, yet the UN failed to address the crisis until May 2019—nearly two years after the violence began (source). Even then, the issue was only addressed in an informal meeting, a sign of the international community’s lack of urgency.
Similarly, the Kurdish quest for independence in Iraq was dismissed by both Iraq and the UN. In 2017, the Kurdish region held a peaceful referendum, with an overwhelming majority voting for independence. However, as Reuters reported, the UN refused to participate in or endorse the referendum, effectively shutting down the Kurdish people’s peaceful plea for autonomy (source).
Catalonia’s struggle for independence reveals another layer of global indifference. After the 2017 referendum, which saw Spanish police violently cracking down on peaceful voters, the EU and UN remained largely silent on the matter. Reports like the one from the Assemblea Nacional Catalana denounce this silence, pointing out the EU’s hypocrisy in addressing rule-of-law violations while ignoring Spain’s blatant suppression of Catalonia’s democratic rights (source).
The Need for a New Global Platform
The systemic disregard for independence movements goes beyond specific instances—it reflects a global framework that is resistant to change. From the Sikhs voting for independence from India in San Francisco, away from the violence they would face at home (source), to the Lakota Elders’ rejection by the UN when they attempted to submit a genocide complaint against the U.S. government (source), it is clear that a new international platform is needed. One that prioritizes the voices of those who seek self-determination over the geopolitical interests of dominant powers.
Even in regions like West Papua, where independence activists have tirelessly campaigned for freedom, their efforts have been rebuffed by the UN and international media. According to The Guardian, a petition for West Papuan independence was rejected at the UN’s decolonization committee, reflecting yet again the global community’s unwillingness to address calls for self-determination (source).
Such disregard is not just a failure to uphold the UN’s foundational values—it is a violation of the human right to self-governance. The UN, designed to prevent conflict and promote justice, has instead become a tool for preserving the interests of established states at the expense of the oppressed. For independence movements across the globe, the path forward lies in creating new forums where these voices can be heard, and where democratic processes can take place unimpeded by external powers.
Global Examples of Neglect
The UN’s bias is evident in its inconsistent treatment of independence movements. The Miskito Indians of Nicaragua have faced what many experts have described as an ongoing genocide, yet their plight is ignored on the world stage. Despite calls for the enforcement of international laws prohibiting genocide, the global community remains silent on the atrocities occurring in Nicaragua (source).
In Ambazonia (Southern Cameroons), the crisis continues to be one of the most underreported conflicts in the world. The Guardian reveals that despite the mass human rights violations, including sexual violence and the destruction of communities, the international response has been minimal (source). Even though the region’s fight for independence is driven by legitimate grievances, the conflict has received scant attention in the media, reinforcing the sense of isolation felt by those striving for freedom.
The Tuareg people in Mali face a similar struggle. Their self-declared independence in 2012 was swiftly rejected by global powers, including the African Union, the EU, and the U.S. Despite their declaration of sovereignty over northern Mali, international bodies insisted on respecting Mali’s territorial integrity. France 24 documented this dismissal, showing how the world prioritizes geopolitical interests over the right to self-determination (source).
The story is the same for Western Sahara, where the Sahrawi people continue to fight for independence from Morocco. Despite decades of conflict, their quest for sovereignty is largely ignored by the international media and political leaders alike. According to The New Humanitarian, the conflict in Western Sahara remains unresolved, with no significant international pressure applied to address the Sahrawi’s demands for independence (source).
A Call to Action for Sovereignty Movements
The UN’s failure to address the aspirations of independence movements is not just an oversight—it is a direct challenge to the principle of self-determination. For too long, the international community has placed geopolitical stability above the rights of peoples to choose their own path. Movements like those in Ambazonia, Catalonia, and Kurdistan are reminders that the desire for freedom and self-governance cannot be silenced forever.
California, with its own unique identity and progressive vision, understands these struggles all too well. The call for sovereignty, whether in California or Ambazonia, is rooted in the fundamental human right to govern oneself. Until global institutions like the UN begin to take these movements seriously, the world will continue to see conflict, displacement, and suffering.
Now, more than ever, there is a need for an international forum that genuinely represents the interests of people over states. As the world becomes more interconnected, it is time for the voices of independence movements to be heard, respected, and acted upon.
EXAMPLES:
“The conflict in Cameroon’s Anglophone areas has drawn comparatively little international attention. The United Nations Security Council will address the crisis for the first time in an informal meeting on May 13, and yet it has displaced more than half a million people over the past 20 months.”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/05/13/cameroons-separatist-movement-is-going-international-ambazonia-military-forces-amf-anglophone-crisis/
“U.N. says won’t play a part in Iraqi Kurdish referendum”
https://www.reuters.com/article/world/un-says-wont-play-a-part-in-iraqi-kurdish-referendum-idUSKBN1961UD/
“The report denounces that the EU Commission’s 2020 and 2021 rule of law reports are “completely silent on the numerous rule of law infringements the Spanish government has committed in response to the 2017 Independence Referendum in Catalonia”,
https://int.assemblea.cat/news/eu-commission-double-standards-spain-catalonia-unjustifiable/
“Security Council Fails to Recommend Full United Nations Membership for State of Palestine”
https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15670.doc.htm
“We’re trying our best, and we’re voting peacefully, you know, not any violence or anything, every Sikh outside India. Because in India, they cannot talk. So, we are voting in every state wherever we can.”
https://sfstandard.com/2024/01/28/sikhs-converge-on-san-francisco-to-vote-for-an-independent-state/
“A delegation of Lakota Elders has been refused the opportunity to personally deliver an official Complaint of Genocide against the United States to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, his staff, or any other high ranking United Nations officials.”
https://truthout.org/articles/united-nations-fails-to-accommodate-lakota-genocide-complaint-un-sends-security-chief-instead-of-diplomat-to-meet-lakota-delegation/
“In doing so, it also cast light on how poorly politicians and journalists in the US understand matters significant to Indian Country. The heart of the Indigenous struggle in America concerns treaty rights and an ongoing effort to ensure the federal government lives up to these historic pacts.”
https://www.cjr.org/opinion/indigenous-journalism-erasure.php
“the report said UN headquarters’ talks with the 193 member states “were heavily influenced by what it perceived member states wanted to hear, rather than what member states needed to know if they were to respond.” Turning to the Security Council, the report said the body had been “deeply ambivalent” about putting Sri Lanka on its conflict agenda.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_United_Nations
“I discuss Nicaragua’s ongoing–internationally ignored–genocide of the Miskito Indians and the accompanying exploitation and environmental devastation of their lands. I conclude by urging the U.S. and the UN. to immediately enforce international laws prohibiting the crime of genocide”
https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA460220638&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=10905251&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E82df769e&aty=open-web-entry
“Why has exposure and media coverage on the multitude deaths of Nagas been ignored, even suppressed? …Because Indian and Myanmar media act as exponents of the ruling classes and for dozens of years the international media had no access to India or Myanmar thereby lacking knowledge on the history and perspective of this long but relatively unknown armed conflict.”
https://frontierweekly.com/archive/vol-number/vol/vol-47-2014-15/47-48/47-48-Unending%20War%20in%20Nagaland.html
“Catalan referendum: attacks on journalists, biased coverage”
https://rsf.org/en/catalan-referendum-attacks-journalists-biased-coverage
“Spain’s disregard for Catalan press freedom is setting a dangerous precedent…Ahead of the independence referendums in Scotland in 2014 and Quebec in 1980 and 1995, there were certainly accusations of media bias. In Scotland pro-independence activists gathered outside BBC Scotland a couple of days before the vote to protest against alleged institutional bias in favour of the union with England. Meanwhile, independence campaigners were continually accused of being abusive on social media.”
https://theconversation.com/spains-disregard-for-catalan-press-freedom-is-setting-a-dangerous-precedent-84922
“Here’s the EU head of Reporters Sans Frontières, quoted in a new report on the Catalan imbroglio: “The climate for the free exercise of journalism has been tremendously corrupted by extreme polarisation in Catalan politics and society. The regional government’s eagerness to impose its own narrative on to the local, Spanish and international press has crossed red lines, and the intimidating manoeuvres of the central Spanish government have certainly not helped.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/29/free-speech-catalonia-madrid-toxic-media
“Despite claims of global coverage made in the taglines of international media organisations, this crisis has barely been covered. To the criticism that western media tend to ignore ‘faraway tragedies’, Chicago Tribune journalist Charles Johnson places the responsibility on audiences, commenting that reader interest largely influences the emphasis made on certain stories. Yet on Ambazonia, an Internet search on coverage of the tragedy reveals only a handful of stories by international (and western) media, notably The Guardian and the New York Times.”
https://waccglobal.org/genocide-in-the-news-on-media-elitism-and-racism/
“SADLY, there are so many sites of suffering in the world that some crises do not receive the urgent attention that they deserve. The genocide and abuse of human rights in the war between separatists and the authoritarian government in Southern Cameroons, also known as Ambazonia, is an international atrocity — yet one that is not nearly discussed enough.”
https://claudiawebbe.org/an-international-atrocity-that-is-being-ignored/
“A recent Amnesty International report details atrocities – including sexual and gender-based violence – by armed separatists, militias and security forces against civilians. The crisis has also disrupted hundreds of thousands of children’s education and halted socio-economic activities in the two regions. The conflict continues to evade continental and international scrutiny.”
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/time-to-resolve-cameroons-persistent-yet-forgotten-crisis
“The drafting of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples spanned over two decades and even then the instrument nearly fell at the last hurdle. A scheduled vote for approval at the UN General Assembly was delayed to address state fears that recognition of indigenous groups as “peoples” in the instrument would lead to their exercise of self-determination to secede from states. It was only after amendments were made to the instrument to assure that no right to secede from states was granted that a vote to approve the instrument carried forward”
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwij2fmAroSJAxXxDTQIHQn0D-g4ChAWegQIEhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fresearchportal.northumbria.ac.uk%2Ffiles%2F27519462%2F19663.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1-0LNe__8DwXMid3WRePpF&opi=89978449
“Media bias and the Scottish referendum: BBC gets the blame as usual”
https://theconversation.com/media-bias-and-the-scottish-referendum-bbc-gets-the-blame-as-usual-31759
“So, on the objective evidence presented here, the mainstream TV coverage of the first year of the independence referendum campaigns has not been fair or balanced. Taken together, we have evidence of coverage which seems likely to have damaged the Yes campaign”
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/bbc-bias-and-scots-referendum-new-report/
“Partly for this reason, the political demands of hundreds of thousands of Sahrawis who support the Polisario Front—an anti-colonial national liberation movement established in 1973 to recover sovereignty over Western Sahara—are systematically sidelined in global political agendas and mostly ignored in mainstream media.”
https://merip.org/2021/04/an-invisible-war-in-western-sahara/
“Western Sahara’s ‘frozen conflict’ heats up, but world’s attention elsewhere”
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2023/02/01/Western-Sahara-Morocco-Polisario-Sahrawi-UN
“The perceived threat of autonomy – to any degree – for Szekely Land is the reason why Romania (along with four other EU members: Cyprus, Greece, Spain and Slovakia) still stubbornly refuses to recognise the independence of Kosovo. Mustn’t give those meddling Magyars ideas, is the logic.”
https://emerging-europe.com/from-the-editor/why-autonomy-is-romanias-dirtiest-word/
“Global powers dismiss Tuaregs’ declared independenceThe African Union, the US and several European countries have rejected the Tuaregs’ self-proclaime…d independence in northern Mali,… The African Union dismissed it as “null and of no value whatsoever”, while the European Union and United States both called for respect of Mali’s “territorial integrity”.
https://www.france24.com/en/20120406-world-rejects-tuareg-independence-declaration-north-mali-rebel-international-community-azawad
“In his admittedly leading questions, he refers to the massacres which killed hundreds of people in Azawad, the poisoning of wells and the killing of animals, the last two of which are lethal in the desert. Confirmation that the Malian government is capable of committing the atrocities reported by these Tamasheq civilians can be found in its willingness to bomb civilian populations, even refugee camps, as they did during the MNLA’s fight for Azawadien independence. “
https://amazighworldnews.com/mali-and-azawad-independence-obscured/
“Head of the Kabylie independence movement MAK, Ferhat Mhenni, rejected the recent recycled accusation of terrorism used by the Algerian regime to crackdown on independence activists at home. Several human rights watchdogs have denounced the use by the Algerian authorities of fabricated terrorism charges to silence journalists, human rights defenders, political activists, and peaceful pro-democracy protesters.”
https://northafricapost.com/79681-kabyle-independence-leader-slams-algerias-terrorism-accusations-reaffirms-peaceful-struggle.html
“Tens of thousands of Kanak demonstrators have been mobilising peacefully since February to denounce these reforms. In the absence of dialogue, a violent conflict has been raging since May 2024.”
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/08/france-un-experts-alarmed-situation-kanak-indigenous-peoples-non-self
“Nearly five years after the islanders of remote Bougainville voted decisively in a referendum for independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG), local frustrations are rising as the political process falters. More than 97 percent of voters in the autonomous island region of about 300,000 people, in eastern PNG, chose independence over greater autonomy in a 2019 referendum. But there cannot be a change in its political status until the result has been ratified by PNG’s parliament.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/27/political-deadlock-frustrates-bougainvilles-aspirations-of-independence
“Papua New Guinea’s prime minister has warned foreigners shouldn’t treat the prospects of an independent Bougainville as a “plaything”.
Bougainville independence not a ‘plaything’ for foreign media, PNG leader says”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/01/bougainville-independence-not-a-play-thing-for-foreign-media-png-leader-says
“Why is the world still ignoring the cry for Biafra Independence?”
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-world-still-ignoring-the-cry-for-Biafra-Independence
“more immediately, however, the secessionists had to confront the reality of continued international isolation”
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781400871285-008/pdf?licenseType=restricted
“Last week, the United Kingdom added the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) to its list of proscribed terrorist organizations. ..The Chinese welcomed the British designation, …On September 3, 2002 the United States designated ETIM under Executive Order 13224–a 2001 Executive Order issued by president George W. Bush aimed at disrupting terrorist financial networks. The UN likewise added ETIM to its list of terrorist organizations on September 12, 2002, which the U.S. Treasury Department called “an important step toward greater cooperation in Central Asia against common terrorist threats and the instability and horror that they sow.” Notably, ETIM has not been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. State Department.”
https://thediplomat.com/2016/07/brits-blacklist-east-turkestan-islamic-movement/
“UN rights body rejects Western bid to debate Xinjiang abuses”
https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-religion-china-geneva-middle-east-64078b301797f08b7f32e147c185c77f
“West Papua independence petition is rebuffed at UN. Exiled leader Benny Wenda presents smuggled petition to decolonisation committee but chair says Indonesian takeover of province is not on its agenda.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/30/west-papua-independence-petition-is-rebuffed-at-un
“At the UN, West Papuan activists sought the support of African delegates who they believed were likely allies. They argued West Papua and Africa shared a history of racial oppression and a desire to see the end of colonialism in all its forms. …While African leaders were sympathetic to the cause of West Papuan activists, they were already committed to the Non-Aligned Movement led by Indonesia…This bloc supported Afro-Asian solidarity and committed leaders not to interfere in the affairs of other nations.”
https://theconversation.com/how-the-world-failed-west-papua-in-its-campaign-for-independence-129623