Land and water rights proposed for Sami people in Nordic countries Expert panel submitted a draft convention on indigenous rights HELSINKI – A joint Nordic expert group proposes that the indigenous Sami people of Finland, Norway, and Sweden should have rights to land and water areas that have been traditionally used by them.
According to the proposal for a Nordic Sami Convention, the obligation of the state would be to define the areas for which the Sami would have users’ rights. The Sami would also be given the right to take part in the public administration of these areas.
The proposal was submitted in Helsinki on Wednesday 16 November to the ministers responsible for Sami affairs in Finland, Sweden, and Norway and the presidents of the Sami Parliaments of the three countries.
Finnish governmental representatives of the panel found it difficult to accept some parts of the proposal, including those on land rights and reindeer herding. However, Finland did not submit any dissenting opinions.
Various interested parties are now being asked to comment on the proposal, after which further revisions can be made to the text. It is estimated that the convention could be ready in a couple of years.
The parts of the draft convention concerning land and water rights follow the lines of ILO (International Labour Organisation) Convention no. 169 on the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. ILO Convention 169 is ratified by Norway, but not by Finland and Sweden. The ministers of Sami affairs of the Nordic countries have not yet taken a stand on the new proposal for a Nordic Sami Convention.
According to the proposal, the Nordic Sami Convention would be a treaty among the states in question, which means that the Sami people themselves would not be a party to the convention. The paper would also not apply to Sami living in Russia, but it would apply to Russian Sami living in the Nordic Countries.
Ratification of the agreement would require the approval of the Sami parliaments of the three countries.
The basic idea of the convention is that the Sámi are an indigenous people who live on the territory of several countries. The states are given the responsibility to provide the Sami with adequate conditions. The Sami must be given the possibility to preserve and develop their language, culture, livelihoods, and societies with minimum interference from state borders.
As a people, the Sami would have autonomy, the implementation of which is in the hands of the Sami parliaments of the various countries. Under the agreement, authorities of the countries would be required to consult the Sami Parliament before making decisions affecting the Sami.
Under the proposal, Norway and Sweden would preserve and develop reindeer herding as the exclusive right of the Sami. In Finland, where reindeer herding is not the exclusive right of the Sami, the state would commit itself to strengthening the position of Sami reindeer herding.
The draft convention was received on behalf of Finland by Minister of Justice Leena Luhtanen, on behalf of Norway by Minister of Labour and Integration Bjarne Håkon Hanssen, on behalf of Sweden by Minister of Agriculture Ann-Christin Nyquist, on behalf of the Nordic Sami Parliamentary Council by Pekka Aikio, Chairman of the Finnish Sami Parliament, on behalf of the Norwegian Sami Parliament by President Aili Keskitalo and on behalf of the Swedish Sami Parliament by Chairman Lars-Anders Baer.
Updated 18.11.2005
Published by: Magne Ove Varsi
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