UN rights expert to assess Sami’s situation
(Jenny Israelsson Skoglund/ Sameradion & SVT Sápmi)
A UN human rights expert arrived in northern Sweden on Tuesday for a three-day conference on the human rights situation of the Sami people.
The organization’s Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, will assess the situation for the indigenous Sami people in Finland, Sweden and Norway during conference organized by the Sami Parliamentary Council.
“This visit offers a unique opportunity to assess key issues affecting Sami people across the Sápmi region, including their rights to self-determination and to land, water and natural resources, as well as matters involving children and youth, such as education and language,” Tauli-Corpuz said in a news release.
Findings to be submitted in 2016
She added that she would also “explore progress of the recommendations” made by the previous special rapporteur to Finland in 2010.
Tauli-Corpuz, a Philippine national, will meet with representatives from the Sami Parliaments and the Governments of Norway, Sweden, and Finland and local non-governmental organizations.
Her findings will be submitted next year in a report to the UN Human Rights Council.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Nunavut gets EU exemption for seal products, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Sámi petition gains ground in Finland, YLE News
Greenland: What the EU seal ban has meant for Inuit communities in the Arctic, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Alarming situation for indigenous peoples in Russia, Barents Observer
Russia: Russia to give indigenous peoples priority in Barents chairmanship, Barents Observer
Sweden: Sami demand rights as indigenous people, Radio Sweden
United States: Alaska cultural tourism comes with challenges, Alaska Dispatch News
