A/HRC/18/35/Add.2
to draft a Nordic Sami Convention, made up of six members, with one appointed by each
Nordic Government and Sami parliament.
12.
In 2005, the expert group unanimously agreed on a draft text for the Convention,
which was presented to the Sami parliaments and Nordic Governments that same year. The
draft Convention has 51 articles divided into seven chapters, and includes provisions related
to self-determination, non-discrimination, Sami governance – including the Sami
parliaments and their relationship to the State, Sami language and culture, Sami education,
Sami rights to land and water, and Sami livelihoods. The draft Convention also contains
several provisions related to its implementation.
13.
The Special Rapporteur commends the Sami people and the Governments of
Norway, Sweden and Finland for the significant work achieved to date to develop this
important instrument. He looks forward to monitoring negotiations aimed at adopting the
Sami Convention, which are to resume in 2011 with the aim of reaching agreement within
five years, as discussed further in section IV(A)(1) of this report.
B.
Norway
14.
The principal foundation for Sami policy in Norway is article 110a of the
Constitution and the Act concerning the Sami Parliament (the Sámediggi) and other legal
matters pertaining to the Sami (“the Sami Act”). The amendment of 1988 to the Norwegian
Constitution explicitly calls upon authorities to protect the Sami and their culture and
traditional livelihoods, stating that “it is the responsibility of the authorities of the State to
create conditions enabling the Sámi people to preserve and develop its language, culture
and way of life.”2 Furthermore, the Government has recognized the discrimination and
imposed assimilation the Sami people have suffered, and has apologized for the poor
treatment of Sami people in the past.
15.
The Sami Act, the first key contemporary legislation addressing Sami issues in
Norway, was established to enable the Sami people in Norway to safeguard and develop
their language, culture and way of life. The act establishes the Norway Sami Parliament, or
Sámediggi, with the dual function of serving as an elected political body for the Sami and
carrying out administrative duties delegated by law or according to agreements with
relevant national authorities, within various areas affecting Sami people. It has 39
representatives elected from seven Sami constituencies.
16.
In 2005, the Sámediggi and the Government entered into an agreement concerning
consultation procedures which, according to the agreement, “apply in matters that may
directly affect Sami interests”3 and require that State authorities “provide full information
concerning relevant matters that may directly affect the Sami, and concerning relevant
concerns at all stages of dealing with such matters.”4 The agreement outlines consultation
requirements, which are generally in line with the consultation provisions of International
Labour Organization Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in
Independent Countries (ILO Convention No. 169),5 and advises that consultations shall not
be discontinued as long as the Sami Parliament and State authorities consider that it is
possible to achieve an agreement.
2
3
4
5
6
Article 110(a).
Procedures for Consultations between the State Authorities and The Sami Parliament [Norway],
signed 11 May 2005, section 2.
Ibid., section 3.
Although specific Sami communities’ right to consultation in matters that directly affect them are not
covered in the consultation agreement.