Procedures for consultations with indigenous peoples - Experiences from Norway
In 1984, the Sami Rights Committee (Samerettsutvalget) presented its report, which provided for the adoption in 1987 of the Sami Act (Lov om Sametinget og andre samiske rettsforhold – “Sami Parliament and Other Sami Legal Matters Act”). The Act recognizes the
Sami as an indigenous people and establishes that the Sami people are to have their own
nationwide Sami Parliament (Sámediggi), elected by and among the Sami population (Sami
Act, 1987, Article 1, paragraph 2).
The Sami Act was subsequently reflected in the Norwegian Constitution, which was amended
in 1988 to stipulate that “[i]t is the responsibility of the authorities of the State to create
conditions enabling the Sami people to preserve and develop its language, culture and way
of life” (article 110a of the Norwegian Constitution).2
The Sámediggi was established in 1989. The rationale for the establishment of the Sámediggi
was that the Sami constitute a minority in Norway and therefore will not be represented in
ordinary democratic organs, which are based on majority democracy. In addition, as an indigenous people, the Sami have the right to control their own future by preserving and developing their language, culture and way of life (Sámediggi, undated).
The mandate of the Sámediggi is “any matter that in the view of the parliament particularly
affects the Sami people”. In addition, the Sámediggi “may on its own initiative raise and
pronounce an opinion on any matter coming within the scope of its business. It may also on
its own initiative refer matters to public authorities and private institutions, etc.” (Sami Act,
1987, Article 2, paragraph 1).
The Sámediggi website goes on to explain that the business of the Sámediggi covers all
types of questions regarding rights in all spheres of society. The Sami have various sets of
rights: as individuals, as a distinct people and as an indigenous people. The Sami have customary rights to their traditional land and waters and rights to the resources pertaining to
these areas, which constitute the collective material basis for their culture. These rights also
concern matters such as language, education, health and the administration of their cultural
heritage (Sámediggi, undated).
In 1990, Norway became the first country to ratify ILO Convention No. 169. Norway thereby
committed itself to complying with a legally binding instrument of international law concerning the rights of indigenous peoples, with institutionalized supervisory bodies. Since then, the
provisions of the Convention, along with the comments issued by the ILO supervisory bodies
to Norway, have constituted major reference points in the process of elaborating legislation
and procedures in Norway to uphold the rights of the Sami people.
Soon after ratification, divergent understandings of the Convention’s provisions regarding
land rights emerged. As explained by Henriksen:
2
In 2014 the Constitution was amended and, as a consequence of those amendments, article 100a became new article 108,
with a slightly different wording, viz.: “The authorities of the state shall create conditions enabling the Sami people to preserve and develop its language, culture and way of life.” (See: https://www.stortinget.no/globalassets/pdf/constitutionenglish.
pdf). As the references in this text are to the pre-2014 text, in the interests of consistency, the article will be cited throughout
as “article 110a”.
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