Procedures for consultations with indigenous peoples - Experiences from Norway
2.1.2. Recognition of the Sami as an indigenous people
The consultation procedures are premised on the recognition of the Sami as an indigenous
people in the context of international law.
The 2006 guidelines for consultation make explicit reference to Article 1 (b) of the Convention,4
concluding that in Norway the Sami clearly comply with the criteria for being considered an
indigenous people (Norway, 2006: 2).
In addition, the Convention indicates that self-identification as indigenous “shall be regarded
as a fundamental criterion for determining the groups to which the provisions of this Convention
apply” (Article 1, paragraph 2). This criterion is also met in the case of the Sami.
2.1.3. Rationale
The consultation procedures clearly respond to obligations of the Norwegian State both under
the Constitution and under international and domestic law. As described in section 1.2 above,
however, on the process leading to the adoption of the procedures, it also became clear to
both the Sámediggi and the Norwegian State authorities that a more systematic approach to
consultations would avoid misunderstanding and help prevent conflicts. The 2006 guidelines
specify that consultations between the Sámediggi and the authorities may mean that the
decision-making processes are more time-consuming than usual. The conduct of satisfactory consultations will ensure, however, that the subsequent implementation of the measures
concerned is both smoother and faster. Decisions based on questionable legitimacy, at either
the local or the international level, may be difficult to implement. In addition, such lack of
legitimacy may also create the need for further consultations, which increase the time and
the costs related to the processes even more (Norway, 2006: 3).
2.1.4. Link to participation and self-governance
The link between the provisions of Convention No. 169 regarding consultation (primarily
Article 6) and participation in the context of self-governance (primarily Article 7, paragraph 1)
is discussed in the 2005 report of the working group, which, as translated from the original
Norwegian, reads as follows:
Article 7, paragraph 1 [of Convention No. 169] contains several of the same formulations as
Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in accordance with which
[all] peoples, pursuant to their right to self-determination, have the right to determine their
political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. Article
7, paragraph 1 gives expression to the principle that indigenous peoples themselves, to the
extent possible, should exercise control over their own development, and the application
of this article thus differs from the duty to consult enshrined in Article 6. These provisions
are closely interconnected, however, and must be interpreted in relation to one another.
(…)
4
Article 1 (b) of Convention No. 169 indicates that the Convention applies to ”peoples in independent countries who are
regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, or a geographical
region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or colonisation or the establishment of present state boundaries and who, irrespective of their legal status, retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political
institutions”.
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