Grønlandsudvalget 2019-20
GRU Alm.del Bilag 33
Offentligt
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Inuit Arctic Policy
Inuit Circumpolar Council
GRU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 33: Materiale om ICC’s arktiske politik og strategi
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Inuit Arctic Policy
GRU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 33: Materiale om ICC’s arktiske politik og strategi GRU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 33: Materiale om ICC’s arktiske politik og strategi
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Narsaq Museum
Igaliko Village
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Editors’ Note
1. Goals and Objectives
2. Inuit Rights, Peace and Security Issues
- Inuit Rights at the National Level
- Inuit Rights at the International Level
- Self Government
- Arctic and Global Security
- Peaceful and Safe Uses of the Arctic
- Peace and Development
- Circumpolar Regional Cooperation
3. Environmental Issues
- Climate Change in the Arctic
- Environmental Protection, Conservation and Development
- Renewable Resources and Inuit Subsistence Rights
- Renewable Resource Management and Intellectual Property
- Non-Renewable Resources
- Fresh Water Use and Management
- Arctic Marine Use and Management
- Arctic Marine Transportation
- Transboundary Nuclear Pollution
4. Social Issues
- Health and Social Well-being
- Sexual Equality and the Changing Roles of Women and Men
- Inuit Children
- Inuit Youth
- Inuit Elders
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5. Cultural Issues
- Inuit Culture, Language and Cultural Development
- Communications, News Media, Information Technologies
- Archeological and Other Cultural Property
- Religious Freedom
6. Economic Issues
- Economic Development
- Employment and Training
- Air Transportation
- International Trade and Traffic
7. Educational and Scientific Issues
- Education
- Arctic Scientific Research
8. Implementation
Appendixes
Appendix I:
Circumpolar Inuit Declaration on Sovereignty in the Arctic
Appendix II:
United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
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Lene Kielsen Holm
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Acknowledgements
ICC would like to thank Mary May Simon for her contribution to the Inuit
Arctic Policy. Without her vision, insight and tireless effort, the state of the
Arctic and Arctic Policy would have been vastly different. She had the
foresight to understand the importance of this undertaking and to strongly
advocate for a comprehensive Arctic Policy, created by and for Inuit.
Many Inuit and non-Inuit have contributed. They are too numerous to
mention here but they should consider themselves thanked; their
contributions are much appreciated. Special thanks are directed to the Inuit
Center for International Understanding, Nuuk and to the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council, Canada.
Over the years, the Inuit Arctic Policy has become the main document for
development on many issues in the Arctic and has contributed significantly
in numerous ways as the Arctic has changed profoundly since the beginning
of this work. Arctic states and others are invited to join with Inuit in the on-
going challenge of building and carrying out a common Arctic vision that is
clearly supportive of the Arctic environment and beneficial to humankind.
This third edition of the Inuit Arctic Policy is edited and revised by Aqqaluk
Lynge and Marianne Stenbaek.
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Arctic Flowers
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Lene Kielsen Holm/Narsaq Museum
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Introduction: The Inuit Arctic Policy
If you look at a globe from on top, you get a surprising view. Inuit own
or have jurisdiction over half the entire Arctic, stretching over half of the
world’s circumference; we are, in fact, the largest landholders in the world.
Yet, we number only about 155,000 in four countries Russia/Chukotka;
US/Alaska; Canada/Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Nunavut, Nunavik,
Nunatsiavut and Denmark/Greenland. The Arctic has been our home
and our sustenance for centuries.
By 2010, Inuit Nunaat, our homeland, has become a major force in
international and national politics, in climate change research and science,
in culture and arts, in minority human rights and models of indigenous
self-government. Arctic Sovereignty is one of our main concerns and is
now also an international concern.
Thirty years ago when the process of formulating a comprehensive Inuit
Arctic Policy began, it was almost a novelty to speak of Inuit rights and
some regarded the first document as unattainable. But people have
underestimated our adaptability and resilience. “We were a rag-tag and
young group of Inuit”, as Mary May Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit
Kanatami, recently said in a speech, “but we were determined”.
She was right, we were determined to improve our living conditions and
safeguard our land. We are a culturally-anchored people who not only
created principles for a policy but also managed to get many of them
implemented; today many of our early pioneers, who worked so tirelessly,
against almost impossible odds, are distinguished national or international
leaders. In those thirty years, the Inuit world has changed profoundly;
the Inuit Circumpolar Council and its Arctic Policy principles have played
an important role in this development.
However, as we worked to gain our rights nationally and internationally,
it also became apparent that the original Arctic Policy needed revisions
and updating for the Inuit Arctic Policy is a living and evolving document.
This work was entrusted to Aqqaluk Lynge, ICC Greenland and Marianne
Stenbaek, McGill University, Canada. I want to acknowledge them and
express ICC’s gratitude to them for this new edition that I trust will be as
influential as the previous edition.
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Introduction
I would also like to express ICC’s continuing gratitude to Mary May Simon
who originally inspired the Arctic Policy work and worked so hard to make
it a reality. Eben Hopson will always be remembered with gratitude and
devotion as the founder of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (now Council)
in 1977 in Barrow.
Jim Stotts, Chair
Inuit Circumpolar Council
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I
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
1. To establish a comprehensive Inuit Arctic Policy in Inuit circumpolar
regions in regard to matters of economic, social, cultural, environmental as
well as political concerns.
2. To achieve a broad consensus on the priorities, policies, and principles to be
advanced in Inuit circumpolar regions, taking into account the significance
of the Arctic and its resources to both present and future generations of
northern peoples.
3. To encourage co-ordination of policy-making and decision-making in the
international community, particularly in and among those states with Arctic
jurisdictions and interests.
4. To ensure the survival of Inuit as a distinct people, and to integrate Inuit
cultural values and concerns in all aspects of Arctic Policy, as appropriate.
5. To emphasize the importance of an economic base in the North, and the
continuing right of Inuit to participate in the management and development
of the Arctic and its resources.
6. To give due priority to improving the quality of life in Inuit communities and
the right of Inuit to exercise adequate control over actions and activities
significantly affecting their northern regions.
7. To protect the delicate Arctic environment, including marine and other
resources upon which Inuit depend.
8. To devise principles for an Inuit Arctic Policy which not only ensures
recognition and respect for Inuit rights and interests, but also protects the
human and other fundamental rights and freedoms of all northern peoples.
9. To favour those policies and principles which foster peaceful diplomacy and
the use of appropriate and safe technologies in circumpolar regions.
10. To promote international understanding and co-operation in Arctic matters
through collaborative, co-operative research; informational, cultural, and
educational exchanges; and international agreements.
11. To proclaim November 7th, the birth day of the ICC visionary and founder,
Eben Hopson Sr., as “Inuit Day”, and all Inuit governments, agencies and
communities should also be urged to proclaim annually this day as “Inuit
Day” with appropriate ceremonies and celebrations.
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Goals and Objectives
Children Listening
Community Meeting
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Sam Towarak
Sam Towarak
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II
INUIT RIGHTS, PEACE, AND SECURITY ISSUES
Inuit Rights at the National Level
1. As a distinct indigenous people, Inuit have both fundamental collective and
individual rights. These basic rights of Inuit must be guaranteed in the
national legal system of their respective states.
2. It is critical that Inuit be recognized and referred to both nationally and
internationally as a distinct “people”. Inuit are not mere “populations” or
“minorities”. These latter terms serve to unfairly deny or undermine the true
dignity, status, rights, and identity of Inuit as indigenous peoples.
3. In order to promote and protect the wide range of Inuit rights, it will be
beneficial for Inuit in each circumpolar region to develop a national strategy
which would be carried out within their own state. Promotion of rights and
policies consistent with those worked out with Inuit in other states must be
ensured through on-going collaboration within the ICC, among other means.
4. To protect and promote Inuit rights and status within each state, Inuit must
seek to obtain full participation in all national and governmental discussions
and major issues affecting Inuit interests. Where lacking, direct political
representation by Inuit in national and regional political institutions should
be actively sought, in order to obtain a more adequate government response
to Inuit concerns.
5. The promotion of Inuit rights at the national level should be carried out in a
manner which reflects Inuit priorities and with a view to producing concrete
benefits at the community level. Moreover, when dealing with national
indigenous issues, consideration should also be give to collaborating with
other indigenous peoples within the same state.
6. In addition, it is important to ensure that the general public and media
within each state are provided with accurate and sufficient information on
national Inuit positions. This may be achieved through radio and television
broadcasts, press conferences and other public appearances, newspapers,
position papers, and other written or electronic materials.
Inuit Rights at the International Level
1. It is recognized that Inuit rights extend across the circumpolar regions,
including marine areas, and transcend the national boundaries of Arctic
states. Inuit have the right to enjoy the full measure of human rights without
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Inuit Rights, Peace and Security Issues
hindrance or discrimination. In order to protect Inuit rights and interests in
Arctic regions, focus should be necessarily directed to international forums
since many related issues are increasingly regulated at this level.
2. Inuit should be accorded all the rights enshrined in the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
3. In order to achieve greater recognition and protection of Inuit rights by
states, it is beneficial to also seek endorsement and support for Inuit rights at
the international level. For these and other purposes, it is important that
Inuit be recognized as subjects of international law.
4. International treaties are often concluded between states on matters that
directly affect Inuit rights and interests. Meaningful participation by Inuit
should be ensured (for issues which concern them) at the policy formulation
and agreement implementation stages, when Arctic states are parties or
signatories to such treaties.
5. It is vital that Inuit have formal and direct representation in international
policy and law-making forums relating to indigenous peoples’ interests or
Arctic concerns. It is also important that Inuit participate directly in the
internal committees of Arctic states which deal with international matters
of relevance to Inuit.
6. In addition, Arctic states should provide for Inuit representation on
delegations to international organizations or conferences dealing with
matters affecting Inuit interests.
7. The ICC Executive Council shall be mandated to intensify its support to
indigenous peoples in Chukotka by building upon the 2001 memorandum
of understanding signed by the governor of Chukotka, the ICC president,
and the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Chukotka.
8. In promoting understanding, co-operation, and support for Inuit rights at
the international level, the Inuit Circumpolar Council has a significant role
to play, together with other Inuit organizations, in the various regions.
In this regard, the NGO (non-governmental organization) status of the ICC
within the United Nations provides Inuit with increased opportunities and
means to advance their positions and interests. ICC’s participation in the
Arctic Council and in the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
significantly advances Inuit interests.
9. The ICC should use its Permanent Participant status in the Arctic Council
to promote legal and administrative reforms to strengthen the Council and
increase the ability of Inuit to participate fully in the Council internationally.
10. ICC has a special role as an Indigenous Peoples’ Organization (IPO). This is
a basis for being a Permanent Participant in the Arctic Council and allows us
to nominate experts to UNPFII.
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Inuit Arctic Policy
11. Inuit and other indigenous peoples must have a stronger voice at the Arctic
Council and be adequately funded to participate fully in the Arctic Council’s
various working groups and projects.
12. Close contact and collaboration with international organizations involved
with environmental protection and sustainable use of living resources
should also be encouraged. It is important for Inuit to ensure that the
strategies proposed by these organizations fully take into account, and are
consistent with, Inuit rights, values and perspectives.
13. In promoting Inuit rights at the international level, it is useful for Inuit to
maintain close and effective liaisons with government departments which
deal with international matters within their own states. Efforts should also
be made to convince the states concerned to sign and ratify international
conventions (if they have not already done so), which are consistent with the
recognition of Inuit rights and Inuit Arctic Policy.
14. It is of utmost importance that Inuit, together with the ICC, work towards
having all countries endorse the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples.
Self-Government
1. As indigenous peoples, Inuit have the right to exercise sufficient control over
matters affecting their traditional territories, communities, and interests.
An integral part of this right of self-determination within states is the right
to self-government.
2. The right to self-government is consistent with recognized rights and
principles applicable to indigenous peoples under international law.
3. Inuit can only continue to develop as a distinct people by exercising
adequate powers of self-government within their traditional territories.
4. For purposes of self-government, Inuit have the right to determine their
own institutions, according to the circumstances and needs in their
respective regions. Such institutions must remain fully accountable to the
people they serve and be capable of promoting all aspects of Inuit
development.
5. Institutions of self-government may be ethnic or non-ethnic. However,
non-ethnic institutions must include adequate safeguards for the rights
and interests of Inuit.
6. Where competing federal, provincial, or state interests exist in regard to
certain subject matters, mechanisms for joint management or control must
be worked out. Such mechanisms must be consistent, whenever possible,
with principles of self-government.
7. Inuit institutions of self-government should be free to facilitate relations
between Inuit in the different circumpolar regions.
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8. Institutions of self-government shall exercise their powers in a manner
consistent with the fundamental collective and individual rights of Inuit and
other peoples, who are subject to the jurisdiction of these institutions.
9. Institutions of self-government shall be subject to fair and independent
procedures, through which decisions that are felt to be unjust or improper
may be appealed.
10. Additional mechanisms among Inuit may be necessary in order to co-
ordinate transnational policies and strategies in all circumpolar regions.
For such purposes, the Inuit Circumpolar Council and the Arctic Council,
among other entities, may serve vital functions.
11. ICC should establish a committee to examine the state of Inuit rights for
self-determination as recognized in international law, including the right to
self-government, and recommend options to the ICC General Assemblies,
to secure these rights everywhere in Inuit Nunaat.
Arctic and Global Security
1. Defence and foreign policy issues are traditionally the domain of state
governments. However, policy-making concerning Arctic and global
security is too crucial to exclude northern communities and should not be
left solely to experts within the military and government.
2. For true Arctic security to be achieved, there must be greater global security.
New concepts of common security are urgently needed that incorporate
environmental, health, social, cultural, and economic aspects. Security shall
not only be defined in military terms. In this context, respect for the rights,
values, and perspectives of the Arctic’s indigenous peoples is vital.
3. Inuit and other northern peoples have a responsibility to respond to the
call of the United Nations for concerted and comprehensive action on the
part of the world community. In this regard, the Inuit Arctic Policy should
clearly support the overall goal established by the United Nations General
Assembly of general and complete disarmament under effective
international control.
4. Suitable means should be devised to promote awareness and informed
discussion in northern communities of the dangers of nuclear weapons.
Also, efforts should be made, through education programs, to teach
students of different ages the values of disarmament, non-violent resolution
of conflicts, and world peace.
5. It is essential that the concept of an Arctic zone of peace be formally
accepted by Arctic states and others as an explicit and political objective.
6. In creating an Arctic zone of peace, consideration should be given to the
following principles, among others:
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Inuit Arctic Policy
Heiko Wittenborn
On the Land
Narsaq Museum
Sheep on the Rocks
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the zone of peace must foster international cooperation for solely peaceful
purposes and must be free of nuclear weapons;
testing of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction must not be
permissible;
as a general rule, the safeguarding of the Arctic environment must take
precedence over military exercises and activities;
peacetime military activities that disrupt or undermine the territories,
communities, rights, and security of indigenous and other northern peoples
must not be allowed. This includes low-level and supersonic flight testing
and training; and
international, circumpolar, and national systems of verification pertaining to
arms control must be encouraged.
7. For the above purposes, it would be beneficial to devise an Arctic foreign
policy as an integral part of the overall Inuit Arctic Policy. Foreign policy
considerations should not be limited to defence-related issues but should be
made consistent with environmental, social, and other aspects of the overall
Inuit Arctic Policy. Where possible, an Arctic foreign policy should be
developed in close collaboration with state governments within the
circumpolar region.
8. In order to attain the goal of world disarmament and security, offers should
be made, where possible, to increase reliance on non-military defences, both
national and global. In particular, support should be given to the concept of
strengthening international controls.
9. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and Indigenous Peoples’
Organizations (IPO), such as the Inuit Circumpolar Council, have a
specifically recognized role to play in promoting peace objectives. Direct
involvement of NGOs and IPOs has been expressively requested by the UN
General Assembly and the United Nations Education, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
10. As an Indigenous Peoples’ Organization (IPO), ICC has a special role by its
continuing participation in the UN Human Rights Council and its Expert
Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
11. The Inuit Arctic Policy should examine concrete ways to ensure full
compliance, by states, with existing international conventions promoting
peace, and global security.
12. Environmental and social impact assessment procedures must be
mandatory for proposed defence related projects or activities, as well as any
other mega-projects, which may cause adverse environmental or social
impacts within Inuit circumpolar regions. In particular, the siting,
construction, and operation of military bases, installations, and facilities
must be subject to impact assessment. Mining, oil drilling & other industrial
mega-projects must also undergo a thorough impact assessment process.
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Such assessments must take place at the earliest practicable point in time,
prior to the approval of an activity or project.
12. Inuit and other Arctic peoples must be assured timely access to relevant
information and full participation in the impact assessment process.
13. It is recognized that certain defence information, projects, or activities may,
in whole or in part, be confidential for reasons of national security. As a
result, they would not be subject to a public process of assessment. However,
national security restrictions should only apply where strictly necessary and
must not be used as a means of avoiding a full and open process of impact
assessment.
Peaceful and Safe Uses of the Arctic
1. The Inuit circumpolar homeland, including its land and marine areas, air
space, sea-bed and subsoil, must only be used for purposes that are peaceful
and safe.
2. New technologies appropriate to the Arctic should be promoted and made
available on a timely basis, along with the necessary training programs, so as
to facilitate northern economic development and improve the quality of life
in Arctic communities.
3. New and unproven technologies introduced in the Arctic should first be
demonstrated to be safe and appropriate for Arctic conditions. For such
purposes, environmental and social impact assessment conditions that
encourages the full participation of Inuit and other Arctic peoples must take
place. All relevant information pertaining to assessed technologies must be
made available to the public on a timely basis.
4. In accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, Article 27: “States shall establish and implement, in
conjunction with indigenous peoples concerned, a fair, independent,
impartial, open and transparent process, giving due recognition to
indigenous peoples’ laws, traditions, customs, and land tenure systems, to
recognize and adjudicate the rights of indigenous peoples pertaining to their
lands, territories and resources, including those that were traditionally
owned or otherwise occupied or used. Indigenous Peoples shall have the
rights to participate in this process.”
5. The Arctic must not be used for the storage or disposal of hazardous
substances of any kind, which emanate from other locations. In particular,
storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive wastes must be
prohibited.
6. The Inuit Arctic Policy must recognize that nuclear reactors, and the spent
nuclear fuel and radioactive wastes they produce, pose unacceptable
environmental, health, safety, and national security risks. It must also be
recognized that there is no certain way to spread nuclear technology for
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peaceful purposes to other states, without inevitably spreading the capability
to produce nuclear weapons along with it. In light of all the above risks, the
construction or use of nuclear reactors anywhere in the Arctic must be
prohibited.
7. Mining and refining of uranium, thorium, lithium, or other metals to be
used for nuclear weapons or nuclear reactors, as well as the reprocessing or
enrichment of their by-products, should be prohibited throughout the
Arctic.
8. Testing, use, manufacture, production, installation, or acquisition of any
nuclear weapons within the Inuit circumpolar homeland must be
prohibited.
9. It is unethical for any person, including governments, to apply any type of
economic or social coercion, directly or indirectly, in order to persuade
Arctic peoples to allow or accept any use or activities which are not
considered peaceful and safe according to the Inuit Arctic Policy principles.
10. It is important to ensure that there exists a uniform, consistent meaning of
“peaceful purposes” under the Inuit Arctic Policy. When formulating the
Inuit Arctic Policy, the various meanings of “peaceful purposes”, under
international law, should be carefully examined. Different meanings and
interpretations often result, depending on which international convention
applies and under what circumstances.
Peace and Development
1. The Inuit Arctic Policy should recognize that there is a profound
relationship between human rights, peace, and development. These
objectives are not truly realizable in isolation from one another.
2. Severe economic disparities and human rights violations can pose a threat to
world peace. At the same time, peaceful relationships and peace are
generally vital factors in striving towards social progress and development.
3. In a global context, peace is much more than an absence of war. It is
considered to entail a fair and democratic system of international relations,
based on principles of mutual and respectable co-operation as well as
equitable development.
4. In formulating a comprehensive Inuit Arctic Policy, it is important to take
into account the human rights of peace and development. Although they are
not yet fully recognized, enforced, or implemented, the right to peace and
the right to development are gaining international acceptance through UN
conventions and declarations.
5. The human rights of peace and development are considered as individual
and collective rights: they include both rights and duties.
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6. The Inuit Arctic Policy should reinforce the idea that the right of a people or
an individual to live in peace creates a corresponding duty on states to
resolve international disputes by peaceful means. The right to peace should
also include the right of Inuit and other Arctic peoples to participate in
decision-making on peace-related issues, particularly when it relates to or
affects the Arctic.
7. It is recognized that the emerging right to development is both complex and
multi-dimensional. Although the right to development brings together
traditional human rights, it is also an evolving concept in human rights law.
8. While the right to development responds to a pressing need of many states
and peoples for economic growth, its ultimate goal is development and
rights of individuals. In this way, it relates the economic progress of states to
the attainment of a broad range of human rights by individuals and peoples.
9. It should be expressly recognized that indigenous peoples, collectively and
individually, are active subjects of the right to development. Too often,
indigenous peoples are denied the right to their own economic, social,
cultural, and political development. In addition, the right to development
must include principles pertaining to equitable development and to
safeguarding the integrity of the environment. “Indigenous Peoples have the
right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as individuals, of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of the United
Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international
human rights law” (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
Article 1).
10. In light of the evolving and multi-dimensional aspects of the rights of peace
and development, the Inuit Arctic Policy should encourage detailed studies
of these rights with a view to strengthening their recognition and
application, both globally and in the Arctic.
Circumpolar Regional Cooperation
1. From both an aboriginal and environmental perspective, the Arctic and
sub-Arctic areas of the northern circumpolar world form a single region in
which many states and peoples are found. This region includes the Inuit
homeland (Inuit Nunaat), which transcends the geographical boundaries of
northern Canada (the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Northwest
Territories, Nunatsiavut (Labrador), Nunavik (Northern Quebec) and
Nunavut), United States/Alaska, Denmark/Greenland, and Russia/Chukotka.
Other Arctic countries include Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland.
2. Inuit and other Arctic indigenous peoples are ancient societies using and
occupying vast traditional territories which pre-date the creation of
moderm states. These first inhabitants of the Arctic have their own laws,
customs, institutions, cultures and rights which also pre-date those of
Arctic states.
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3. Numerous problems of the Arctic transcend the jurisdictional boundaries
of states and can only be effectively dealt with through international
cooperation, between and among peoples and governments.
4. Cooperation, information sharing, and solidarity among northern peoples
are increasingly vital, whether such peoples are indigenous like the Inuit,
Saami, and Dene, or ancient European societies like the Icelanders. In this
way, Arctic peoples can better deal with the many problems and issues of
social and political change. Currently, there is insufficient recognition and
respect for indigenous societies and rights in some countries, inadequate
protection of the Arctic environment, and often, the imposition of
centralized state policies unsuited to Arctic conditions and needs.
5. New and improved communication networks and other mechanisms are
needed to enhance circumpolar regional cooperation among Arctic peoples.
In this regard, meetings, workshops, and conferences should be encouraged
so as to provide appropriate forums for discussion of common concerns,
collaboration on research and policy work, and free exchange of views. This
may be done in situ or through electronic conferencing.
6. The Inuit Circumpolar Council has an important role to play in circumpolar
relations. State governments in the Arctic should support its work. The ICC
provides an ideal forum for Inuit from the various Arctic states to engage in
social and cultural relations and work together on a wide range of economic,
social, cultural, and environmental questions pertaining to Inuit and the
Arctic. Efforts should continue to ensure that Inuit in Chukotka fully
participate in the assemblies and other meetings and activities of the ICC.
7. Consistent with principles of self-government, Inuit and other Arctic
peoples should have direct input in the formulation and implementation of
Arctic co-operation agreements between states in matters relevant to them.
8. To further advance circumpolar regional cooperation, multilateral forums
such as the Arctic Council, are required in the Arctic. Such a forum should
include the eight Arctic states and Arctic indigenous peoples as permanent
participating members and be actively supported by the ICC.
9. It is recognized that circumpolar cooperation can be highly beneficial to
Inuit and northern peoples. It can also serve as an effective means of
strengthening Arctic states.
10. The Arctic is first and foremost the ancestral homeland of Inuit and other
northern peoples. In order to achieve real and lasting security in the Arctic,
northern peoples should encourage the development of new notions of
common security. Such new concepts of security should be based on the
promotion of human rights and international cooperation that should
include economic trade, cultural exchanges, environmental protection, food,
circumpolar research, and other peaceful initiatives.
11. Inuit and other northern peoples should work together to ensure that, when
necessary, key Arctic issues and concerns are made the focus of the
international community. This is particularly important in this age of climate
change.
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III
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Climate Change in the Arctic
1. The ICC believes in preventing dangerous climate change that will adversely
affect Inuit livelihoods.
2. Because of the Arctic’s unique physical and metaphoric importance to
climate change, the ICC should call on world leaders to designate
the minimizing of climate change impacts on the Arctic as one of the key
benchmarks for effectiveness of a post-2012 process. The ICC is deeply
concerned about the current and potential impacts of climate change on
the culture, health, spirituality and economy of Inuit throughout the Arctic.
Inuit are concerned about the health of the Arctic environment, which not
only sustains Inuit livelihood, but also plays a vital role in keeping the
earth’s systems healthy as a whole.
3. Inuit should work towards sustaining their lands and territories by obtaining
and ratifying a post-2012 agreement that will stabilize greenhouse gas
(GHG) concentrations at 350 parts per million by volume, in order to ensure
that long-term temperature increases will remain as close to 2 degrees
Celsius, as possible.
4. With the help of the ICC, Inuit should work towards making international
organizations recognize the impact of climate change on Inuit and put
resources in place to help Inuit adapt.
5. Traditional knowledge should be recognized as having validity and the Inuit
should make representation to the IPCC to develop a complimentary
assessment on climate change and indigenous peoples by utilizing and
addressing the important role of traditional knowledge in informing policy
decisions.
6. Inuit Traditional Knowledge has provided critical information about climate
change impacts in Arctic ecosystems, completing scientific knowledge.
Traditional Knowledge should be incorporated into and made the focus of
complimentary assessments through the UN system or by the IPCC as well
as in research projects/programs on Arctic Climate Change.
7. The ICC, in cooperation with national Inuit leaders, should call on the
international community, particularly the G20 countries, to use an
International Climate Change Adaptation Fund to aid Arctic regions in
developed countries. This fund could be financed by G20 countries to help
both indigenous peoples in developed countries as well as peoples in
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Landscape with Rocks
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developing countries to adapt to the inevitable changes and to accelerate
technology transfer.
8. Immediate financial assistance should be provided to assist Arctic
communities already significantly affected by climate change with
adaptation planning and implementation. Global leaders should be urged
to commit significant funding to support those most affected by climate
change, and this funding must be in addition to funding committed to assist
with development goals. Furthermore, mechanisms for delivering this
funding need to be carefully considered to ensure both equity and
accountability.
9. Funding and decision-making must be devolved to the lowest possible level
(i.e., communities instead of states) and should incorporate the right to
free, prior and informed consent as adopted by the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
10. Inuit must also call upon the international community for funds to ensure
that all countries participate in the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions,
including Short Lived Climate Forcers (SLCF) such as Black Carbon, in
order to limit global temperature rise.
11. ICC should work towards the goal of incorporating support for small-scale,
green energy technology as part of adaptation assistance. This assistance
should be available not only to communities in developing countries, but
also to Inuit, other Arctic indigenous peoples, and other vulnerable
populations. Appropriate, small-scale, green energy technology should be
part of adaptation and mitigation financing in support of healthy, local
economies.
12. Inuit should strive to foster resilience and the capacity to adapt by creatively
developing healthy, sustainable, self-governing communities. Adaptation
processes should deal with issues of food security, unemployment, housing
shortages and many chronic health issues. In addition, the cost of living in
Arctic communities should be addressed as part of any adaptation strategy.
13. The ICC recognizes the on-going need for Inuit to be actively engaged with
the circumpolar and international processes including the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations
Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), United Nations Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), the Arctic Council and international science
bodies (e.g. ICSU, IASC, IASSA) to ensure that the Inuit knowledge and
perspective are considered and reflected in these processes and ensuing
policies.
14. Furthermore, Inuit should engage with UNCLOS and IMO (the
International Maritime Organization) to develop rules for international
marine coordination in the Arctic on safety, emissions, and infrastructures
to increase safety as marine transportation may increase due to climate
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change. The Ilulissat Declaration 2008 provides a framework for some of
these issues.
15. Inuit should prioritize working towards the ratification of the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS.
16. ICC should work to have the following human rights conventions respected
due to their relevance for Climate Change: The UN Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (1948); International Covenants of 1966 on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR); ILO Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, 1989 (No. 169)
and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007).
17. ICC should work towards greater participation of Inuit observers in the
extensive network of weather observing stations and field stations, if
adequately funded trough such programs as AON (Arctic Observing
Network) and SAON (Sustained Arctic Observing Networks).
18. ICC should be committed to participate in future COP conferences in order
to advance the Inuit perspective.
19. ICC should work to ensure that any international agreements on climate
change recognize the unique cultural, economic and physical issues faced by
Inuit in adapting to climate change.
20. To the extent possible, ICC should ask national governments and research
organizations to develop policies that would coordinate the Arctic states’
research programs on climate change.
21. The Arctic is the Inuit Homeland and has been inhabited by Inuit for
thousands of years. Therefore, its inhabitants should be involved in and can
contribute significantly to the issues of Arctic Sovereignty as well as
development and management of renewable and non-renewable resources,
boundaries, tourism, food security and environmental concerns as climate
change may change the parameters and importance of these issues.
Environmental Protection, Conservation and Development
1. It is a fundamental objective of the Inuit Arctic Policy to protect the delicate
environment, including the marine and other resources on which Inuit
depend. The right to a safe and healthy environment is an emerging human
right and is especially important to Inuit.
2. Within the vast Inuit Nunaat, Inuit have the right and responsibility to
ensure the integrity of the Arctic environment and its resources, as a
continuing source of life, livelihood and well-being for present and future
generations.
3. It is increasingly accepted, both publicly and scientifically, that
environmental problems cannot be satisfactorily dealt with in a fragmented
isolated fashion. They are significantly interrelated. If environmental
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protection and management are to be successful in the Arctic, a holistic
approach should be adopted where the analysis of different but related
elements could be combined. Neither development nor conservation
objectives should be considered in isolation from each other; rather both
should evolve in harmony and in support of each other.
4. Strategies to protect and manage the Arctic environment are necessary at
international, national and regional levels. Individuals and organizations
such as the Inuit Circumpolar Council and the new Inuit Center for
International Understanding, as well as governments, can play a significant
role in stimulating public concern for the Arctic environment. Collaboration
with other organizations such as the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and other NGOs
should be encouraged.
5. The circumpolar Arctic should be the world’s barometer of environmental
health and Inuit should support resolution 22/11
Sustainable Development
of the Arctic
adopted by the Governing Council of the United Nations
Environment Programme in February 2003.
6. Innovative measures are required to ensure that environmental
considerations appropriately affect individual and collective behavior and
actions. For such purposes, environmental education processes should be
devised and implemented in a manner that is readily accessible to a variety
of persons and enterprises in the Arctic.
7. It must be recognized that, in many instances, detrimental impacts on the
Arctic environment can have serious adverse consequences beyond
northern limits and significantly affect the world environment, as is the case
for climate change and transborder contaminants.
8. There is an essential relationship between conservation and development.
Unless northern development applies conservation principles, it will not be
sustainable and Arctic ecosystems and resources may be severely damaged.
As a result, care of the natural environment should be an integral part of
development at all stages. It should be designed to clearly benefit Inuit and
other northern peoples and improve their quality of life. Local technologies
and knowledge should be used to promote culturally-appropriate
development.
9. It is important to recognize that initiatives taken to protect the Arctic
environment can contribute significantly to the economies of northern
regions and states concerned. A substantial number of meaningful jobs,
which should include local people, may be generated. In this context,
specialized training for Inuit should be a major consideration in order to
participate fully in employment opportunities.
10. Mandatory environmental and social impact assessment procedures,
acceptable to Inuit, should precede developmental activities that may affect
northern regions. Such assessments should be performed early enough in
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the planning process to be able to influence decisions and help formulate
alternative approaches. Inuit should give their free, prior and informed
consent to the assessment process. On-going evaluation and monitoring
should take place, even after a specific project has been approved. Inuit
should participate in assessment procedures and all aspects of the projects.
This participation should be facilitated through adequate training and
funding.
11. Special protection in the Arctic should be considered for unique ecosystems
and habitats of rare, threatened, and endangered species. ICC should further
develop and increase its participation in global efforts to implement the
Convention on Biological Diversity.
12. Adequate laws and enforcement procedures are needed to protect the many
facets of the Arctic environment.
13. In particular, the Inuit Arctic Policy should encourage studies on the
feasibility of creating an Arctic Environmental Bill of Rights. Elements to
consider would include:
provision of reasonable protection for such values and concerns as the
quality of human life and stewardship of the natural environment;
the right to a reasonable level of environmental quality based on indigenous
rights, individual and collective rights of Inuit to lands and resources and
the right to be compensated for damage to their culture and to the Arctic
environment and its resources, upon which they depend;
rights for individuals and peoples to appear in courts of law in order to
prevent environmental offenses affecting the Arctic;
rights of access to information on a timely basis;
the right to participate in the setting of environmental standards by state
governments or agencies;
rights to participate in situations where the burden of proof should be
shifted to the polluter;
funding for Inuit and other participants in environmental and social impact
assessment procedures and in the setting of environmental standards shall
be provided; and
provision of legislative standards should be implemented, so that the actions
of agencies mandated to protect the Arctic environment may be reviewed
by the courts.
14. In light of the crucial significance of the Arctic environment to Inuit, the
world community and future generations, the Inuit Arctic Policy should
support the punishment of crimes against the environment. This may be
necessary at the regional, national and international levels.
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15. The Inuit Arctic Policy must be concerned with transnational pollution
affecting the Arctic.
16. Measures to encourage international co-operation and management are
necessary. These could include:
entering into, or strengthening of, international agreements on acid rain,
ocean dumping, contaminants, and other environmental problems;
establishment of international monitoring agencies to measure the
performance of states, in protecting or adversely affecting the Arctic or
global environment;
creation of effective and binding procedures for resolving transnational
environmental disputes;
promotion of cooperative environmental and international research among
states; and
the development of uniform impact assessment procedures for the Arctic.
Renewable Resources and Inuit Subsistence Rights
1. Inuit subsistence rights include hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering.
The rights extend over the full range of traditional Inuit land and marine
areas in the Arctic. These rights are both collective and individual in nature.
Inuit rights to harvest flora and fauna in the circumpolar region are not
limited to traditionally harvested species. Also, as indigenous peoples and as
the primary resource users, Inuit have the right to manage Arctic renewable
resources including hydro-power. Inuit have the right to be secure in their
enjoyment of their subsistence practices and engage freely in these activities.
In this regard, Arctic states have a duty to take effective measures, in
conjunction with the Inuit affected, to maintain these subsistance practices.
2. An Inuit Arctic Policy must recognize that indigenous “subsistence” is a
highly complex notion that includes vital economic, health, social, cultural
and spiritual dimensions. The harvesting of renewable resources provides
Inuit with food, nutrition, clothing, fuel, shelter, harvesting equipment, and
income. Subsistence means much more than mere survival or a minimum
living standard. It is a way of life that requires special skills, knowledge and
resourcefulness. It enriches and sustains Inuit communities, in a manner
that promotes cohesiveness, pride, and sharing. It also provides an essential
link to, and communication with, the natural world of which Inuit are an
integral part.
3. It must also be recognized that indigenous subsistance activities are at the
core of Inuit art and culture. The identity and distinctiveness of Inuit, as well
as their values, perspectives, and overall sense of well-being, are profoundly
tied to, and shaped by, their subsistence activities and way of life.
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4. The harvesting practices of Inuit are a crucial part of their ancestral rights
and traditions. These practices are not static, but evolve with changing
Arctic conditions and circumstances. Inuit subsistence must not be defined
by the technologies used nor simply by whether income is generated.
5. An integral part of Inuit subsistence is an on-going dedication and
commitment to stewardship of the Arctic environment, for both present and
future generations. In order to protect Inuit subsistence activities, it is
essential to safeguard the integrity of the circumpolar environment. This
includes the atmosphere, lands, waters, and living resources and their
habitats in the Arctic.
6. Subsistence economies must be fully recognized as a highly significant and
vital form of development in circumpolar regions.
7. Self-regulation is a key element in the relationship between Inuit and
harvested resources. If fundamental principles of self-government are to be
respected, Inuit must exercise adequate control over renewable resources in
the Arctic. Compared with externally imposed rules, Inuit self-regulation
should prove to be more effective and less costly to implement. The
enforceability of Inuit-made laws or rules must be ensured within the
national legal systems of the Arctic states concerned.
8. Where rights and interests to Arctic renewable resources go beyond those
of Inuit, equitable arrangements should be made to provide for joint
management.
9. At the international level, adequate standards are clearly required
concerning recognition of, and respect for, the subsistence practices of
indigenous peoples. Efforts should be made to ensure that new international
instruments expressly address subsistence rights in a manner acceptable to
the indigenous peoples affected. Representatives of indigenous peoples must
directly participate in these international processes.
10. Existing international conventions, treaties and other agreements must be
examined by both Arctic states and Inuit to determine in what ways, and to
what extent, subsistence activities are being affected by these instruments.
ICC should participate in international bodies, in particular the Convention
on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), the World
Conservation Union (IUCN), the International Whaling Commission
(IWC), and the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO)
to defend the right of Inuit to harvest marine mammals and to trade their
products on a sustainable basis. ICC should also, where appropriate, lobby
international and regional bodies such as the World Trade Organization
(WHO), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the
European Union (EU) to help promote trade of Inuit goods and services
world-wide in ways that do not adversely affect Inuit hunting, fishing and
gathering rights.
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11. Conventions concerning migratory birds, sea mammals, polar bears, fish
and other animals should be regularly examined from an Inuit perspective.
12. The continuing significance of whales, polar bears, seals, and other marine
mammals to Inuit, as a coastal indigenous people, must be appropriately
recognized.
13. In regard to living resources in marine areas, the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea needs to be examined from an Inuit and
Arctic perspective. Efforts should be undertaken by ICC to monitor this
convention and to encourage countries to endorse and adhere to its
principles.
14. Inuit and other indigenous peoples must have clear priority in terms of
access to and use of Arctic renewable resources for subsistence purposes,
including inter-community trade. Any surplus in the sustainable harvest
could then be equitably divided among other types of users, according to
specific and agreed criteria.
15. Harvesting activities must be recognized as a vital factor towards Inuit
economic self-reliance and development. Arctic state governments should
actively support the subsistence economies of Inuit, through innovative
policies and programs that are jointly planned.
16. ICC should enter into discussions with Inuit hunters through national Inuit
organizations and, where appropriate, through their regional entities, on
existing and newly developing international sustainability covenants that
both strengthen and promote the rights of Inuit to use resources in a wise
and prudent manner. ICC should also promote the redefinition of hunting
and harvesting activities by indigenous peoples as a profession within all
international human rights forums, according to the ILO convention.
17. Comprehensive compensation recourses and procedures must be devised to
cover the full range of losses suffered by Inuit when harvested resources and
habitats have been impaired or destroyed. In devising a comprehensive
compensation process relevant to Inuit and the Arctic, elements to consider
would include (among others):
the need for an effective, rapid and equitable administrative system that is
sensitive and responsive to Inuit harvesting rights;
redress to Inuit should not only be based on past harvest levels of Inuit, but
also on the sustainable yield of future harvests by growing Inuit populations;
factors in determining the nature and extent of damages should include the
degree of injury to harvested resources and related habitats, importance of
affected resources to Inuit, dislocation of wildlife resources, duration of
recovery period for resources affected, and future need for harvesters to
travel greater distances in search of game; and
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Kangiqsujuaq – Naala with Grandchildren
Flying into Narsaq
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resulting social and cultural impacts on individuals involved in subsistence
activities and their families, as well as the immediate and long-term impacts
on Inuit community and society should also be assessed.
18. An Inuit Arctic Policy on renewable resources and Inuit subsistence
practices must take into account the devastating effects that international
anti-harvest and animal rights groups continue to have on Inuit
communities, culture, and economies. A comprehensive strategy must be
developed and implemented to effectively counter these opposing forces.
19. Elements of an overall strategy to counter international anti-harvest and
animal rights groups would include:
on-going collaboration between Inuit and other indigenous peoples to
formulate and implement a common strategy;
creation of an international non-indigenous support network for indigenous
subsistence practices;
securing of adequate international and national recognition and protection
for indigenous subsistence rights;
increasing of public understanding of subsistence practices and their
profound significance;
securing of expanded markets for products of indigenous harvesting; and
ensuring that Arctic and other state governments play an active supportive
role.
Renewable Resource Management and Intellectual Property
1. Renewable resources must be managed and protected in a manner that
maintains ecological balance, respects Inuit resource rights, and sustains the
renewable resource needs of Inuit, both now and in the future. Renewable
resources used by Inuit include terrestrial and marine wildlife, edible plants,
berries, flora for medicinal purposes, timber, driftwood, and water. ICC
should support indigenous property rights, and land, water, and air uses,
as well as sustainable development projects of renewable and non-renewable
resources in Inuit Nunaat homelands to include enhanced governmental
and private industry support for access to capital, employment, contracts,
financing, royalties, local revenue, and other financial benefits of
development. It should be ensured that governments and companies
provide formal opportunities for local Inuit involvement at the earliest
stages in the managing and planning of such projects.
2. In this regard, ICC shall work for the implementation of article 31 in the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People:
Indigenous Peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect, and develop
their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural
experiences as well as the manifestations of their science, technologies, and
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cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines,
knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral tradition, literatures,
designs, sports, traditional games, and visual and performing arts. They also
have the right to maintain, control, protect, and develop their intellectual
property, cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural
experiences; and
In conjunction with indigenous peoples, states shall take effective measures
to recognize and protect the exercise of these rights.
3. Flora and fauna are ecologically interrelated and interdependent. In regard
to renewable resources, an “ecosystem management” approach should be
adopted in which entire ecosystems are considered. Extinction of a single
species could have dramatic impacts on a whole ecosystem. The delicate
balance between different species of terrestrial and marine ecosystems in the
Arctic must be preserved. Wildlife, in particular, requires an ecologically
based system of management and a complementary system of land and
water management that includes habitat protection.
4. Inuit are an integral part of Arctic ecosystems. For generations, Inuit
subsistence activities have been and continue to be in harmony with, and
an important part of, the dynamic processes of Arctic ecosystems. The
profound relationship between Inuit and other living species of the natural
world has economic, health, social, cultural, and spiritual dimensions.
The Inuit interconnectedness with nature must be fully recognized and
integrated in resource management and conservation strategies pertaining
to the Arctic.
5. In undertaking renewable resource management, it is important to identify
the mounting and diverse threats to Arctic ecological processes, biological
diversity, and the future of Inuit harvesting.
6. Inuit have the right and the responsibility to manage renewable resources
within their traditional territories. In cases where resources are shared with
others or where migratory species are involved, equitable arrangements
must be made for cooperative or joint management.
7. Self-regulation is an integral part of the cultural relationship between Inuit
and the subsistence harvest. It is also an important facet of Inuit self-
determination. The different aspects of Inuit self-regulation cover a wide
range of duties and activities relevant to renewable resource harvesting.
8. Inuit traditions, customs, and rules relating to harvesting and resource
management should be an integral part of any Arctic renewable resource
management regime. The knowledge, experience, and input of Inuit
harvesters and hunting, fishing and trapping organizations should enhance
the prospects for effective resource management.
9. Protection of habitat must be an essential aspect of renewable resource
management. In particular, habitat management should be a key part of
species management.
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10. Transnational or regional networks of protected areas in the Arctic can play
a key role in environmental management, by safeguarding Inuit harvesting
areas and critical habitats that support them. Inuit rights of access to public
lands for the exercise of harvesting rights must not be restricted, except in a
manner acceptable to Inuit for reasons of conservation and public safety.
11. Resource management and economic development must be based on a
common approach that fosters understanding of, and appreciation for,
Arctic ecosystems and their components. This also applies to eco-tourism.
12. Inuit traditional ecological knowledge and Western scientific research are
both valid systems of knowledge that should be integrated and harmonized
within the context of cooperative research. Inuit traditional knowledge
should be protected by intellectual property rights.
13. Consistent with Inuit rights to self-determination and self-regulation of
renewable resources, Inuit should take a lead role in the planning and
undertaking of Arctic research on the environment. In determining research
priorities, consideration should be given to the following matters, among
others:
subsistence support studies, including baseline data, critical habitat
identification and characterization, and impact assessment;
development support studies, including methods to improve and enlarge the
renewable resource base;
ecosystem studies, including measures to protect the Arctic environment
and enhance Inuit subsistence activities;
development of new techniques and tools for harvesting, including humane
killing research;
means of improving hunting efficiency, as well as prevention of waste or
high loss rates;
methods of maintaining harvested resources at sustainable levels and
identifying factors that might lead to overexploitation; and
the importance of traditional knowledge.
14. It is essential that international law doctrines or principles not be used in
an inequitable, incorrect, or illegal manner by state governments and others,
so as to deprive Inuit of full recognition of their resource and other rights.
In particular, the concept of
res nullius
(property of nobody that is
susceptible to appropriation) must be recognized as an invalid doctrine in
relation to Inuit territorial and resource rights. In addition, the common
heritage of humankind principle (see 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of
the Sea) must not be applied in a manner that may in effect deny or diminish
Inuit offshore rights.
15. Education and training have a vital and on-going role to play in teaching
Inuit youth about such relevant subjects and activities as traditional and
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scientific resource management, subsistence practices and techniques,
Arctic ecosystems, and the harvesting of resources at sustainable levels.
The knowledge and experience of Inuit elders and other traditional
knowledge should be utilized in informing Inuit students and developing
their skills and be appropriately integrated in northern school curricula.
Non-Renewable Resources
1. As Arctic indigenous people, Inuit have rights to the possession, ownership,
and control of surface and subsurface resources within their traditional
territories. These rights are both collective and individual in nature and they
extend to offshore areas. Inuit rights include the right to manage Arctic non-
renewable resources and to fully participate in, and benefit from, policies
and projects associated with resource development.
2. It is important to recognize that violations or abuses of the fundamental
rights of indigenous peoples are most frequently related to development
issues. Developments imposed by states and third parties have served to
deprive indigenous peoples of their right to self-determination, an adequate
land and resource base, means of subsistence, and other human rights.
3. State government policies that continue to deny indigenous peoples their
full rights to non-renewable resources and that treat such peoples as
obstacles to development are colonial and out-dated. Development policies
and actions that fail to respect the basic rights of indigenous peoples are not
valid forms of development.
4. By their very nature, non-renewable resources are limited in quantity and
must be subject to responsible management, conservation, and rational
exploitation. The needs of not only present, but also future, generations of
Inuit and other northern peoples must be fully taken into account. In view of
these and other considerations, alternative forms of development should
always be considered when making development decisions concerning non-
renewable resources.
5. It must be recognized that Arctic non-renewable resources form an integral
part of the economic base necessary for the full exercise of Inuit self-
government. Appropriate access to, and benefit from, such resources by
Inuit are also critical, in order to substantially diminish the severe socio-
economic disparities that affect Inuit communities. Non-renewable resource
development projects must be designed with a view to improving the quality
of life in Inuit communities, in accordance with the aspirations, priorities,
and needs of the Inuit concerned.
6. Inuit non-renewable resource rights must not in any way be diminished or
otherwise affected, without the free, prior, and informed consent of those
Inuit concerned. In light of the short and long-term significance of non-
renewable resources to Inuit, expropriation by state governments is not an
acceptable means of securing control over Inuit resources. Many of these
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worries have now been addressed through self-government agreements,
except in Chukotka.
7. Where rights and interests to Arctic non-renewable resources go beyond
those of Inuit, equitable arrangements should be made to provide for joint
management.
8. Inuit have the right to decide their own priorities for development in or
affecting their traditional territories. In addition, Inuit have the right to
participate directly in all stages of regional, national, and international
development plans and actions that may impact upon them and the
circumpolar Arctic.
9. ICC must build upon the circumpolar oil and gas assessments currently
underway in the Arctic Council and develop case studies of environmentally
and culturally sustainable oil and gas development in the circumpolar world
for use in communication and advocacy. ICC should support indigenous
property rights as well as land uses in managing and planning development.
10. Non-renewable resource development projects in the Arctic must
not only be environmentally sustainable, but also be equitable from the
viewpoint of the Inuit affected. Social and cultural, as well as environmental,
considerations must be an integral part of regional, national, and
international development strategies relating in any way to the Arctic.
These strategies must not only be oriented towards economic goals, but also
strive to achieve social justice and preservation of culture.
11. It must be recognized that living resources and their habitats are particularly
vulnerable to severe adverse impacts resulting from nonrenewable resource
development. Application of adequate environmental and social impact
assessment and land use planning procedures must be assured, so that
renewable resources, Inuit subsistence practices and other Inuit concerns
are safeguarded.
12. Prior to proceeding with planned developments, Arctic state governments
and third party developers have a duty to negotiate equitable agreements
with Inuit in clear and unequivocal terms, so as to ensure them of direct and
adequate participation and benefits such as equity participation, revenue
sharing and resource taxation benefits.
13. The development process has to adhere to article 32 of the UN Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It is of particular importance that the
national and local government “…consult and co-operate in good faith with
the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative
institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the
approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other
resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization, or
exploitation of mineral, water, or other resources.”
14. It must be recognized that agreements to ensure Inuit participation and
benefits do not in any way alter the responsibility of developers to take
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suitable measures to safeguard the integrity of the Arctic environment and
Inuit culture and society.
Fresh Water Use and Management
1. The integrity and abundance of fresh water resources in the Arctic must be
protected as one of its most important resources.
2. New threats are emerging that could seriously undermine the quality of
Arctic life. These problems require both specific attention and stronger
initiatives at all levels than are presently being taken by governments.
Such threats include acid rain and snow, mercury pollution, pesticides,
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), POPs, radionuclides, and other toxic and
persistent substances from sources that are in many instances from outside
the Arctic. Furthermore, the acidification of waterways poses difficult and
destructive problems. Climate change is a major danger.
3. In order to safeguard the Arctic’s water resources for present and future
generations, it is important to recognize that the true value of water goes far
beyond ordinary economic terms. The inherent value of natural water
systems must be appreciated.
4. Water is a critical part of the Arctic’s natural ecosystems, upon which both
flora and fauna depend. It is essential to the survival of human life.
It provides vital support for the traditional and modern pursuits of Inuit.
In addition, Arctic water systems must be appreciated for their aesthetic
and recreational worth.
5. Presently, there is a need to develop a comprehensive policy for all aspects
of water use and management in the Arctic. Such a policy should adopt
a multi-disciplinary and international approach that recognizes the
interdependence of land and water uses. In addition, social, cultural,
economic, and environmental factors must be considered.
6. To promote successful water management, the following elements should
be considered (among others):
the watershed or drainage basin of a river and its tributaries is often the
most appropriate unit for water management. Therefore, the involvement
and cooperation of a number of regulatory agencies and jurisdictions may be
required;
sufficient research and data are necessary concerning each Arctic watershed
and the biological resources that depend on it. In undertaking such research
activity, Inuit experience and knowledge should be an integral part;
all uses of a particular water system should be taken into account, as well as
other activities that may affect the quantity, quality, and water levels of such
system;
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water demand as well as water supply should be appropriately managed in a
balanced manner;
water pricing can be beneficial in that it provides incentives to avoid waste
and it also generates revenues to help cover the costs of water supply and
waste water treatment; and
in evaluating a proposed activity, the benefits of its realization should clearly
exceed the costs. In this regard, the costs of irreversibly altering the Arctic
environment must be fully included and cooperation, both nationally and
internationally, among the various authorities and states with responsibility
for some aspect of the alterations affecting Arctic water use and
management has to take place.
7. Inuit have extensive rights in inland water areas within their traditional
territories, as outlined in agreements with their respective nation states.
They have rights to waters surrounding their lands, and offshore rights to
national and international as well as traditional usage.
8. Inuit also have a right to safe drinking water. Adequate water quality
standards should be maintained in Arctic communities, through proper
water treatment, monitoring, and enforcement.
9. It is important that an Arctic waters management regime address conflicting
uses. Such uses may include shipping, hydroelectric power, interbasin
transfers, mining, oil, and gas developments. As a general rule, pre-existing
Inuit uses should have priority over proposed new water projects or
activities, unless otherwise agreed. Probable impacts and ramifications on
the land, wildlife and people of dams, channel modifications, and other
projects must be fully taken into account.
10. In cases where fresh waters, plants, wildlife and their habitats, and Inuit
harvesting are affected by development activities, Inuit have a right to full
and fair compensation.
11. Waters and other areas of particular importance to Inuit culture and society
should also be protected through specific legislation.
12. It is important to establish comprehensive strategies and policies to deal
effectively with the various forms of transboundary pollution, either water-
or air-borne. ICC should strongly promote the need to keep the Arctic
environment safe from trans-boundary pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals.
It should call upon governments to enact domestic legislation and promote
and implement multilateral agreements to reduce and/or eliminate harmful
environmental damage and resulting human health problems in the
Arctic. Regional ICC offices should lobby their respective governments to
immediately ratify (if not already done) and to urge other states to ratify
the 1998 POPs Protocol to the UN/ECE Convention on Long-range
Transboundary Atmospheric Pollution, the 2001 Stockholm Convention
on POPs, and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol pursuant to the 1992 Framework
Convention on Climate Change.
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13. Toxic and persistent substances from transboundary sources are
increasingly affecting Arctic waters and every part of the Arctic food chain.
In many instances, vapours or fine dust (Arctic haze) transport this
pollution from other continents.
14. Access to adequate and reliable information on transboundary sources of
pollution must be ensured through greater international cooperation of
states and through the UN International Repository for Potentially Toxic
Chemicals and other supervisory bodies.
15. Mining activities can be a major source of water pollution within
circumpolar regions. In particular, measures must be taken to ensure the use
of environmentally safe disposal methods for mine wastes both during
operation, and long after mines are abandoned. These concerns should be
addressed in a stringent environmental impact assessment process.
16. Large-scale water diversion projects affecting the Arctic merit strict and
careful attention, since they increase water supplies and water flow in one
watershed at the expense of another.
17. Increased sedimentation, alterations in water levels, contaminants, and
other impacts can seriously affect fish and other sea mammals. It may,
therefore, undermine Inuit harvesting, navigation, and tourism. Where
oceanic basins and estuaries are involved, changes in river discharges can
upset the balance of Arctic marine processes. As a result, the overall
productivity of coastal waters and fisheries may be deeply disturbed.
18. In devising new institutional arrangements for water resource management,
it is important to clarify responsibility and accountability for water policy
making, regulation and monitoring. Adequate surveillance and enforcement
must be ensured by a sufficient number of appropriately trained staff.
Inuit must benefit from the training and employment opportunities at all
levels in respect to Arctic water management.
19. It is important to ensure that research and data on fresh water management
issues are generated on an on-going basis, in an efficient and coordinated
manner. Research priorities should reflect the concerns of peoples and
communities in the Arctic and the research should include local people.
20. Inuit have a right to be involved and Arctic states have a duty to involve
Inuit, when devising policies and implementing international conventions or
other agreements affecting Arctic water resources and surrounding lands.
Arctic Marine Use and Management
1. Increased exercise of Inuit offshore rights in the Arctic is crucial for the
survival, development, and future of Inuit. It must be fully recognized that
the traditional territories of Inuit encompass vast marine areas, including
sea ice, in circumpolar regions. Inuit indigenous rights include the right to
harvest or otherwise use renewable and non-renewable resources and to
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Inuit Arctic Policy
Nature’s Bounty
Jackie Cleveland
Drying the Catch
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fully participate in the management, development and benefits deriving
from marine resources.
2. The protection of the Arctic marine environment and the conservation of
marine resources are fundamental to the maintenance of global ecological
health and stability. Arctic oceans and their ecosystems must be valued as an
essential world resource.
3. At the same time, it must be recognized that Inuit are a primary user of
marine life, including marine mammals, fish, shellfish, birds, and marine
plants. These resources form the backbone of the Inuit subsistence
economy. The maintenance and enhancement of this economy is basic to
the health and survival of Inuit society and culture.
4. The significance of sea ice to Arctic ecosystems and living resources
requires particular emphasis in Arctic policies affecting marine areas.
The distribution and concentration of fish, marine mammals, and wildlife
are affected by the extent of ice cover, its times of formation and melting,
and its movements. Sea ice must be protected as a habitat and platform for
marine mammals and other biological resources. Ice cover must also be
recognized as an important element in determining the timing and intensity
of the spring bloom of tiny plants at the ice edge. These plants are at the base
of the food chain on which fish, birds, and marine mammals depend.
5. The fundamental importance of sea ice, especially land-fast ice, to Inuit
must be appropriately recognized by Arctic states, both in policy and
decision-making. Sea ice is a vital component of Inuit subsistence activities
and quality of life, providing both cultural and spiritual fulfilment. Sea ice
has been, and continues to be, used for camping, harvesting, transportation,
and recreational purposes.
6. There is a need to devise an overall policy on sea ice in circumpolar regions
that is responsive to Inuit and ecological concerns. A sea ice policy that
recognizes and protects the essential role of both ice cover and polynyas is
crucial to the sound management of Arctic oceans, the conservation of
marine resources, and the survival and on-going development of Inuit
subsistence economy and culture. The effects of climate change on sea ice
has to be taken into consideration.
7. Comprehensive Arctic marine management and development policies
primary and explicit purposes must be to meet the social, cultural, political,
and economic needs and priorities of Inuit, and to respect Inuit values and
offshore rights.
8. Marine, atmospheric, and terrestrial ecosystems in the Arctic are
interdependent. This interrelationship must be appropriately recognized
in the development of Arctic marine management plans. The increased use
of Arctic waters for tourism, shipping, research and resource development
also increases the risk of accidents and, therefore, the need to further
strengthen search and rescue as well as clean-up capabilities around the
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Arctic Ocean to ensure an appropriate response from states to any accident.
Co-operation, including the sharing of information, is a prerequisite for
addressing these challenges. ICC should work to promote safety of life at sea
in the Arctic Ocean, through bilateral and multilateral arrangements among
relevant states.
9. A thorough and quickly implementable emergency system for any spills of
oil or other material has to be made available to communities.
10. Arctic waters are composed of regional seas, each of which are ecologically
interrelated but have their own particular characteristics and management
needs. An Arctic marine management framework should include regionally
based management systems and be sufficiently flexible to address the needs
of each regional sea.
11. Multilateral and transnational cooperation among Arctic and other states
is a prerequisite to the development of a circumpolar system of marine
management which is based on a common understanding of the
conservation and protection of Arctic marine resources, as well as Inuit
rights in, and uses of, Arctic marine areas.
12. It must be recognized that coastal zones are areas of high biological activity
and serve as main migratory routes of marine mammals during seasons of
open water. Coastal zones also merit particular attention since they are the
areas where land-based development occurs and where land-based
pollution enters the marine environment. When drilling for offshore oil,
an environmental impact assessment should be carried out. Awareness is
necessary in regard to the pollutant discharges from fishing and hunting
vessels as well as from increased commercial shipping and offshore drilling.
13. Arctic state policies regarding the management and development of the
seabed and its resources must be established in collaboration with Inuit.
Environmental and social impact assessments of offshore activities, such
as platform construction, dredging, and seabed drilling and mining, must
include full consideration of the potential impact on the seabed and other
resources.
14. It is an essential principle that Inuit and the circumpolar regions must
substantially benefit from Arctic offshore resource development. Revenues
generated from approved offshore projects should be directed towards
financing specific measures to safeguard the marine environment, ensuring
direct benefits to Inuit communities, and providing an economic base for
Inuit self-government, among other Arctic matters.
15. Comprehensive measures are urgently needed to address ocean dumping at
regional, national, and international levels. In particular, a ban on ocean
disposal of low-level radioactive wastes should be pursued by Inuit and
Arctic states. Every state government has a responsibility to make available
an accurate inventory of the low level wastes it allows to be discharged in
marine areas, so that the cumulative and other impacts of these wastes can
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be fully assessed. The Inuit Arctic Policy should support an express ban of
any burial of radioactive wastes in the seabed and insist that nuclear states
assume the full responsibility and costs of dealing with the wastes they
generate.
16. It is important to identify and effectively address the principal sources of
oil pollution in marine environments. These sources may be “operational”
discharges from ships (e.g. deballasting), ocean dumping of wastes or major
spills from offshore drilling rigs.
17. In regard to offshore drilling and the possibility of a major oil spill, the
following elements should be considered, among others:
the need to ensure that Arctic states, Inuit communities, and the oil industry
are prepared for a major spill resulting from a well blowout or other sources
in the Arctic;
availability of adequate equipment and trained personnel in circumpolar
regions, so as to maximize conditions for a timely and
efficient clean-up response;
oil spill contingency planning on a yearly basis by Arctic state government,
Inuit, and industry representatives;
consideration and approval of oil spill contingency plans for a particular
project;
free, prior, and informed consent for permission to drill;
testing of oil spill equipment and holding of surprise oil spill response
exercises under Arctic conditions as allowed by national coast guard
operations;
in the case of each project, estimating the environmental and social costs of
full restitution should a worst-case blowout or spill occur; and
securing adequate financial guarantees from industry to cover spills, so as to
avoid costly and time consuming litigation.
18. The Inuit Arctic Policy must emphasize that oil spill clean-up is not a
substitute for effective preventative measures. In this regard, it is vital to
establish regulatory systems at the international and national levels that take
the profit out of polluting the world’s oceans.
19. Marine areas of exceptional importance to the Arctic environment or to
Inuit culture should be identified and designated as requiring special
protections. These areas should be exempted from marine transportation
by tankers and other large vessels, as well as certain forms of resource
development.
20. It must be recognized that military activities in circumpolar seas can pose
unacceptable environmental and other security risks to Inuit and the Arctic.
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21. Arctic state governments must dedicate increased resources to Arctic
marine-related research. Research priorities should be determined in
conjunction with Arctic Inuit and other Arctic peoples. Such research
should integrate traditional knowledge with western science. The five
coastal states (i.e. Russia, U.S.A., Canada, Norway, and Denmark/
Greenland) included in this work currently cooperate closely in the Arctic
Ocean, with each other and other interested parties. This cooperation
includes the collection of scientific data concerning the continental shelf,
the protection of the marine environment and other scientific research.
This cooperation, which is based on mutual trust and transparency, should
be strengthened through timely exchanges of data and analysis.
22. ICC should work for the adoption by all communities and countries of the
UN Convention of the Sea.
Arctic Marine Transportation
1. In view of the potential adverse impacts associated with marine transit in
circumpolar regions, it is imperative that a comprehensive policy on Arctic
marine transportation be devised and implemented. Such a policy or
strategy must include international, national, and regional aspects. Ocean
contamination in other parts of the world eventually affects the oceans of
the Arctic. Also, innovative developments in marine science and technology
are opening up new uses of Arctic oceans, which could lead to intensified
marine traffic. This is particularly true in areas where the sea ice increasingly
diminishes often at an alarming rate such as in the different North West
Passage routes, the Davis Strait, the Arctic Ocean, the Beaufort Sea and the
Bering Strait as well as the North East passage. Climate change will also
open up areas that have been previously difficult or impossible to navigate.
The Arctic Council and other international forums have already taken
important steps on specific issues, for example, in regard to safety
navigation, search and rescue, environmental monitoring and disaster
response and scientific cooperation, which are relevant also to the Arctic
Ocean. The five coastal states of the Arctic Ocean will continue to
contribute actively to the work of the Arctic Council and other relevant
forums. A large part of the Arctic Ocean is contiguous to Inuit Nunaat, Inuit
should therefore be consulted.
2. Of particular concern to Inuit are vessel noise, ship tracks, and oil spills and
their consequences on marine mammal migration as well as on subsistence
practices of Inuit, and their diverse use of sea ice.
3. It is important to recognize that by far the principal source of oil pollution
in the world’s oceans are not accidents, which must be seriously addressed,
but intentional “operational” discharges. It must also be recognized that
most marine accidents are caused by human negligence or error. During
loading and unloading of oil or chemical shipments, improved watch
requirements and other procedures should be implemented to provide early
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Going Fishing
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detection of spills. However, the overriding concern is the increased melting
of ice and other potentially detrimental effects of climate change on the
oceans and waterways.
4. In addition, efforts should be made to eliminate the “flag of convenience”
registry for marine vessels. Under existing international rules, ships may be
registered with, and carry the flag of, a foreign country with which they have
no genuine connection in order to lower standards in terms of crew training
and ship safety.
5. As a further preventative measure against ocean oil spills, it is crucial that
improvements be made in ship design. Oil tankers must generally be
required to have double hulls and those tankers navigating in ice-covered
waters should be ice-reinforced.
6. States should impose a charge or levy on tankers and other marine vessels
that do not have double hulls, when required, or fail to meet other national
standards.
7. Tanker traffic, in the Arctic, is highly risky and should be prohibited, except
when there is no other alternative for the delivery of essential community
supplies. In such cases, the routing of tanker and tank barge traffic must
avoid those areas that are environmentally sensitive or otherwise of
importance to Inuit at certain times of the year. This danger is quickly
increasing as waterways that could not previously be navigated now become
navigable due to changes in ice cover.
8. A system of registration should be implemented for all tankers and ships
sailing in the Arctic waters in order to track them in case of accident.
9. There is an urgent need to develop upgraded navigational or hydrographic
charts for Arctic marine areas, according to the highest standards.
In particular, uncharted underwater pinnacles pose great hazards to both
surface and submarine vessels.
10. Increased mapping of the waterways, including the ocean bottom and
ridges, has to be carried out in order to settle border disputes and various
international claims to the seabed in the Arctic Ocean, in accordance
with the UN Convention of the Sea.
11. It is critical in the Arctic to develop a proven capacity for immediate and
effective response to any oil spill. Coastal settlements should be equipped
with emergency equipment for a first response to oil and other chemical
spills.
12. Improved technologies have to be developed and be available for proper
containment and clean-up of chemical spills in marine areas. The full scope
of harm to the environment and health is generally not known and must
be fully investigated.
13. In addressing navigational, economic and environmental concerns,
reference should be made to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the
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Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). All countries should be encouraged to endorse
this convention and to adhere to its principles.
14. ICC should study the socioeconomic, environmental and cultural impacts
of the opening of the Arctic Ocean, the Northwest passage and other Arctic
waterways on our communities and should participate actively in the Arctic
Council’s assessments and projects concerning these waterways. ICC should
communicate the results of the Arctic Council’s work in this regard to Inuit
through the appropriate national and local organizations.
15. Inuit must be assured adequate national and international legal recourses
in the event oil, chemicals, or other substances pollute Arctic waters. Inuit
must ensure that the national legal systems of Arctic states recognize their
right to full compensation for collective and individual damages from
marine pollution.
16. Shipowners and oil drilling rig owners should be subject to strict liability for
ocean pollution emanating from their ships or oil drilling rigs.
17. In light of their profound relationship with, and dependency upon, the
Arctic environment, Inuit must be able to sue for damages to the Arctic
environment and its resources, as well as for social, cultural, and economic
losses.
18. In order to address the mounting pollution problems associated with marine
transportation, relevant research programs must be devised and carried out
on an on-going basis. As stated, this research must include direct Inuit
participation at all stages and the use of traditional knowledge.
Transboundary Nuclear Pollution
1. A clean and safe Arctic environment cannot be assured without effectively
controlling pollution hazards both in and outside the Arctic. Transboundary
pollution refers to pollution originating in one state or jurisdiction and
causing harmful impacts in another. A major source of ultra-hazardous
pollution could result from transboundary nuclear accidents.
2. Even if nuclear technology is excluded from the Arctic, circumpolar regions
may still be adversely affected by nuclear accidents arising from outside
the Arctic. Nuclear pollution can readily transcend national boundaries.
Transboundary nuclear pollution could have devastating environmental,
health, economic, and cultural impacts in the Arctic. Therefore, the
environmental and other hazards of nuclear energy must be seen as
international in scope and not solely the concern of the particular state
involved in nuclear power production or use.
3. As long as nuclear power continues to be used by some countries, the
international community has a duty to protect peoples and the global
environment from accidental transboundary harm. What is urgently needed
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is a comprehensive national and international regulatory regime for the
protection, mitigation, and reparation of accidental transnational damage.
4. Special measures must be devised to deal with any possible consequences
of accidental transboundary pollution by radioactive material in the Arctic,
as well as with international terrorist activities. In view of the possible
devastating consequences of any accident, involving radioactive materials,
transport of plutonium and other radioactive substances in or over the
Arctic should be prohibited. In addition to an international regulatory
regime, Arctic and other states should be encouraged to adopt more
stringent standards and rules through bilateral or regional agreements.
6. Existing limits on monetary liability for nuclear accidents must be removed
from national and international laws.
7. Inuit should be involved in and consulted about negotiations concerning
the dangers of terrorist attacks using radioactive materials.
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Berry Picking
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IV
SOCIAL ISSUES
Health and Social Well-Being
1. Health is more than the absence of disease. It refers to the state of the whole
person and has a direct bearing on the development of the individual and
her or his quality of life.
2. Spiritual, emotional, psychological, and physical well-being are all elements
to be considered in striving for good health. Cultural and environmental
factors in the Arctic must also be fully taken into account.
3. There is a close and vital relationship between socioeconomic development
and health. In particular, the profound impacts of health on work and
production in the Arctic should be appropriately recognized.
4. If the right to health as a fundamental human right is to have real meaning in
the Arctic, a comprehensive strategy must be devised and carried out. In
particular, steps should be taken to eradicate poverty, improve the standard
of housing and provide better education in order to break the circle of
unemployment and poor health.
5. ICC, in co-operation with national and circumpolar partners, should
develop a Circumpolar Health Action Plan that clearly identifies the health
issues, priorities, and mechanisms in which Inuit health priorities can be
advanced. Furthermore, ICC in co-operation with national and circumpolar
partners should lobby Arctic governments to support healthy communities
and initiatives to research this initiative.
6. State governments in circumpolar regions have a duty and responsibility to
guarantee access to health and social services to Inuit and other northern
peoples. Comparable levels of services must be ensured in the Arctic as
exists in other regions of each state concerned. More hospitals, mental
health facilities, diagnostic facilities, and other support services are needed
in strategic locations throughout the Inuit Nunaat.
7. Inuit must enjoy the right to participate in, and ultimately determine,
the planning and management of health care and social services systems.
Training should be available to Inuit at all levels of the health care system.
8. In addition, Inuit and other northern peoples have a right to a standard of
living adequate for their health and well-being, as provided in the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. An approach
which addresses a wide range of basic needs, such as nutrition, education,
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housing, water and sanitation, medical care and social services, must be
developed if health goals are to be achieved.
9. Health and social services must be provided to Inuit and other Arctic
peoples without discrimination of any kind. Also, individuals should not be
subjected to medical or scientific experiments without their free, prior, and
informed consent. As a general rule, the socio-cultural impact of health
programs in the Arctic should be assessed.
10. The right to health should include the right to protection against external
risks likely to endanger health. Special attention should be devoted to
occupational health and safety. In addition, there are increased health risks
found in the Arctic environment.
11. Environmental causes of health problems in the Arctic should be carefully
studied. If new and existing environmental contaminants are not better
controlled or contained in order to prevent diseases, Inuit development as
individuals and as a distinct people will be severely affected.
12. The Inuit Arctic Policy should make clear that the right of individuals to
health bears a reciprocal responsibility not to abuse one’s body or mind.
Over-consumption of alcohol, tobacco products, and drugs harms more
than the persons directly involved. Often, the well-being of Arctic
communities as a whole is undermined. Leaders, parents, teachers, and all
adults have a responsibility to act as positive role models for youth and
young children.
13. Domestic violence must be eliminated. It not only affects the assaulted
spouse but also may lead to behavioural problems and emotional
disturbances in children of battered women or men. The needs of the
victims should be given highest priority. However, the problems of men and
women who batter cannot be ignored. A comprehensive program to deal
with violence in the home should be devised that includes the following
elements, among others:
counselling and emotional support for victims;
community education programs;
therapy for persons who assault;
emergency services;
advice on legal rights;
training of police officers and health personnel to improve ways of dealing
with family disputes; and
legal reforms and support programs for children from violent homes.
14. Special support and remedial programs should be made available to children
who have suffered psychological, physical, or sexual abuse.
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15. Health and social service systems in the Arctic should not only seek to
advance the health of local people, but also to improve the social
environment and conditions in Arctic communities. To help achieve these
objectives, a network of community-based systems should be developed that
uses local human resources whenever possible.
16. Higher education and specialized training are necessary to substantially
increase the number of Inuit professionals in health and social services.
Effective policies should be worked out with state governments so that the
acute shortage of doctors and other medical personnel in many northern
locations may be eliminated. In the case of personnel imported from regions
outside the Arctic, cross-cultural orientation and training programs should
be mandatory.
17. To ensure proper communication with unilingual Inuit patients, qualified
interpreters should be utilized.
18. Whenever possible, efforts should be made to ensure that disabled persons
and Inuit Elders are able to remain in their home communities. Inuit should
be employed to facilitate and improve health care delivery and the
well-being of such persons. Special rehabilitation and social integration
programs should be developed for disabled persons in Arctic regions.
19. In formulating an overall Arctic health strategy, full consideration should
be given to the benefits of Inuit traditional medicine and the ways it is used
by Inuit to confront their health problems. Inuit cultural and religious
customs are utilized as an integral part of such healing practices.
20. International cooperation in health and social research programs
concerning the Arctic should be encouraged. Research priorities should
be determined in collaboration with the local people and communities
involved. Any health related research projects should include the full
participation of local people as well as traditional knowledge.
21. It is vital to establish and maintain, in each state within Inuit Nunaat,
systems for collecting and analyzing health and social data pertaining to
the Arctic. Ready access to this data should be provided to Inuit and other
northern peoples, as well as to scientific and government bodies.
Confidentiality should be respected, when requested.
22. The Inuit Arctic Policy should take into account that new scientific and
technological developments are raising a growing number of ethical
and human rights questions relating to health. These may be evaluated at
the local, national, international, or UN levels.
23. The Inuit Arctic Policy shall fully support traditional Inuit adoption and
encourage states to legally recognize Inuit traditional adoption.
Furthermore, the fostering of Inuit children shall remain the responsibility
of the Inuit community in the circumpolar regions.
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24. It is of primary importance that Inuit values and traditions with respect to
family planning and treatment of children be given full recognition by the
Arctic states concerned.
25. Inuit women should have the choice of delivering their babies in their own
community, if no medical complications are anticipated. Inuit women
should also have the choice of having the birth of their children assisted by
traditional midwives in order that traditional Inuit child birthing practices
are respected.
26. Education about AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), and other
sexually transmitted diseases, is central to any strategy to prevent the spread
of these diseases, reduce risks to Arctic residents, and encourage an
appropriate, sensitive, and informed societal response.
27. Dissemination of factual information on AIDS, and other sexually
transmitted diseases, is necessary in the Arctic and elsewhere, in order to
help people distinguish between safe and unsafe sexual and other practices.
28. Education and preventive measures concerning suicide, especially among
young people, is an absolute priority.
29. Both men and women should have adequate access to pregnancy prevention
methods.
30. ICC should collaborate with the International Association of Circumpolar
Health as well as with other health related projects within the Arctic
Council.
31. To the extent possible, urban Inuit, or Inuit living outside Inuit Nunaat,
should be entitled to the same rights and privileges as Inuit living in Inuit
Nunaat. They should not be the objects of discrimination.
Sexual Equality and the Changing Roles
of Women and Men in the Arctic
1. It is recognized that, due to changing circumstances and conditions in
many Arctic communities, the roles of women and men are necessarily
changing. In terms of family responsibilities, reference is gradually being
made to “parental” functions where once they were viewed as purely
“maternal”. Both men and women are slowly beginning to acknowledge the
need to share family tasks rather than emphasize separation of roles.
2. Today, both the traditional and modern roles of Inuit women are valued in
Inuit communities, and both should have on-going and active support.
An increasing number of Inuit women are seeking new challenges in terms
of careers and personal development.
3. It is essential that an Inuit Arctic Policy recognize the continuing
transformation taking place in the family, as well as in the social and
economic roles of women and men towards greater equality. The
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elimination of all forms of sexual discrimination, whether intentional or
accidental, is the responsibility of both men and women.
4. Persons must be guaranteed equality and that there shall be no
discrimination on the basis of sex. In order to realize equality of opportunity
and rights in Arctic communities, specific affirmative measures will be
required in many cases.
5. Women should be actively recruited into the full range of employment
opportunities on the basis of equal pay for work of equal value. Quality child
care must be made accessible and affordable. To accommodate the changing
roles of women and men in the family, new economic measures should be
introduced by governments to assist women and men, both as participants
in the workforce, and as parents.
6. To ensure that women play a greater role in economic, social, and political
activities in Arctic societies, it is also important to focus on the pre-
employment problems facing women. In particular, education and training
programs to meet the specific needs of Inuit and other aboriginal women
must be made accessible on a regional or local basis. Additional initiatives
should also be contemplated to assist single mothers. Increased opportunities
in all fields of activity must be created in Arctic communities for women.
7. In regard to acts or threats of violence in the home, special measures must
be implemented both in regard to women and men. When possible, safe
houses should be located in each community to protect the abused person
and his or her children.
8. In general, the Inuit Arctic Policy should elaborate the steps necessary to
ensure equality of women and men in all facets of Arctic life in accordance
with the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination against Women.
Inuit Children
1. The well-being of children is vital to all Inuit. Children represent the future
of the Arctic. Ensuring proper physical, mental, social, spiritual, and moral
development of Inuit children is crucial to the continued existence and
further development of Inuit and the Arctic as a distinct and strong society.
2. Inuit children (like all children) are extremely vulnerable to the conditions
and influences in their immediate environment. These conditions and
influences may be of a social, economic, cultural, or political nature.
For these and other reasons, Inuit children must have a wide range of rights
recognized, as well as other guarantees of basic protection. In this context,
the responsibilities of parents, communities and state governments should
be clearly elaborated.
3. In devising standards on the many key matters pertaining to Inuit children,
it is vital that these norms reflect the values and perspectives of Inuit culture
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Kindergarten Fun
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and society. This principle must be fully respected in the policies, programs
and actions of international, national, regional, and local authorities. Issues
relating to children that require high quality standards in an Arctic context
include: education, including language and culture; health; child care; child
welfare, including customary adoptions; justice; and communications.
4. In order to grow up as healthy adults, Inuit children must have a strong
identity as Inuit. It is a parent’s primary responsibility to take an active
interest in his or her children, from the day they are born, and to teach them
the Inuit language, traditions, and way of life. Also, the vital role of elders
in communicating with, counselling, and teaching Inuit children must be
fully recognized and encouraged both at home and in Inuit educational,
cultural, and social institutions.
5. Appreciation of Inuit cultural heritage and history must also be enhanced
in Inuit children through Arctic education and communications services.
Inuit children must have access to culturally-appropriate curricula, Inuit
language broadcasting, and a wide range of Inuit artistic and cultural
activities.
6. The provision of child care services in Inuit communities should be based
on the following principles:
services for Inuit children must be compatible with northern lifestyles and
Inuit culture and values;
the design and implementation of these services should be undertaken by
Inuit, if they so desire, and meet the social, cultural, and developmental
needs of Inuit children;
state government funding for child care services should be allocated on a
priority basis to non-profit services in Inuit communities, rather than
commercially oriented entities; and
government funding should also be provided for training Inuit child care
workers in their own communities.
7. States should take measures to enable Inuit child welfare services to be
planned and delivered through Inuit institutions. Where this is not possible,
local Inuit committees at the community level should still supervise the
placement of Inuit children in foster and adoptive homes, in a culturally-
sensitive manner.
8. In Inuit child welfare services, consideration should be given to the
following principles:
strengthening the various aspects of Inuit society is fundamental to the
protection of Inuit children and families;
actions taken should be in the best interests of the child, in a context that
fully reflects Inuit values and standards;
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Inuit customary laws and practices on child care and adoption must be
clearly recognized in the national legal system of the states concerned;
counselling services, by elders and others should be made widely available to
foster and adoptive parents;
Inuit children have a right to know who their natural parents are and to
remain in contact with them, unless anonymity has been expressly
requested by the natural parents involved; and
state government agencies and courts must respect the values standards,
customs and institutions of Inuit in regard to the welfare of their children.
9. Inuit children should be ensured a childhood free of physical or sexual abuse
and other forms of harm and exploitation. Wherever possible, the offender
and not the victim, should be removed from the community concerned.
Harsh sentences should be imposed for child sexual offenders. In addition,
counselling should be encouraged for both abusers of children and their
victims.
10. In regard to physical and sexual abuse, family violence, alcohol and
drug-related problems, parents and organizations should take the initiative
in developing comprehensive action plans for implementation at local
and other levels. Research, information, and education programs to
prevent alcohol and other substance abuse by children are also required.
There should be zero tolerance for sexual abuse or violence of children,
directly or indirectly through the Internet or other methods.
11. In regard to mentally or physically disabled children, it is important that
access to special care be provided in their own communities. For such
purposes, specific and enforceable standards for the Arctic are required.
12. In ensuring that the rights of Inuit children are clearly recognized,
it is beneficial to determine what children’s rights already exist at the
international level and within the Arctic states concerned. For such
purposes, the following instruments among others should be consulted:
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, which apply in general to children and also
include certain specific provisions concerning them;
the 1960 Convention Against Discrimination in Education;
the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women, which promotes child care facilities and underlines the
paramount importance of children’s interests;
the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the numerous Conventions
of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which deal with such issues
as training and apprenticeship, minimum age for employment, working
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hours and conditions for children, and protection of children from
hazardous work and substances; and
the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples should be fully
respected.
13. In promoting the rights of Inuit children, it should be recognized that the
international rights of children are not fixed, but are still emerging. In this
context, it is important to emphasize the significance to children of such
emerging human rights as the right to peace, the right to development, and
the right to a safe and healthy environment.
14. No child should live in dire poverty, suffer from hunger, violence or sexual
abuse, nor sleep outside in cold temperatures, because of fear of domestic
violence.
15. ICC should work to have the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child fully
implemented in regard to all children in the Arctic as well as to have it
ratified by all countries.
Inuit Youth
1. A comprehensive youth strategy must be formulated and implemented,
in collaboration with Inuit youth, in regard to economic, social, cultural and
other activities. Youth programs should involve Inuit communities and have
broad community support. A primary objective of the strategy is to yield
tangible results and benefits to youth in both the short and long term.
2. A youth strategy should encompass direct youth participation and action
at regional, national and international levels, as appropriate. In addition,
youth programs should be designed so that a significant portion of the
responsibility is placed on Inuit youth.
3. Considering that youth of 24 years or less make up over 50 percent of the
population in circumpolar regions, it is necessary that they actively
participate in political and other decision-making processes. Young people
must be viewed and encouraged as useful members of society. Contributions
of young people to society should be recognized and highlighted.
4. A comprehensive youth strategy must recognize and deal with the fact that
younger generations are growing increasingly uncertain about the future.
They are concerned about such issues as: chronic unemployment, the
relevance of the education system and its ability to prepare them for the
labour market, as well as the consequences of environmental degradation.
Furthermore, psychological damages resulting from childhood abuse and
violence must be repaired. Too often, feelings of despair and powerlessness
are common among young people.
5. This despair and powerlessness are some of the reasons for the high suicide
rate among Inuit youth. Preventive stategies on many levels, including
economic, social, educational and cultural, are a priority.
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Drumming on the Tundra
Point Hope Elder Drumming
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6. Through collective efforts and improved communication, both among
youth, and between youth and other members of the Inuit community,
major steps must be taken to overcome the barriers to youth participation.
The Inuit Arctic Policy must consider ways for new and existing northern
institutions to better respond to the needs and aspirations of young people
and provide for their involvement. ICC, through its youth organisation and
other iniatives, should include youth in its activites.
7. Fundamental rights applicable to youth, which are set out in the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and in the
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, should be elaborated
and implemented in the Inuit Arctic Policy in a manner which ensures the
right to work, the right of everyone to an education, the right to an adequate
standard of living, the right to take part in cultural life, and the right to be
shielded from abuse and violence.
8. In regard to issues of global concern, young people can have a special role
in shaping future international relations. An Inuit Arctic Policy should
encourage activities of youth that emphasize the need for international
peace, co-operation, and understanding. They should be encouraged and
facilitated to participate in UN activities and other international activities.
9. To facilitate cross-cultural dialogue among youth and with regional,
national and international decision makers, youth organizations should
be supported by individuals and institutions within circumpolar regions.
In addition, youth exchange programs, conferences, seminars, and
workshops should receive adequate sponsorship. The ICC’s Inuit Center
for International Understanding aims to facilitate the inclusion of youth
in international research projects and other partnerships.
10. By providing avenues for dealing with the issues which concern Inuit youth,
the Inuit Arctic Policy should work towards building confidence and
commitment in young people. The Inuit Arctic Policy must recognize the
wealth of potential talents among young people and ensure positive
channels for their energies and creativity. Through concrete measures,
a youth strategy must encourage the development of leadership skills and
promote self-reliance and entrepreneurship.
11. Members of the ICC should include youth representatives as part of their
official delegations.
12. A crucial component of a major youth strategy must be education.
Education can open Inuit students to universal aspects of the human
condition while preparing them for changing economic, social, and political
circumstances. It is vital to promote among youth the ideals of world peace,
mutual respect, and understanding between peoples.
13. The relevance and effectiveness of education can be augmented through
regular and on-going curriculum development. Inuit language, customs,
and traditions must be an integral part of basic learning.
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14. The Inuit Arctic Policy emphasizes the vital role of parents and elders
in youth education.
15. Diverse and marketable skills should be developed through youth training
and apprenticeships. Further, the dramatic effects of new technologies in the
workplace must be examined in terms of Inuit youth, so that they can
operate effectively in the changing work environment.
16. A comprehensive youth strategy must consider constructive measures to
reduce youth crime. Particular attention should be devoted to the reasons
why young people resort to crime or suicide (the reasons may include drug
abuse, unemployment, lack of recreational facilities, or cultural irrelevance
in the education system).
17. It is also beneficial to develop an innovative and responsible justice system
for young people, which balances the need to punish offenders and prevent
crime with the need for proper rehabilitation. The justice system should
ensure that counselling and support are provided to Inuit youth in conflict
with the law, by community elders, social workers, or other qualified
persons.
18. In addition, steps should be taken to promote beneficial social integration
and to improve the quality of the social and cultural environment for youth
by providing adequate sports, recreational and cultural facilities and
programs.
Inuit Elders
1. From Inuit elders comes Inuit culture. Elders provide Inuit with their
identity and are responsible for the transmission of culture and language.
Without them, Inuit identity would be lost. It is this identity that binds Inuit
together across the circumpolar world. Therefore, it is essential to establish
a comprehensive policy in the circumpolar region with respect to elders,
and in conjunction with them, to ensure the transmission of culture and
language in Inuit Nunaat.
2. In Inuit society, oral tradition is the primary means by which knowledge is
transferred from generation to generation. The continuing use of oral
tradition must be encouraged and formalized by the production of Inuit
histories and other educational, cultural, and scientific materials. These
written or electronic materials should then be used in school curricula and
local archives, among other purposes.
3. The depth of knowledge possessed by Inuit elders is profound. Non-Inuit
institutions have seriously eroded the confidence that Inuit youth have in the
value of this knowledge. Changing social, economic, and political
circumstances in the Arctic have also contributed to the erosion of the role
of elders in community life. Structures must be re-established within Inuit
society to foster, and reinstate a respect for the knowledge of elders, to
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Sam Towarak
Elder
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transfer this knowledge to youth and to enhance the role of elders in Arctic
matters.
4. As traditional leaders, elders must be encouraged and permitted to re-
establish a leadership role and participate in decision-making. It is the
responsibility of Inuit to reaffirm this role of elders at the family, community,
regional, national, and international levels.
5. The Inuit language must continue to evolve with the pace of Inuit and Arctic
development. Language commissions, comprised of elders, youth and other
Inuit must be established both to ensure the continuing quality of language
and to develop new vocabulary which is required to maintain pace with
change. Elders should promote on-going respect for the Inuit language as
vital, dynamic, and relevant.
6. In regard to the teaching of children, elders should have a clear role in
educational institutions as well as in less formal community environments.
7. Traditional knowledge, be it cultural, environmental or ecological, should
be part of the curriculum in schools and be included in research projects
in and about the Arctic. Areas of traditional knowledge that should be
transmitted to youth include: Inuit spiritual beliefs, customs and traditions,
harvesting skills, history, traditional science, cultura and arts, healing and
medicine, animals and the Arctic environment.
8. In regard to communications programming and broadcasting, elders should
be encouraged to be actively involved. Through radio, television and other
media, including the Internet, the narratives, songs, poetry, as well as other
knowledge and skills possessed by the elders can be learned, enjoyed by
others and recorded for the future.
9. Inuit health and social service organizations must ensure the creation or
improvement of services in Inuit communities, to accommodate the needs
of ill or disabled elders, so that elders are not required to leave their
communities. This action would be consistent with traditional Inuit family
practices. Measures must be taken within Inuit communities to attain the
highest possible standard of health care for elders.
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CULTURAL ISSUES
Inuit Culture, Language and Cultural Development
1. Culture, including all of its creative, spiritual and material aspects,
constitutes the foundation upon which a people thrive. Culture provides
meaning and identity to community life. In order for Inuit to continue to
develop as a distinct people in the Arctic, appropriate conditions for the
on-going growth and enrichment of Inuit culture must be assured.
2. Many of the elements that contribute to the development of a culture are
dictated by the natural forces and processes that are unique to the
environment upon which that culture is based. In the Arctic, the traditional
institutions, languages, other means of communication and ways of life of
indigenous peoples are manifestations of their profound relationship with,
and dependence upon, the northern environment.
3. Inuit cultural development and the protection of the Arctic environment are
inseparably linked. In particular, the vital role of subsistence practices within
Inuit culture provides further compelling reason for safeguarding the
integrity of the vast circumpolar environment and its living resources.
4. The diverse cultures of Inuit and other indigenous peoples in the
circumpolar North are part of the cultural heritage of all humankind. In this
context, each culture has a dignity and value which must be respected and
protected.
5. Language is central to the continuity of culture and to cultural identity.
It is the cohesive thread that binds a particular people. Inuit perceptions of
society, nature, and the universe are manifested through the Inuit language.
The history and beliefs of Inuit culture are recorded and transmitted from
generation to generation, through song, poetry, oratory and narratives.
6. Languages that are not frequently used are likely to eventually disappear.
Extensive use of the Inuit language in education, public affairs, commerce,
and governmental activities within Arctic regions, as well as in the day-to-
day endeavors of Inuit, must be actively encouraged through concrete
measures, such as being an official language in government, education and
every day life.
7. The ICC should mandate its Language and Communications Commission
to participate in international bodies and promote technological initiatives
that will promote linguistic diversity, fight the tendencies of linguicide in
Inuit language speaking areas and promote youth initiatives, such as the
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Inuit Circumpolar Youth Council’s projects on the hipification of Inuit
culture and language.
8. In order to facilitate written communications in the Inuit language in all
circumpolar regions, efforts must be made to develop an international
common written form of the language. Educational, scientific, and other
terminology should be standardized within the Inuit language and further
developed on a regular basis so as to meet the present and future needs of
Inuit society.
9. Spiritual relationships of Inuit with natural forces, wildlife, and the land are
an integral part of, and a primary source of inspiration for, Inuit cultural
development. The respect that Inuit accord certain animals stems from a
spiritual relationship which must be recognized and respected. In this light,
no prohibition, restraint, or intimidation against the free exercise of Inuit
religious or cultural traditions shall be applied or tolerated.
10. The material culture of any society is the most visible manifestation of that
culture. Most of Inuit material culture is derived from the land and sea
mammals. Inuit have a right to the protection of their material culture under
international regulations pertaining to moveable cultural property and
intellectual property. The collective rights to the material culture are to be
respected and safeguarded from improper removal, counterfeiting, copying,
or trading.
11. Non-material cultures are part of the cultural heritage of Inuit. The
collective rights of Inuit to those non-material cultures are to be respected
and Inuit credited with the full benefits, including both cultural and financial
benefits (royalties). Intellectual property and copyright regulations have to
be respected in regard to Inuit knowledge and non-material cultures. ICC
should represent Inuit by promoting their rights to their culture, both
intellectual and international, in the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO).
12. Inuit culture, like other cultures, is dynamic and not static. It is evolving and
changing in response to stimuli from within and outside the Arctic.
13. Inuit culture must be made an essential focal point when development
decisions are taken concerning Arctic regions, in order to avoid undesirable
assimilation or destruction.
14. In addition to ensuring equitable and sustainable development, the Inuit
Arctic Policy should only promote development that is culturally-
appropriate.
15. The creation of a comprehensive cultural framework for policy and
decision-making at both the national and international levels is urgently
needed in order to avoid further assimilation.
16. In developing a comprehensive cultural framework, the following principles
(among others) should be considered:
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Confirmation in Hans Egede’s Church
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an integral part of the overall objectives of state laws, policies and actions
pertaining to the Arctic should be the express protection and advancement
of Inuit and their culture;
relevant international and national standards should appropriately cover
a wide range of actions and activities impacting on the cultures of
indigenous peoples;
the direct input and involvement of Inuit in national and international
institutions dealing with Arctic matters must be actively encouraged,
especially in Chukotka; and
Inuit values and creativity should be consistently promoted by Arctic states,
through concrete support of cultural and other activities at the community,
regional and national levels.
17. Treaties and other agreements for cultural and other forms of Arctic
cooperation between states should involve Inuit in the policy formulation,
negotiation, and implementation stages. In this way, Inuit ideas and
initiatives can be fully incorporated.
18. Efforts should be made to increase the number of cultural, educational,
scientific, and athletic exchanges among Inuit from the various Arctic
regions and states. The Inuit Center for International Understanding should
play a significant role in regard to these issues.
19. The vitality of any culture depends on the adequate transmission of
knowledge from the traditional culture bearers to the children. To this end,
Inuit elders and other informed adults in Inuit communities should be
supported in their efforts to teach children about the Arctic environment,
Inuit history, harvesting, customs and traditions, and the ways of Inuit social
interaction.
20. Steps should be taken to ensure that Inuit children have fair opportunities to
succeed in the society of Arctic states. It is also crucial, however, that Inuit
children continue to live, develop, and flourish within their own cultures.
To achieve these objectives, careful educational planning is required at the
community, regional and national levels.
Communications, News Media, Information Technologies
1. Communications media are a fundamental dimension of life in every
society. They not only provide a system of public information, but are also
an integral part of education, entertainment, and social, economic, and
cultural development.
2. In particular, the relationship and significance of communications, mass
media, and other information technologies to Inuit language and cultural
development must be recognized. Communications provide a vital means
of access to culture in the Arctic. Creative expression in all forms can be
conveyed through the various media of communications. In addition,
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communications can play a major role in implementing Inuit language
and other cultural policies throughout the Arctic. Communications are an
integral part of the political process, allowing for political debate and
information. The protection of cultural knowledge and information through
the use of electronic media can play an important role in preservation of
indigenous languages within the circumpolar region.
3. It is essential to establish a comprehensive policy in circumpolar regions in
regard to matters of mass communications and information, particularly
broadcasting, telecommunications, print services, as well as the newer
information technologies such as the Internet. Inuit must have full
participation in, and access to, the mass media and information technologies
in their respective states.
4. As an integral part of Arctic communications, mass media, and information
technology policy, Inuit fundamental rights such as the freedom of thought,
belief, opinion, and expression must be respected. Such rights include
freedom to access all media of communications.
5. Further, it is important to note that the collective and individual right to
communicate is increasingly viewed as a new emerging human right.
In devising and carrying out an Arctic communications and information
policy, it is vital to maintain, strengthen, enrich, and protect the cultural
and social fabric of Inuit society by using these media and technologies
responsibly. Communications media and information technologies in Inuit
Nunaat should contribute to the development of Inuit unity and provide
for a continuing expression of Inuit identity.
6. Inuit are entitled to print, broadcast and use Internet media as well as other
information services in the Inuit language.
7. Communications and information technologies that are designed to
strengthen the Inuit language, culture, and identity can only be fully realized
with Inuit employees and partners in the planning, production, and
distribution of the programmes.
8. Journalism has become a powerful and influential part of the information
media. Inuit journalists are endowed with a special trust to report on
increasingly complex world events with a high standard of performance.
As a minimum, journalistic principles, ethics and standards must be
developed and applied, based upon accuracy, integrity, fairness, human
rights throughout the Inuit world.
9. An integral part of Arctic communications and information systems must
be the on-going development and training of an efficient and adequate corps
of Inuit translators and interpreters. For such purposes, proficiency in the
Inuit language and in one or more official languages of the Arctic states
concerned is essential.
10. Arctic education systems should provide both Inuit youth and adults with
concrete opportunities to familiarize themselves with new and existing
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forms of communications, mass media, and information technologies in the
Arctic. The promotion of long term career opportunities and culturally
appropriate training in media studies and practices should be promoted
within the communities and would assist in the intergenerational
transmission of indigenous traditions, art forms and language.
11. Inuit works in the arts, literature, history, philosophy, and sciences should
be encouraged. These works should be published and disseminated in Inuit
periodicals, on the Internet, and in book form.
12. Special communications and information systems are critical for Inuit in the
Arctic who are sight, speech, and/or hearing impaired. New and improved
methods must be developed so as to enable disabled persons to participate
to their full potential in Inuit society.
13. Eliminating political and regulatory barriers to the free flow of information
throughout the circumpolar region is fundamental to the survival and
development of Inuit society and culture.
14. Facilitate the establishment of a pan-Arctic news agency and Arctic radio
and television network. Depending on available technology in each country,
implementation may be by means of the Internet.
15. New communications and information technologies should be assessed for
their potential benefits or adverse effects in an Arctic context. The ICC Inuit
Arctic Policy should determine what social and ethical policies may be
required in order to effectively regulate and utilize these new technologies.
16. Remote sensing and data gathering by satellites already serve as a new global
information system within the international community. A vast range of
information for economic planning and development, weather forecasting,
military, and other diverse purposes is currently available by such means.
The Inuit Arctic Policy should examine the potential uses of remote
sensing/data gathering in the Arctic regions and ensure that Inuit gain
access to relevant data and the technical knowledge to convert the raw data
into useful information. Potentially abusive uses of remote sensing
information should also be addressed.
17. Satellites make communications possible in the Arctic. When possible,
regulatory or pricing issues should be addressed in order to facilitate satellite
use either for broadcasting or Internet signals.
18. An Arctic communications and information policy should include the
following goals in regard to basic communications services:
ensure the provision of efficient, equitably and reasonably priced
telecommunications and postal services at reasonable prices;
guarantee to Inuit universal accessibility to basic telephone and postal
services;
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ensure that telecommunication carriers do not take unfair advantage of their
monopoly in dealing with Inuit subscribers; and
encourage needed access to dedicated northern transponders (satellite
signals) by Inuit broadcasters.
19. ICC should work to ensure that broadcast and telecommunications
regulatory agencies governing circumpolar regions recognize the special
needs and challenges of the Arctic with respect to geographic isolation,
language and culture. Those agencies should create either a domestic or
international northern communications policy that will act as a touchstone
for future decisions and would provide circumpolar countries with the same
level of communications sevices as communities in the South.
20. ICC should help to promote Arctic public broadcasting institutions and
Internet services by assisting in establishing a continuity and enhancement
of funds from government to assist in counterbalancing the eroding cultural
and linguistic effect of hundreds of non-aboriginal channels available in the
remote and underserved regions of the circumpolar regions on television
and the Internet.
Archaeological and Other Cultural Property
1. “Cultural property” includes property of archaeological, ethnological,
artistic, literary, scientific, or historical interest and importance. Without
limiting its nature and scope, Inuit cultural property includes:
products of archaeological excavations or discoveries;
artistic or historical monuments and sites;
spiritual or religious objects; graves and human skeletal materials
or remains;
natural areas of particular ecological significance;
books, magazines and other written documents;
engravings, prints and lithographs;
sculptures; weapons and tools; and
archival resources.
2. Inuit cultural property provides valuable insights into, and knowledge of, the
origins, development, and history of Inuit. Such property is also important
to Inuit for its spiritual significance, its rarity, or its distinctive cultural
features.
3. Inuit cultural property merits adequate protection foremost because of
its cultural, spiritual, and educational value and use.
4. Effective copyright and intellectual property measures should be taken to
protect the collective knowledge of elders from being exploited for the
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Drum Dancing
Hockey in Inukjuak
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purposes of research, publication or propagation by written or electronic
means. The heritage of the Arctic is the heritage of Inuit. It is this common
heritage that further unites Inuit with their Arctic environment. At the
same time, it is generally recognized that there are national and interna-
tional community interests in relation to cultural property. Such property
is increasingly viewed as the cultural heritage of humankind. Inuit should
co-operate with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
5. It is essential that Arctic states expressly recognize the rights of Inuit in
regard to cultural property that specifically pertains to them. These rights
of Inuit include:
the right to own and control their own cultural property;
the right to use, manage, and conserve cultural property for their own
educational, cultural, and spiritual benefit;
in particular, the right of access to, and use of, sacred objects and sites,
in accordance with their own spiritual or religious beliefs; and
the right to privacy, especially in regard to Inuit graves and human remains:
which must not be disturbed in any way without the free and informed
consent of the Inuit relatives and community concerned.
6. In view of the extensive nature of Inuit rights and the continuing interests
of Arctic states in relation to cultural property, it is vital that cooperative
agreements and other arrangements be worked out between the parties
affected. Arctic states have a duty to ensure, together with the Inuit
concerned, that items of cultural significance and human remains of their
ancestors that have been taken without their consent are returned in a
dignified manner.
7. The archaeological record of the Arctic is the history of Inuit and other
northern indigenous peoples. Inuit historical and contemporary cultural
identities are directly related to cultural materials and the archaeological
record. Unless other arrangements are agreed to, Inuit material culture
should remain in the Arctic and be preserved, interpreted, and displayed for
the education and benefit of Inuit and others who live in or visit the Arctic,
particularly in regard to the return of cultural artifacts.
8. Where Inuit graves have been disturbed and human remains taken without
Inuit consent, arrangements must be made with Inuit by the responsible
persons or authorities concerned for the return of this private property, in
a dignified manner. In particular, acceptable provisions for reburial must be
made so that the spiritual or religious beliefs of Inuit are fully respected.
9. Archival resources relating to Inuit are important sources of historical
and cultural information. Examples include explorers’ journals, police and
government records, and records of companies involved in Arctic
exploration and records kept by religious denominations. Arrangements
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should be made to increasingly deposit this relevant information with
appropriate public institutions in Arctic regions.
10. Cultural sites of particular significance to Inuit should be protected through
regional, national, and international measures. Some significant sites have
already been protected as UNESCO Heritage Sites or national parks. When
imperative, other sites should be recommended for similar protection.
11. In relation to the management and conservation of material culture, Inuit
must be involved in all aspects. In this regard, the following principles
should be considered (among others):
collective and individual rights to the material culture of Inuit must be
respected and protected from improper removal, counterfeiting, copying, or
trading;
handling and treatment of cultural property must at all times be carried out
with full respect for the sensitivity and values of those Inuit concerned; and
Inuit culture and tradition must be maintained through the official use and
mapping of Inuit place names. These place names have been, and continue
to be, established by Inuit as a result of generations of use and occupancy of
Arctic lands and waters.
12. Researchers and scientists working on matters related to Inuit culture and
history have to provide Inuit and relevant cultural institutions with copies of
their work. Such information should be available in the Inuit language and
be published and distributed to Inuit. Researchers and scientists should
work out satisfactory arrangements with Inuit concerning the nature,
conduct and reporting of their work.
13. Appropriate facilities are required in the Arctic for the conservation,
preservation, interpretation, and display of cultural materials. Such facilities
should function as repositories of Inuit history and culture and as dynamic
centres of research, training, and public education.
14. Inuit and Arctic states should together ensure that the nature, scope, and
significance of Inuit culture and heritage are promoted and understood
regionally, nationally and internationally. For such purposes, cooperative
development of policies and programs regarding Inuit cultural property that
are aimed at education and cultural exchanges would be beneficial to all
parties involved.
15. The UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural
Heritage and the UN Convention on Cultural Diversity should be respected.
Religious Freedoms
1. The spiritual expression of a traditional Inuit culture is part of its greatest
treasures, if not the very inspiration of cultural development. The right of all
peoples to have the widest possible exercise of spiritual expression must be
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Heiko Wittenborn
Girlfriends in Tasiujaq
anon
Hopedale Moravian Mission Labrador
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respected and protected. At the same time, this right must be balanced with
the necessary principle of non-interference with the rights of others.
2. Religious beliefs are not limited to organized religions. Persons may
genuinely hold beliefs as a matter of religious conviction, even if their beliefs
do not necessarily form a part of any particular religion.
3. In regard to Inuit, spiritual identity continues to be derived from their
relationship with the land and its wildlife resources. Although Inuit religious
practices have, in many instances, undergone some change, this spiritual
connection remains an essential part of Inuit culture and religious beliefs.
Moreover, the right to profess and practice their own religion or beliefs is a
part of Inuit indigenous rights.
4. Religious freedom is closely linked with other human rights, particularly
freedom of thought, conscience, and assembly. If exercised responsibly,
freedom of religion or belief can contribute to the attainment of the goals
of peaceful relations among Inuit and other people.
5. It is important to have the freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief, in
private or public. This should include the following freedoms, among others:
to worship, alone or in a group, and to establish and maintain places for such
purposes;
to establish and maintain appropriate charitable or humanitarian
institutions;
to make, acquire, and use articles and materials necessary for the
performance of prescribed rituals;
to write, publish, and disseminate information on a religion or belief, in a
reasonable manner so as not to impair the rights of others to maintain their
own religion or beliefs;
to assign places for burial and to perform funeral or commemorative rites
for deceased persons, according to their own religion or beliefs;
to have gravesites protected from interference by outsiders;
to have marriage rites performed according to one’s religion or beliefs;
to teach a religion or beliefs in places suitable for such purposes;
to train interested personnel to become religious leaders, as may be required
by a particular religion or beliefs;
to observe days of rest and to celebrate religious or commemorative
holidays, according to one’s religion or beliefs; and
to establish and maintain communications, in matters of religion or beliefs,
at national and international levels.
6. Consistent with the Inuit Arctic Policy objectives towards global peace, the
principle of conscientious objection to military service should be recognized
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in all circumpolar regions. Exemptions should be granted to all genuine
objectors by state governments.
7. No one should be compelled to take an oath in a manner that is contrary to
the rules or principles of his or her religion or belief.
8. In the workplace, equality of opportunity and treatment of individuals must
not be adversely affected on the basis of their religion or beliefs.
9. Parents should have the right to determine the religion or beliefs and
moral education in which their children should be brought up. When a child
attains an adequate degree of understanding, her or his wishes should be
taken into account. In all cases, the best interests of the child should be the
paramount and guiding principle. In no instance should the practices of any
religion or belief be injurious to the physical or mental health of children or
to their full development.
10. Dissemination of hate literature, incitement to violence, and other forms
of promoting racial, religious, or other prejudices must be effectively
prohibited throughout the Arctic.
11. Education programs and other means should be used to promote
acceptance of the principle of non-discrimination, as well as understanding,
tolerance, and respect for different religions and for religious freedoms.
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Milking the Cow
Narsaq Museum
Pulling Up the Walrus
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VI
ECONOMIC ISSUES
Economic Development
1. It is of utmost importance to emphasize that the lack of economic
opportunities and developments have critical implications for the future of
Inuit society and culture. Inuit should be involved in all aspects of economic
development in order to enjoy such fundamental human rights as the right
to work and the right to an adequate standard of living.
2. Initiatives to attain economic goals and aspirations in the Inuit circumpolar
homeland can be significantly enhanced through regional, national, and
international cooperation.
3. The overall prosperity of each state is affected by the economic growth of
its various parts. If the Arctic regions are to contribute to strengthening the
economies of their respective states, Inuit have to be included as full and
active partners in northern development matters.
4. In relation to economic and social development within Arctic states, it must
be recognized that often a large gap exists between Inuit and non-aboriginal
peoples. A lack of economic activity and chronic unemployment are major
contributors to social problems (such as alcohol, drug-abuse, youth-related
crime and suicide) in Arctic communities.
5. To actively promote Inuit self-reliance, the Inuit Arctic Policy must elaborate
a comprehensive Arctic economic strategy. This strategy should include
regional, national, and international aspects and take into account education
and training needs. The issue of a lack of educational and training
opportunities or irrelevant and unusable education and training must be
addressed.
6. To promote global cooperation and security, the Inuit Arctic Policy should
also consider what actions might be taken to assist indigenous peoples in
developing states. The new Inuit Center for International Understanding
may contribute to this effort.
7. In addition, the Inuit Arctic Policy should address the responsibility of state
governments to substantially reduce regional disparities in Arctic regions.
Training and assistance in setting up small businesses should be provided in
Chukotka. However, concrete steps must be taken to provide essential
services of adequate quality and to ensure economic opportunities in all
Arctic communities.
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8. Inuit have the right to develop a balanced and diversified Arctic economy,
which accommodates and promotes both subsistence and wage economies.
Sustained and innovative measures will be required to ensure the
continuance and growth of the subsistence economy. Subsistence hunting,
fishing, and trapping rights must be assured for both economic and cultural
reasons.
9. When shaping economic policies at any level, a major focal point must be
the community. Inuit settlements must be directly involved in all aspects of
community development. A primary indicator of the success of economic
efforts in the Arctic is the extent to which tangible benefits are derived at the
local level and overall improvements are made to the quality of life, as
determined by Arctic standards.
10. At the regional level, action must be taken in every Arctic community
towards establishing a viable base for community development. Key
elements to be considered include:
adequate infrastructures; job intensive economic initiatives, both in the
public and private sector;
effective organizational networks, providing community involvement and
technical support; and
business and management training.
11. In addition, it is necessary to determine ways of reducing excessive living
costs and costs of business operations in Arctic communities. Sufficient
energy supplies at reasonable prices must be secured. New employment
opportunities must be promoted as viable alternatives to welfare and
unemployment must be developed and implemented so as to generate both
individual initiative and skill development.
12. It is vital to maximize cooperation among different local and regional
economic entities and avoid unnecessary duplication and competition.
In this context, careful consideration should be devoted to Inuit
co-operatives so that their continued growth and effective operation may
be ensured.
13. Revenue-sharing from on-shore and offshore resource development, equity
participation, and other financial arrangements must be examined with each
of the states within the context of Inuit self-government.
14. New, or modified, taxation schemes must be worked out in many instances,
based upon northern criteria and conditions.
15. Proposed projects subject to environmental and social impact assessment
must include potential economic impacts as an integral part of the overall
assessment. The various aspects and stages of particular projects must be
studied, identifying negative socio-economic and cultural impacts to be
avoided or minimized. All large projects have to undergo a stringent and
community appropriate environmental impact assessment process. As such
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assessments are done differently in the four countries, it will be useful to
supplement each region’s knowledge and methods with information about
the process from the other regions.
16. Economic and other forms of coercion must not be used to compel Arctic
communities to accept harmful and undesirable development projects.
17. Multinational corporations and others involved in Arctic economic
development must respect all applicable aspects of the overall Inuit Arctic
Policy. Consideration should be given to establishing principles or norms
to guide the conduct of enterprises doing business in Arctic regions. Such
norms should relate to:
Inuit training and management development programs;
job and contract opportunities;
cross-cultural awareness programs;
use of the local language;
accommodation of Inuit subsistence activities and family responsibilities
through job rotation and other means;
promotion of innovation and transfer of technologies appropriate to the
Arctic; and
reinvestment of profits in local regions.
Such policies have been implemented fully or partially in some regions.
The goal is to have them fully implemented in all regions of the homeland.
18. The Inuit Arctic Policy must include specific measures to ensure equality of
opportunity for women and men, and discourage discriminatory practices.
The energies, talents, and abilities of both women and men should be
utilized in all aspects of northern economic development. In addition, unfair
discrepancies in working conditions and salary levels between Inuit and
non-Inuit must be avoided.
19. Mobility rights are generally recognized throughout Inuit regions. However,
in order for Inuit to have fair access to economic opportunities in the Arctic,
competition for contracts and employment by outside persons must be
subject to certain restrictions, and Inuit should have priority when possible.
20. Inuit have the right to trade among themselves regardless of national
jurisdictions or boundaries. In addition, Inuit shall have the right to
negotiate trade relations with states or organizations outside of the Inuit
homeland. Any impediments to these Inuit rights that may exist in the
national legal system of Arctic states should be eliminated, through
cooperative discussions between Inuit representatives and the state
government concerned.
21. ICC should participate in international bodies, in particular the convention
on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), the World
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Conservation Union (IUCN), the International Whaling Commission
(IWC), and the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO)
to defend the right of Inuit to harvest marine mammals and to trade their
product on a sustainable basis. ICC should also be directed to use and,
where appropriate, lobby international and regional bodies such as the
World Trade Organization (WTO), the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), and the European Union (EU) to help promote trade
of Inuit goods and services world-wide in ways that do not adversely affect
Inuit hunting, fishing and gathering rights.
22. ICC should study the socio-economic, environmental and cultural impacts
of the opening of the north polar sea routes on our communities and should
participate actively and fully in the Arctic Council’s working groups and
programs delving with these issues. ICC should communicate through
appropriate national and local Inuit organizations, the results of such
programs.
23. ICC should promote the removal of international and national trade barriers
that affect all forms of Inuit livelihood, in consultation with affected Inuit, at
the same time ensuring that the rights of Inuit to their intellectual and
cultural property, traditional knowledge, and access to capital, employment,
contracts, financing, royalties, local revenue, and other financial benefits of
development, are enhanced in the process.
24. ICC shall be greatly encouraged to undertake a comprehensive study on
how best to address global forces, such as the “animal rights” and other
destructive movements that aim to destroy Inuit sustainable use of living
resources. ICC should act as a facilitator for Inuit trade and economic
development in a supportive role to Inuit-owned companies and individuals
undertaking business development.
25. A major impediment to economic self-sufficiency are animal rights groups.
ICC should encourage its Executive Council to represent Inuit by promoting
their rights and protecting their interests in the WIPO, EU, Organization
of American States (OAS), NAFTA, the Free Trade Agreement of the
Americas (FTAA), International Whaling Commission (IWC), the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), IUCN and WTO, and other
relevant organizations. The ICC Executive Council should be encouraged
to prudently expand its international development activities with the aim
of assisting Inuit and other indigenous peoples globally. ICC should act as
a facilitator for Inuit trade and economic development in a supportive role
with Inuit owned companies and individuals undertaking business
development.
Employment and Training
1. It is essential that the Inuit Arctic Policy establish full and meaningful
employment as a primary goal in the Inuit regions. An employment-
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intensive economic growth, which includes both subsistence and wage-
earning activities, must be a clear priority.
2. ICC should attempt to incorporate “capacity development” of Inuit in its
plans, processes, activities and advocacy to defend the rights and to further
the interests of Inuit internationally in particular in addressing social,
cultural, educational and language concerns as well as employment
opportunities.
3. A vital step towards achieving full and meaningful employment, as well
as Inuit self-reliance, must be the formulation and implementation of a
comprehensive training and education strategy designed especially for
the Arctic.
4. In most instances, job creation and training should be linked, and skill
development activities should be closely related, to existing and projected
needs of the northern workplace and its institutions. To support job creation
efforts, innovative and successful approaches to training should be
developed.
5. Positive steps may be required to correct discrimination in the workforce.
6. Equality does not mean that everyone must be treated the same. The Inuit
Arctic Policy must recognize that it is sometimes vital to treat individuals or
groups as equals by accommodating their differences. To open the doors to
equality of opportunity, Inuit and other distinct peoples may need to be
treated differently, by eliminating the obstacles which they alone face for no
justifiable reason.
7. In order to achieve equality in employment, the Inuit Arctic Policy must
effectively deal with the pre-employment situation facing Inuit.
Sub-standard training and education, among other factors, serves to put
Inuit at a marked disadvantage when compared to many other peoples in
the states concerned.
8. Special measures may be required in many instances regarding Inuit women,
youth, and unilingual adults, as well as disabled persons, so as to ensure
equitable opportunities and participation in the workforce.
9. In order to develop a strong and competitive labor force among Inuit in
circumpolar regions, concrete measures are required. These include priority
of employment for local residents as well as adapting certification and other
requirements in certain trades. Such steps are intended to provide Inuit with
a fair opportunity to enter and participate in the workforce. Capacity
building for local people should be part of all government and large private
sector projects in the Arctic.
10. Employment and training strategies should take into account the Inuit way
of life, and generally support on-going Inuit cultural development through
the introduction of culturally appropriate programs.
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11. Innovative and experimental programming designed to increase knowledge
of ways to more effectively advance Inuit economic development through
training and education should receive adequate community and financial
support.
12. Training and education programs should be flexible, involving on-the-job
and off-the-job training as appropriate. Specific incentives should also be
developed to encourage the private sector to undertake comprehensive
human resource support and development programs for its employees.
Workers should have meaningful opportunities to engage in retraining when
necessary and to acquire new skills in response to changing technologies
and markets.
13. To the extent possible, ICC should advocate with governments and private
sector businesses to pay particular attention to capacity building and small
enterprise development in Chukotka.
Air Transportation
1. The Inuit Arctic Policy should recognize that aviation is not a privilege but a
necessity in the circumpolar region. Air transport represents the only means
of year-round transport between Inuit communities, regionally, nationally,
and internationally. All communities are entitled to regular and frequent air
service.
2. The Inuit Arctic Policy should recognize that the adequacy and costs of air
transportation in the circumpolar region have a direct effect on economic
development in the same region. Consequently, air transportation problems
are also economic development problems to be dealt with in a coordinated
and comprehensive manner.
3. National air transport policies should recognize that there is an inter-
dependence of passenger, cargo and mail systems in Arctic air
transportation. It is crucial that air carriers operating within the circumpolar
region be permitted to carry a mix of passengers, goods, and mail on either
a unit-toll or charter basis.
4. Timely access to air transportation is essential to the enjoyment of health
care and social security in the circumpolar region. Adequate air
transportation links between Inuit communities, and between major centres
with adequate facilities, are essential to securing improved health and social
conditions throughout the circumpolar region.
5. National air transport policies of the circumpolar region should be directed
at programs and initiatives that would enable Arctic air carriers to lower
costs greatly to the consumer. Fare subsidies should be implemented either
through taxation relief or direct subsidies by local and national governments
as air travel is a necessity of life for maintaining family and cultural ties and
for economic and educational purposes.
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Narsaq Museum
Flying is our Way
Daniel Chartier
Nain Harbor Labrador
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6. Adequate and safe systems of transportation, including air transport
infrastructures, must be developed and upgraded throughout the
circumpolar region. Such systems must contemplate policies governing
regulation of intra-Arctic passenger and freight service, Arctic airport
construction and maintenance standards, and minimum standards of
airborne and fixed station navigational aids. New safety features have to be
implemented in those areas where climate change may affect the permafrost
and thereby the stability of airport runways.
7. Policies of Arctic states should promote preference to the licensing of Inuit-
owned air carriers for transport within the circumpolar region and promote
Inuit job and contract priority in the domain of aviation.
8. A rationalized and integrated transportation system must be developed
throughout the circumpolar region. A primary purpose of such a system
must be to facilitate safe, affordable and efficient transportation in all sectors
of the Arctic. A central issue to be addressed is the extremely high cost of
air transportation both of people and of freight. It is important that direct
flights between Arctic regions be developed, for example, an air link
between Greenland and Arctic Canada and a direct air link to Chukotka.
International Trade and Travel
1. A main objective of the Inuit Arctic Policy should be to facilitate
transnational trade and travel by Inuit throughout Inuit Nunaat.
Such activities are an integral part of Inuit traditional practices and have
significant economic, social, and cultural dimensions.
2. Although Inuit live within developed Arctic states, the economies of Inuit
and other indigenous peoples in the Arctic often resemble more the
economies of less developed countries. In view of the economic problems
facing Inuit communities and regions, potential opportunities concerning
trade and development at the international level should be explored.
3. It is important to note that indigenous peoples and their vital economic
issues are often excluded from the structural arrangements and
institutionalized practices and policies of states at the bi-national and
international level. This is particularly evident in regard to the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Canada-U.S. Free Trade
Agreement (FTA). Such exclusion of indigenous peoples may in effect be
contrary to the 1985 International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination and the 1978 UNESCO Declaration on Race
and Racial Prejudice.
4. A comprehensive strategy should be developed to ensure that Inuit can
protect their economic interests within the international community,
cooperatively resolve problems that arise, and benefit from trade agreements
and other transnational economic arrangements.
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5. Elements that should be considered in formulating the international
dimensions of an Inuit/ Arctic economic strategy include:
in regard to GATT, there is a need to organize multilateral talks on
international trade and development issues affecting the world’s indigenous
peoples;
also, the possibility of adding a new part to GATT should be explored
concerning particular arrangements on trade and development relating to
indigenous peoples;
special study and consideration of the economic rights and concerns of
indigenous peoples in Arctic regions should be requested from relevant
organs of the United Nations;
the potential for trade agreements and other economic arrangements
among the Inuit of Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Siberia should be
evaluated. As, until now, insufficient efforts have been made by Arctic states
to initiate or support pan-Arctic trade;
funding criteria of the World Bank and other international institutions
should be examined with a view to extending eligibility for financial aid to
Inuit economic activities;
representations should continue to be made in the EU and European
countries in regards to the seal hunt and the ensuing seal products, possibly
through consultation with WTO;
efforts should be made to fully maintain and strengthen the rights of Inuit in
Alaska to take marine mammals for subsistence purposes and for creating
and selling authentic native articles of handicrafts and clothing. At the same
time, the national laws of each Arctic country should be amended, if so
required, to allow the importation of harvesting products of Inuit from other
Arctic states;
in regard to the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES), Inuit should continue to monitor and otherwise participate
at CITES meetings. In this way, unjustified attempts to use the Convention
to unfairly restrict native harvesting and trade may be effectively countered;
education and training programs should be further developed to encourage
Inuit to specialize in international trade and other economic matters
pertaining to Inuit and the Arctic. Within these programs, Inuit traditional
economies must be accorded appropriate focus and consideration;
Arctic states should be urged to ensure that their embassies or foreign
offices can offer proper assistance to Inuit in regard to international trade
and other Arctic economic matters. For such purposes, appropriate
briefings on Arctic issues of major concern to Inuit should be provided by
state governments to their personnel in such offices; and
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Inuit should strive for their effective involvement in matters of international
trade and development relating to indigenous peoples and the Arctic.
6. Inuit have a right to the protection of their intellectual property. In
particular, special attention is required to substantially reduce or eliminate
the trade of counterfeit Inuit art and other objects and products. When Inuit
stories and legends told by elders are sold for profit, the elders involved
should receive royalties.
7. In regard to the export of natural resources by Arctic states, the rights of
Inuit must at all times be respected. In addition, the environmental and
social costs associated with such exports must be taken into account.
8. From an environmental perspective, the international trade and develop-
ment policies of Arctic and other developed countries require closer
scrutiny. Toxic products, such as PCBs and chlordane (pesticide), are being
supplied to less developed countries that are not in a position to properly
store and dispose of toxic substances. These chemicals may continue to end
up in the world’s oceans, Arctic marine mammals are accumulating these
poisonous pollutants at an alarming rate. These pollutants are
contaminating the entire food chain, creating serious health problems
among Inuit, and may lead to the eventual extinction of certain marine
mammals. Steps must be urgently taken to prevent the continuing release
of toxic substances and contaminants into the world’s oceans.
9. Arctic states should recognize that Inuit have the right to engage in tradi-
tional contacts and in all forms of cooperation, including economic and
social exchanges, and travel and trade across state and other boundaries.
Existing restrictions imposed by Arctic state governments that affect Inuit
trade, travel, and immigration should be minimized or eliminated through
cooperative discussions with the Arctic states concerned.
10. It is important to note that the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation
of November 19, 1794 (the Jay Treaty) between the United States and the
United Kingdom promised to allow indigenous peoples free passage and
trade across the U.S.-Canada border. New arrangements should be
negotiated by Inuit so as to provide for the full range of their needs and
concerns in a modern context. Similar steps must be taken in relation to
borders in other Arctic states within Inuit Nunaat.
11. The Inuit Arctic Policy should explore ways of enhancing international
peace and understanding through transnational Arctic trade.
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EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC ISSUES
Education
1. Culturally appropriate education is the key to healthier and more
prosperous Inuit communities and to a better future for all Inuit.
2. The right to education is a fundamental right, recognized in the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the
2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Inuit Arctic
Policy should elaborate upon and implement this right, in a manner that
ensures the accessibility of quality education in all circumpolar regions and
encourages learning among all Inuit. School environments must make
learning an enriching and valuable experience.
3. Children are the most valuable Inuit resource and represent future leaders
of Inuit. Therefore, a comprehensive education policy should be formulated
and implemented in collaboration with Inuit communities that
appropriately demonstrates Inuit commitment to improving northern
education. Remoteness or other causes of regional disparities must not be
permitted to compromise the accessibility or quality of northern education.
4. Inuit have the right to control all aspects of the education of their children,
through direct parental community involvement and through institutions of
self-government. Such rights include the right to determine cultural content
and language of instruction as well as to follow best practices.
5. An on-going challenge and goal in circumpolar regions must be to ensure
high standards both in performance of institutions and in the performance
of students. The Inuit Arctic Policy should elaborate ways to pursue and
achieve excellence in all aspects of education.
6. Skills training for the labor force is an important objective of education.
It should also be recognized that a major responsibility of the Arctic
education system must include the development of language and
communication skills, exploration and development of culture, and
encouraging young people to become self-reliant, sensitive, critical and
technologically astute members of a democratic society and the new
information technology environment.
7. It is important that Arctic education systems be able to adapt to changing
requirements and circumstances in circumpolar regions. Within such a
framework, students should be taught the attitudes, skills, and knowledge
necessary to achieve success both in subsistence and wage economies.
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It is equally important that as the world changes and new technologies
increase quickly, that Inuit students are taught to use them and to adapt
their traditional ways to the IT lifestyle.
8. It is recognized that extensive funding will be necessary if the Inuit Arctic
Policy goals in education are to be realized. However, funding alone is not
enough. Parents, elders and the communities must take a more active role,
instill the values of education in young people, and encourage disciplined
learning and study. Positive role models are clearly required.
9. Educational institutions should be established in the Arctic and encouraged
to provide educational and scientific opportunities over a broad spectrum of
potentials. In addition, the practical questions of funding for ambitious
programs located in isolated and expensive-to-service locations should be
addressed.
10. The best strategies for allowing the greatest amount of choice in education
and research among inhabitants of generally small and isolated Arctic
communities should be explored and implemented; this may include tele-
education and/or courses over the Internet, or through such institutions as
the University of the Arctic.
11. It is of fundamental importance that the language and culture be respected,
preserved, and taught and at the same time, Inuit need to have the
opportunity to be full participants in the modern global society. This is
especially important with respect to Inuit living in a Russian territory, where
lack of a common language may create difficulties in communication with
the broader Inuit and circumpolar community.
12. Attention should be paid to the various education reports and committees,
such as the Inuit National Education Committee in Canada, whose aim is to
implement best practices in teaching and learning, while respecting the Inuit
culture and language, preparing students for life in a global society, including
parents/elders and preparing students for a future career.
13. Reports such as the UN Expert Mechanism in the Implementation of Rights
of Indigenous Peoples to Education (2009) should be taken into consideration.
14. The objective of the education system should be to have most Inuit students
graduate from high school and to provide better future opportunities. This
may also be one strategy to decrease the rate of suicide among young people.
15. Curricula should be developed which is Inuit-centric and should be closely
associated with local communities. It is crucial that culturally appropriate
and relevant content be ensured in all materials. Inuit children should be
made aware and proud of their heritage. They should be taught the history
and evolution of the social, economic, cultural, and political aspects of Inuit
life from Inuit perspectives. At the same time, Inuit students should also
learn to live and work in a global and technology oriented world.
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Inuit Arctic Policy
Narsaq Museum
School Expedition
Narsaq Museum
Elementary School Race
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16. Development of educational materials must be done with, and through,
Inuit educators (both in the first and second languages) and take into
account the learning style of Inuit students. Both textbooks and visual aids
should be produced across the full range of teaching subjects, with every
effort made to produce materials necessary for the teaching of the Inuit
language, Inuit history, and the geography and science of the northern
environment. Means of exchanging school curriculum materials should be
established.
17. In order to depict the diverse roles of men and women as well as different
cultures more accurately, sex-role stereotypes and other forms of
discrimination should be eliminated from the curriculum materials.
Teachers and guidance counsellors should receive training to assist them in
identifying discriminatory stereotypes and practices.
18. Inuit in circumpolar regions should be taught in their own language,
beginning at the earliest possible age. Steps must also be taken to ensure
proficiency in one or more second languages, particularly if they are official
languages within their state. The Inuit language should be a working
language in Inuit schools. Further, it is essential that parents aid the learning
process by using the Inuit language at home with their children.
19. To the extent possible, primary and secondary schooling for Inuit should
take place in their home communities. This is especially vital in the case of
disabled children.
20. Education and training facilities should be made fully accessible to
handicapped persons. Individualized programs and systems to educate
disabled children must be made available in circumpolar regions.
21. Adult education programs must be carefully designed to meet the full range
of needs of the population they are intended to serve. As a very minimum,
functional literacy should be actively pursued among all men and women.
Both academic and vocational training programs should be available, as
determined at the local level. Eligibility for training programs should
be based on aptitude for the particular skills rather than on educational
requirements.
22. Inuit in circumpolar regions are severely under-represented in colleges and
universities. Concrete steps must be taken if Inuit are to have a fair and
reasonable access to higher education. Post-secondary education delivery
systems must be instituted in circumpolar regions. Colleges and universities
in circumpolar regions should also play a central role in all aspects of
northern research activities.
23. All Arctic states should establish a university in its Arctic regions; at the
moment only Canada does not have an Arctic university.
24. Collaboration with institutions such as the Inuit Center for International
Understanding and the University of the Arctic should be encouraged.
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Arctic Scientific Research
1. Serious efforts should be made by state governments and other researchers
to include Inuit in the numerous aspects of scientific research affecting the
Arctic, particularly when it affects their communities or Inuit rights and
interests.
2. It is recognized that Arctic scientific research can potentially provide vital
information pertaining to a rapidly growing number of activities and subject
matters of interest and concern in Inuit Circumpolar regions.
3. In light of present and future Arctic research needs, the Inuit Arctic Policy
should elaborate a comprehensive scientific research strategy to be
implemented within circumpolar states. The strategy must include regional,
national, and international dimensions. Ideally, it should be integrated with
the domestic and foreign policies of the Arctic and other states, whose
research and development activities directly affect the North.
4. For purposes of the Inuit Arctic Policy, scientific research refers to all basic
and applied research in respect to the Arctic. This would include monitoring
studies and surveys, in addition to experimental or exploratory work in the
human, social, natural, or medical sciences. All phases of research activity
are intended to be covered, from initial planning to the reporting of results.
5. It is recognized that the physical, biological and health sciences, as well as
social, behavioral and human sciences, can all potentially contribute in
significant ways to information and knowledge about the Arctic. However,
both “western scientific” opinion and Inuit knowledge and experience have
validity and, therefore, should be utilized. If the objectives of Arctic research
are to be achieved, both types of knowledge must be appropriately
integrated within a framework of cooperative research. Effective systems to
collect and classify Inuit knowledge, particularly in regard to Arctic
resources, the Arctic environment, and Inuit culture must be further
developed.
6. The right of Inuit to participate meaningfully in all aspects of circumpolar
research must be recognized and respected. Through direct Inuit
involvement, greater protection can be derived for Inuit rights and interests.
7. Inuit research priorities should be identified and considered. In determining
overall priorities in Arctic research, Inuit or “Arctic” objectives must be fully
taken into account along with national and international considerations.
8. Researchers should shift the focus from research about Inuit, to research
with Inuit.
9. The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s ethical model of a national Inuit Knowledge
Center could be used as a model in order to advance this shift toward
research by/with Inuit. ICC together with other national Inuit organizations
should facilitate the development of key Inuit research and policy priorities,
robust ethical research standards, an efficient and effective Arctic research
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network, and knowledge integration practices by drawing on relevant
information, including Inuit traditional knowledge.
10. In addition, ICC should develop a clearinghouse that will help record and
protect the traditional knowledge of Inuit and facilitate information
exchange between all Inuit in Inuit Nunaat.
11. The ICC should work with Inuit at community, regional, national, and
international levels, governmental and academic researchers as well as
policy makers and students, i.e. all who may contribute to the current state
of research conduct and the state of knowledge in the Arctic.
12. Centers such as the national Inuit Knowledge Center and the Inuit Center
for International Understanding could facilitate the access and participation
of Inuit in research.
13. Traditional knowledge should include both traditional ecological
knowledge, environmental and cultural knowledge, either as handed down
through generations or as engendered in contemporary times. Traditional
knowledge should be integrated with western sciences into all research
projects and education in the Arctic.
14. Ethical and other basic principles for the conduct of northern scientific
research should include the following:
no research involving Arctic communities should proceed without their
free, prior and informed consent expressed through an appropriate
governing body. To obtain free, prior and informed consent, researchers
must identify for whom the research is being done, research objectives,
methods to be used, potential environmental and social impacts, positive
and negative implications of research undertaken, sources of financing, and
persons in charge;
scientific research must only be undertaken in a manner which avoids social
disruption and which fully respects the privacy, dignity, cultures, traditions,
and rights of Arctic peoples and their communities. In cases where
individuals or groups provide information of a confidential or personal
nature, their anonymity must be guaranteed;
where possible, research programs should anticipate and provide for
meaningful training and involvement of Inuit researchers;
in the case of researchers unfamiliar with the Arctic and its northern
peoples and cultures, appropriate orientation and training programs should
be mandatory prior to the commencement of research;
the duty of researchers to inform Arctic communities continues even
after the initial approval to proceed with the research has been obtained.
On-going explanation of research objectives, methods, findings, and
interpretations is required;
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reasonable opportunities should be given to people and organizations in
Inuit communities to comment on research results, prior to finalization.
For such purposes, summaries should be made available in the Inuit
language. Comments received from Arctic communities, in regard to the
research results, should be included in the final research reports; and
as soon as they are available, copies of research reports should be sent to the
communities involved and to interested Arctic institutions and persons.
The research reports should indicate how informed consent was obtained
and the extent of community participation.
15. Inuit and the community in which the research is carried out should
maintain the intellectual property rights to the material, if they contribute
significantly, and Inuit and the community should be clearly acknowledged
in all publications or other material stemming from their research.
16. The Inuit Arctic Policy should ensure that a key aspect of research involves
community-based research (CBR). Important elements of CBR are its strong
emphasis on the active involvement of Inuit researchers and Inuit training.
In addition, research priorities are determined by Inuit and are geared
towards local needs. Information and understanding generated by CBR
are intended to stimulate community development and collective action.
17. Arctic state governments and relevant private institutions should be urged
to support Inuit research centers for the coordination and practice of Arctic
research. In order to sustain timely and vigorous research activities in the
North, it is necessary to maintain sufficient levels of funding.
18. Arctic states should ensure that the principal institutions for northern
research are increasingly located in the Arctic.
19. Responsibilities and functions of research institutions in the Arctic could
possibly include the following:
to engage in scientific research and provide coordination and logistical
support for northern research activities;
to develop specialized research training programs, particularly for Inuit
researchers and students;
to collect and disseminate published and unpublished research information,
and inform northerners and other interested persons of new findings;
to act as a clearinghouse, to help avoid unnecessary duplication of research
activity, including a list of research projects that would be beneficial to Inuit
communities;
to maintain a computerized directory of scientists, Inuit organizations and
other entities with research expertise related to the North; and
to foster high quality cooperative research in the Arctic.
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20. Large international Arctic research undertakings such as the International
Polar Year (IPY) should be urged to more fully include Inuit and other Arctic
inhabitants.
21. Collaboration among public bodies, private organizations, and persons
interested in Arctic scientific research should be an important
consideration. When determining major research objectives and policies,
involvement of the general public should also be encouraged.
22. Private and public foundations and especially national and international
reearch councils and funding agencies should insist on the inclusion and
close co-operation with Inuit and other Arctic inhabitants in Arctic research
projects. Such participation should be a pre-requisite for obtaining funding.
23. Departments dealing with the Arctic, within state governments, should have
interdepartmental committees or other mechanisms to coordinate their
research activities. Efforts should be made to ensure consistency with the
overall research objectives and principles of the Inuit Arctic Policy.
24. It is important to foster regional, national and international cooperation in
regard to Arctic scientific research.
25. Significant efforts should be made by Arctic states to involve Inuit when
determining the content of international agreements in regard to
cooperative northern research. In addition, the ICC should develop a close
liaison with bodies within the United Nations and other international
organizations interested in Arctic research, such as ICSU, IASC, AMAP,
IASSA, ICASS and others. Close cooperation should also be developed with
the national research funding agencies.
26. Workshops and conferences, at regional, national, and international levels,
should be encouraged to exchange ideas on research techniques and
other issues. Through such forums, methods for efficient sharing and
dissemination of information and data can also be improved.
27. It is important to promote an “independent” quality in Arctic scientific
research. For example, universities engaged in Arctic research should not be
excessively funded by development corporations or industries with specific
Arctic interests. Adequate funding must also be made available from
government and other sources.
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Inuit Arctic Policy
Lene Kielsen Holm
Landscape
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Kangiqsujuaq Inukshuk
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VIII
IMPLEMENTATION
Implementation of the Inuit Arctic Policy
1. ICC should work towards having the Inuit Arctic Policy taken into account
by all levels of government throughout the circumpolar world, as well as by
Arctic residents and other users of Arctic resources.
2. Public policies and programs of government, and international agreements,
should be aware of the ICC Inuit Arctic Policy. Special assistance should
be given to Inuit in Chukotka in this regard.
3. In order to ensure that the ICC Inuit Arctic Policy is achieving the desired
effect, its implementation must be monitored by the ICC. Mechanisms
for monitoring and for the refinement of its elements (such as through
conferences, workshops and research projects) may be established.
4. The Inuit Arctic Policy is sufficiently flexible to allow particular conditions
and priorities in specific Arctic regions to be taken into account. This is
especially important in elaborating more detailed positions on community,
regional, and national issues of major concern or relevance to Inuit. Such
issues include negotiations on self-government arrangements, land and
resource rights and management, and constitutional rights and protection.
In these and other instances, the Inuit Arctic Policy principles may be put
to beneficial use. The Inuit Arctic Policy principles should also be adapted
to the different situations and levels of self-government in the four regions.
5. In this context, an appropriate plan is required to facilitate the integration of
the Inuit Arctic Policy in school curricula in circumpolar and other regions.
Extensive use of the policy by Inuit and other organizations involved in
circumpolar issues should also be actively encouraged.
6. At the international level, there are numerous applications for the Inuit
Arctic Policy. The ICC can help to ensure consistency and coordination in
policy-making among Inuit in the various regions or states in the Arctic.
In addition, the ICC can continue to introduce the Inuit Arctic Policy in the
different UN and other international forums dealing with indigenous and
other fundamental human rights, environment, development, and peace and
security issues, among others.
7. In order to encourage widespread use of the Inuit Arctic Policy, it is vital to
disseminate this information to Inuit communities, Arctic governments,
other interested organizations and persons at the local, regional, national,
and international level. The Inuit Arctic Policy must be made available in the
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Inuit languages to facilitate usage among Inuit. Translation into other
languages such as Russian should also be undertaken.
8. Following discussions of the Inuit Arctic Policy by Inuit from the various
Arctic states, at the ICC general assemblies, a multi-year work plan should
be prepared, major areas of priority and concern should be identified for
further work as well as the organizations or persons assigned to undertake
the devising of detailed policies. Inuit organizations at all levels should
ideally be involved.
9. In proceeding with further Inuit Arctic Policy work, a process of on-going
information to and consultation with Inuit communities and others should
be elaborated.
10. The development and implementation of an Inuit Arctic Policy is in many
ways a major contribution to Arctic states. In light of the importance of the
Arctic from a global perspective, such policy work serves as a contribution
to the world community. For these reasons, Inuit Arctic Policy formulation
and implementation should be strongly supported by Arctic and other
interested states.
11. The Inuit Arctic Policy should be viewed as a “living” blueprint for
circumpolar regions that is always evolving. Additional refinements or
improvements should continually be made, in accordance with changing
circumstances.
12. It should always be remembered that the Inuit Arctic Policy is a “living and
resilient document”, adaptable to on-going changes in Inuit Nunaat.
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APPENDIX I
Circumpolar Inuit Declaration on Arctic Sovereignty
We, the Inuit of Inuit Nunaat, declare as follows:
1.
Inuit and the Arctic
1.1
Inuit live in the Arctic.
Inuit live in the vast, circumpolar region of land, sea
and ice known as the Arctic. We depend on the marine and terrestrial plants
and animals supported by the coastal zones of the Arctic Ocean, the tundra
and the sea ice. The Arctic is our home.
1.2
Inuit have been living in the Arctic from time immemorial.
From time
immemorial, Inuit have been living in the Arctic. Our home in the
circumpolar world, Inuit Nunaat, stretches from Greenland to Canada,
Alaska and the coastal regions of Chukotka, Russia. Our use and occupation
of Arctic lands and waters pre-dates recorded history. Our unique
knowledge, experience of the Arctic, and language are the foundation of our
way of life and culture.
1.3
Inuit are a people.
Though Inuit live across a far-reaching circumpolar
region, we are united as a single people. Our sense of unity is fostered and
celebrated by the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), which represents the
Inuit of Denmark/Greenland, Canada, USA and Russia. As a people, we
enjoy the rights of all peoples. These include the rights recognized in and
by various international instruments and institutions, such as the Charter
of the United Nations; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action; the Human Rights
Council; the Arctic Council; and the Organization of American States.
1.4
Inuit are an indigenous people.
Inuit are an indigenous people with the
rights and responsibilities of all indigenous peoples. These include the rights
recognized in and by international legal and political instruments and
bodies, such as the recommendations of the UN Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues, the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
(UNDRIP), and others. Central to our rights as a people is the right to self-
determination. It is our right to freely determine our political status, freely
pursue our economic, social, cultural and linguistic development, and freely
dispose of our natural wealth and resources. States are obligated to respect
and promote the realization of our right to self-determination. (See, for
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example, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR],
Art. 1.)
Our rights as an indigenous people include the following rights recognized
in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
(UNDRIP), all of which are relevant to sovereignty and sovereign rights in
the Arctic: the right to self-determination, to freely determine our political
status and to freely pursue our economic, social and cultural, including
linguistic, development (Art. 3); the right to internal autonomy or self-
government (Art. 4); the right to recognition, observance and enforcement
of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements concluded with
states (Art. 37); the right to maintain and strengthen our distinct political,
legal, economic, social and cultural institutions, while retaining the right to
participate fully in the political, economic, social and cultural life of states
(Art. 5); the right to participate in decision-making in matters which would
affect our rights and to maintain and develop our own indigenous decision-
making institutions (Art. 18); the right to own, use, develop and control our
lands, territories and resources and the right to ensure that no project
affecting our lands, territories or resources will proceed without our free
and informed consent (Art. 25-32); the right to peace and security (Art. 7);
and the right to conservation and protection of our environment (Art. 29).
1.5
Inuit are an indigenous people of the Arctic.
Our status, rights and
responsibilities as a people among the peoples of the world, and as an
indigenous people, are exercised within the unique geographic,
environmental, cultural and political context of the Arctic. This has been
acknowledged in the eight-nation Arctic Council, which provides a direct,
participatory role for Inuit through the permanent participant status
accorded the Inuit Circumpolar Council (Art. 2).
1.6
Inuit are citizens of Arctic states.
As citizens of Arctic states (Denmark,
Canada, USA and Russia), we have the rights and responsibilities afforded
all citizens under the constitutions, laws, policies and public sector
programs of these states. These rights and responsibilities do not diminish
the rights and responsibilities of Inuit as a people under international law.
1.7
Inuit are indigenous citizens of Arctic states.
As an indigenous people
within Arctic states, we have the rights and responsibilities afforded all
indigenous peoples under the constitutions, laws, policies and public sector
programs of these states. These rights and responsibilities do not diminish
the rights and responsibilities of Inuit as a people under international law.
1.8
Inuit are indigenous citizens of each of the major political subunits of
Arctic states (states, provinces, territories and regions).
As an indigenous
people within Arctic states, provinces, territories, regions or other political
subunits, we have the rights and responsibilities afforded all indigenous
peoples under the constitutions, laws, policies and public sector programs
of these subunits. These rights and responsibilities do not diminish the
rights and responsibilities of Inuit as a people under international law.
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2.
The Evolving Nature of Sovereignty in the Arctic
2.1 “Sovereignty” is a term that has often been used to refer to the absolute and
independent authority of a community or nation both internally and
externally. Sovereignty is a contested concept, however, and does not have
a fixed meaning. Old ideas of sovereignty are breaking down as different
governance models, such as the European Union, evolve. Sovereignties
overlap and are frequently divided within federations in creative ways to
recognize the right of peoples. For Inuit living within the states of Russia,
Canada, the USA and Denmark/Greenland, issues of sovereignty and
sovereign rights must be examined and assessed in the context of our long
history of struggle to gain recognition and respect as an Arctic indigenous
people having the right to exercise self-determination over our lives,
territories, cultures and languages.
2.2 Recognition and respect for our right to self-determination is developing at
varying paces and in various forms in the Arctic states in which we live.
Following a referendum in November 2008, the areas of self-government in
Greenland will expand greatly and, among other things, Greenlandic
(Kalaallisut) will become Greenland’s sole official language. In Canada, four
land claims agreements are some of the key building blocks of Inuit rights;
while there are conflicts over the implementation of these agreements, they
remain of vital relevance to matters of self-determination and of sovereignty
and sovereign rights. In Alaska, much work is needed to clarify and
implement the rights recognized in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(ANCSA) and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
(ANILCA). In particular, subsistence hunting and self-government rights
need to be fully respected and accommodated, and issues impeding their
enjoyment and implementation need to be addressed and resolved. And in
Chukotka, Russia, a very limited number of administrative processes have
begun to secure recognition of Inuit rights. These developments will
provide a foundation on which to construct future, creative governance
arrangements tailored to diverse circumstances in states, regions and
communities.
2.3 In exercising our right to self-determination in the circumpolar Arctic, we
continue to develop innovative and creative jurisdictional arrangements that
will appropriately balance our rights and responsibilities as an indigenous
people, the rights and responsibilities we share with other peoples who live
among us, and the rights and responsibilities of states. In seeking to exercise
our rights in the Arctic, we continue to promote compromise and harmony
with and among our neighbours.
2.4 International and other instruments increasingly recognize the rights of
indigenous peoples to self-determination and representation in
intergovernmental matters, and are evolving beyond issues of internal
governance to external relations. (See, for example: ICCPR, Art. 1; UNDRIP,
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Art. 3; Draft Nordic Saami Convention, Art. 17, 19; Nunavut Land Claims
Agreement, Art. 5.9).
2.5 Inuit are permanent participants at the Arctic Council with a direct and
meaningful seat at discussion and negotiating tables (See 1997 Ottawa
Declaration on the Establishment of the Arctic Council).
2.6 In spite of a recognition by the five coastal Arctic states (Norway, Denmark,
Canada, USA and Russia) of the need to use international mechanisms
and international law to resolve sovereignty disputes (see 2008 Ilulissat
Declaration), these states, in their discussions of Arctic sovereignty, have
not referenced existing international instruments that promote and protect
the rights of indigenous peoples. They have also neglected to include Inuit
in Arctic sovereignty discussions in a manner comparable to Arctic Council
deliberations.
3.
Inuit, the Arctic and Sovereignty: Looking Forward
The foundations of action
3.1 The actions of Arctic peoples and states, the interactions between them, and
the conduct of international relations must be anchored in the rule of law.
3.2 The actions of Arctic peoples and states, the interactions between them, and
the conduct of international relations must give primary respect to the need
for global environmental security, the need for peaceful resolution of
disputes, and the inextricable linkages between issues of sovereignty and
sovereign rights in the Arctic and issues of self-determination.
Inuit as active partners
3.3 The inextricable linkages between issues of sovereignty and sovereign rights
in the Arctic and Inuit self-determination and other rights require states to
accept the presence and role of Inuit as partners in the conduct of
international relations in the Arctic.
3.4 A variety of other factors, ranging from unique Inuit knowledge of Arctic
ecosystems to the need for appropriate emphasis on sustainability in the
weighing of resource development proposals, provide practical advantages
to conducting international relations in the Arctic in partnership with Inuit.
3.5 Inuit consent, expertise and perspectives are critical to progress on
international issues involving the Arctic, such as global environmental
security, sustainable development, militarization, commercial fishing,
shipping, human health, and economic and social development.
3.6 As states increasingly focus on the Arctic and its resources, and as climate
change continues to create easier access to the Arctic, Inuit inclusion as
active partners is central to all national and international deliberations on
Arctic sovereignty and related questions, such as who owns the Arctic, who
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Narsaq Museum
Narsaq Town
Sam Towarak
Ptarmigan
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has the right to traverse the Arctic, who has the right to develop the Arctic,
and who will be responsible for the social and environmental impacts
increasingly facing the Arctic. We have unique knowledge and experience
to bring to these deliberations. The inclusion of Inuit as active partners in
all future deliberations on Arctic sovereignty will benefit both the Inuit
community and the international community.
3.7 The extensive involvement of Inuit in global, trans-national and indigenous
politics requires the building of new partnerships with states for the
protection and promotion of indigenous economies, cultures and traditions.
Partnerships must acknowledge that industrial development of the natural
resource wealth of the Arctic can proceed only insofar as it enhances the
economic and social well-being of Inuit and safeguards our environmental
security.
The need for global cooperation
3.8 There is a pressing need for enhanced international exchange and
cooperation in relation to the Arctic, particularly in relation to the dynamics
and impacts of climate change and sustainable economic and social
development. Regional institutions that draw together Arctic states, states
from outside the Arctic, and representatives of Arctic indigenous peoples
can provide useful mechanisms for international exchange and cooperation.
3.9 The pursuit of global environmental security requires a coordinated global
approach to the challenges of climate change, a rigorous plan to arrest the
growth in human-generated carbon emissions, and a far-reaching program
of adaptation to climate change in Arctic regions and communities.
3.10 The magnitude of the climate change problem dictates that Arctic states and
their peoples fully participate in international efforts aimed at arresting
and reversing levels of greenhouse gas emissions and enter into international
protocols and treaties. These international efforts, protocols and treaties
cannot be successful without the full participation and cooperation of
indigenous peoples.
Healthy Arctic communities
3.11 In the pursuit of economic opportunities in a warming Arctic, states must
act so as to: (1) put economic activity on a sustainable footing; (2) avoid
harmful resource exploitation; (3) achieve standards of living for Inuit that
meet national and international norms and minimums; and (4) deflect
sudden and far-reaching demographic shifts that would overwhelm and
marginalize indigenous peoples where we are rooted and have endured.
3.12 The foundation, projection and enjoyment of Arctic sovereignty and
sovereign rights all require healthy and sustainable communities in the
Arctic. In this sense, “sovereignty begins at home.”
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Building on today’s mechanisms for the future
3.13 We will exercise our rights of self-determination in the Arctic by building on
institutions such as the Inuit Circumpolar Council and the Arctic Council,
the Arctic-specific features of international instruments, such as the ice-
covered-waters provision of the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea, and the Arctic-related work of international mechanisms, such as
the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the office of the
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples.
4.
A Circumpolar Inuit Declaration on Sovereignty in the Arctic
4.1 At the first Inuit Leaders’ Summit, 6-7 November 2008, in Kuujjuaq,
Nunavik, Canada, Inuit leaders from Greenland, Canada and Alaska
gathered to address Arctic sovereignty. On 7 November, International Inuit
Day, we expressed unity in our concerns over Arctic sovereignty
deliberations, examined the options for addressing these concerns, and
strongly committed to developing a formal declaration on Arctic
sovereignty. We also noted that the 2008 Ilulissat Declaration on Arctic
sovereignty by ministers representing the five coastal Arctic states did not go
far enough in affirming the rights Inuit have gained through international
law, land claims and self-government processes.
4.2 The conduct of international relations in the Arctic and the resolution of
international disputes in the Arctic are not the sole preserve of Arctic states
or other states; they are also within the purview of the Arctic’s indigenous
peoples. The development of international institutions in the Arctic, such as
multi-level governance systems and indigenous peoples’ organizations,
must transcend Arctic states’ agendas on sovereignty and sovereign rights
and the traditional monopoly claimed by states in the area of foreign affairs.
4.3 Issues of sovereignty and sovereign rights in the Arctic have become
inextricably linked to issues of self-determination in the Arctic. Inuit and
Arctic states must, therefore, work together closely and constructively to
chart the future of the Arctic. We, the Inuit of Inuit Nunaat, are committed
to this Declaration and to working with Arctic states and others to build
partnerships in which the rights, roles and responsibilities of Inuit are fully
recognized and accommodated.
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On behalf of Inuit in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Chukotka
Adopted by the Inuit Circumpolar Council, April 2009
Patricia A.L. Cochran, ICC Chair
Edward S. Itta
ICC vice-chair, Alaska
Tatiana Achirgina
ICC vice-chair, Chukotka
Duane R. Smith
ICC vice-chair, Canada
Aqqaluk Lynge
ICC vice-chair, Greenland
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APPENDIX II
United Nations Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Adopted by General Assembly Resolution 61/295 on 13 September 2007
The General Assembly,
1
Guided
by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
and good faith in the fulfilment of the obligations assumed by States in
accordance with the Charter,
Affirming
that indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples, while
recognizing the right of all peoples to be different, to consider themselves
different, and to be respected as such,
Affirming
also that all peoples contribute to the diversity and richness of
civilizations and cultures, which constitute the common heritage of
humankind,
Affirming
further that all doctrines, policies and practices based on or
advocating superiority of peoples or individuals on the basis of national
origin or racial, religious, ethnic or cultural differences are racist,
scientifically false, legally invalid, morally condemnable and socially unjust,
Reaffirming that indigenous peoples, in the exercise of their rights, should
be free from discrimination of any kind,
Concerned
that indigenous peoples have suffered from historic injustices
as a result of, inter alia, their colonization and dispossession of their lands,
territories and resources, thus preventing them from exercising, in
particular, their right to development in accordance with their own needs
and interests,
Recognizing
the urgent need to respect and promote the inherent rights of
indigenous peoples which derive from their political, economic and social
structures and from their cultures, spiritual traditions, histories and
philosophies, especially their rights to their lands, territories and resources,
1
See
Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-first Session,
Supplement No. 53 (A/61/53), part one, chap. II, sect. A.
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Recognizing
also the urgent need to respect and promote the rights of
indigenous peoples affirmed in treaties, agreements and other constructive
arrangements with States,
Welcoming
the fact that indigenous peoples are organizing themselves for
political, economic, social and cultural enhancement and in order to bring
to an end all forms of discrimination and oppression wherever they occur,
Convinced
that control by indigenous peoples over developments affecting
them and their lands, territories and resources will enable them to maintain
and strengthen their institutions, cultures and traditions, and to promote
their development in accordance with their aspirations and needs,
Recognizing
that respect for indigenous knowledge, cultures and traditional
practices contributes to sustainable and equitable development and proper
management of the environment,
Emphasizing
the contribution of the demilitarization of the lands and
territories of indigenous peoples to peace, economic and social progress and
development, understanding and friendly relations among nations and
peoples of the world,
Recognizing
in particular the right of indigenous families and communities
to retain shared responsibility for the upbringing, training, education and
well-being of their children, consistent with the rights of the child,
Considering
that the rights affirmed in treaties, agreements and other
constructive arrangements between States and indigenous peoples are, in
some situations, matters of international concern, interest, responsibility
and character,
Considering
also that treaties, agreements and other constructive
arrangements, and the relationship they represent, are the basis for a
strengthened partnership between indigenous peoples and States,
Acknowledging
that the Charter of the United Nations, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
2
and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
2
as well as the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action,
3
affirm the fundamental importance of the right
to self-determination of all peoples, by virtue of which they freely determine
their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development,
Bearing in mind
that nothing in this Declaration may be used to deny any
peoples their right to self-determination, exercised in conformity with
international law,
2
3
See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III.
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Sermitsiaq
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Convinced
that the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples in this
Declaration will enhance harmonious and cooperative relations between
the State and indigenous peoples, based on principles of justice, democracy,
respect for human rights, non-discrimination and good faith,
Encouraging
States to comply with and effectively implement all their
obligations as they apply to indigenous peoples under international
instruments, in particular those related to human rights, in consultation
and cooperation with the peoples concerned,
Emphasizing
that the United Nations has an important and continuing role
to play in promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples,
Believing
that this Declaration is a further important step forward for the
recognition, promotion and protection of the rights and freedoms of
indigenous peoples and in the development of relevant activities of the
United Nations system in this field,
Recognizing and reaffirming
that indigenous individuals are entitled without
discrimination to all human rights recognized in international law, and that
indigenous peoples possess collective rights which are indispensable for
their existence, well-being and integral development as peoples,
Recognizing
that the situation of indigenous peoples varies from region to
region and from country to country and that the significance of national and
regional particularities and various historical and cultural backgrounds
should be taken into consideration,
Solemnly proclaims
the following United Nations Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples as a standard of achievement to be pursued in a spirit
of partnership and mutual respect:
Article 1
Indigenous peoples have the right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as
individuals, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in
the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
4
and international human rights law.
Article 2
Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples
and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of
discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on
their indigenous origin or identity.
Article 3
Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that
right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their
economic, social and cultural development.
4
Resolution 217 A (III).
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Article 4
Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination, have the
right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to 4. Resolution
217 A (III). 5 their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for
financing their autonomous functions.
Article 5
Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinct
political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions, while retaining
their right to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic,
social and cultural life of the State.
Article 6
Every indigenous individual has the right to a nationality.
Article 7
1. Indigenous individuals have the rights to life, physical and mental integrity,
liberty and security of person.
2. Indigenous peoples have the collective right to live in freedom, peace and
security as distinct peoples and shall not be subjected to any act of genocide
or any other act of violence, including forcibly removing children of the
group to another group.
Article 8
1. Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right not to be subjected to
forced assimilation or destruction of their culture.
2. States shall provide effective mechanisms for prevention of, and redress for:
(a) Any action which has the aim or effect of depriving them of their integrity
as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values or ethnic identities;
(b) Any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing them of their lands,
territories or resources;
(c) Any form of forced population transfer which has the aim or effect of
violating or undermining any of their rights;
(d) Any form of forced assimilation or integration;
(e) Any form of propaganda designed to promote or incite racial or ethnic
discrimination directed against them.
Article 9
Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right to belong to an indigenous
community or nation, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the
community or nation concerned. No discrimination of any kind may arise
from the exercise of such a right.
Article 10
Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or
territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed
consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement on just
and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.
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Article 11
Indigenous peoples have the right to practise and revitalize their cultural
traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain, protect and
develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such
as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs, ceremonies,
technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.
States shall provide redress through effective mechanisms, which may
include restitution, developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples, with
respect to their cultural, intellectual, religious and spiritual property taken
without their free, prior and informed consent or in violation of their laws,
traditions and customs.
Article 12
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to manifest, practise, develop and teach
their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies; the right to
maintain, protect, and have access in privacy to their religious and cultural
sites; the right to the use and control of their ceremonial objects; and the
right to the repatriation of their human remains.
2. States shall seek to enable the access and/or repatriation of ceremonial
objects and human remains in their possession through fair, transparent and
effective mechanisms developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples
concerned.
Article 13
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to
future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies,
writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names
for communities, places and persons.
2. States shall take effective measures to ensure that this right is protected and
also to ensure that indigenous peoples can understand and be understood
in political, legal and administrative proceedings, where necessary through
the provision of interpretation or by other appropriate means.
Article 14
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational
systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a
manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.
2. Indigenous individuals, particularly children, have the right to all levels and
forms of education of the State without discrimination.
3. States shall, in conjunction with indigenous peoples, take effective measures,
in order for indigenous individuals, particularly children, including those
living outside their communities, to have access, when possible, to an
education in their own culture and provided in their own language.
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Article 15
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the dignity and diversity of their
cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations which shall be appropriately
reflected in education and public information.
2. States shall take effective measures, in consultation and cooperation with
the indigenous peoples concerned, to combat prejudice and eliminate
discrimination and to promote tolerance, understanding and good relations
among indigenous peoples and all other segments of society.
Article 16
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to establish their own media in their own
languages and to have access to all forms of non-indigenous media without
discrimination.
2. States shall take effective measures to ensure that State-owned media duly
reflect indigenous cultural diversity. States, without prejudice to ensuring
full freedom of expression, should encourage privately owned media to
adequately reflect indigenous cultural diversity.
Article 17
1. Indigenous individuals and peoples have the right to enjoy fully all rights
established under applicable international and domestic labour law.
2. States shall in consultation and cooperation with indigenous peoples take
specific measures to protect indigenous children from economic
exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or
to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health
or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development, taking into
account their special vulnerability and the importance of education for their
empowerment.
3. Indigenous individuals have the right not to be subjected to any
discriminatory conditions of labour and, inter alia, employment or salary.
Article 18
Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in
matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by
themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as to maintain
and develop their own indigenous decision-making institutions.
Article 19
States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples
concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain
their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing
legislative or administrative measures that may affect them.
Article 20
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and develop their political,
economic and social systems or institutions, to be secure in the enjoyment
of their own means of subsistence and development, and to engage freely
in all their traditional and other economic activities.
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2. Indigenous peoples deprived of their means of subsistence and development
are entitled to just and fair redress.
Article 21
1. Indigenous peoples have the right, without discrimination, to the
improvement of their economic and social conditions, including, inter alia,
in the areas of education, employment, vocational training and retraining,
housing, sanitation, health and social security.
2. States shall take effective measures and, where appropriate, special measures
to ensure continuing improvement of their economic and social conditions.
Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs of
indigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities.
Article 22
1. Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs of
indigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities
in the implementation of this Declaration.
2. States shall take measures, in conjunction with indigenous peoples, to
ensure that indigenous women and children enjoy the full protection and
guarantees against all forms of violence and discrimination.
Article 23
Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and
strategies for exercising their right to development. In particular, indigenous
peoples have the right to be actively involved in developing and determining
health, housing and other economic and social programmes affecting them
and, as far as possible, to administer such programmes through their own
institutions.
Article 24
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to their traditional medicines and to
maintain their health practices, including the conservation of their vital
medicinal plants, animals and minerals. Indigenous individuals also have the
right to access, without any discrimination, to all social and health services.
2. Indigenous individuals have an equal right to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health. States shall take the
necessary steps with a view to achieving progressively the full realization
of this right.
Article 25
Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their
distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise
occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other
resources and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this
regard.
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Article 26
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources
which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or
acquired.
2. Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the
lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional
ownership or other traditional occupation or use, as well as those which
they have otherwise acquired.
3. States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories
and resources. Such recognition shall be conducted with due respect to the
customs, traditions and land tenure systems of the indigenous peoples
concerned.
Article 27
States shall establish and implement, in conjunction with indigenous
peoples concerned, a fair, independent, impartial, open and transparent
process, giving due recognition to indigenous peoples’ laws, traditions,
customs and land tenure systems, to recognize and adjudicate the rights
of indigenous peoples pertaining to their lands, territories and resources,
including those which were traditionally owned or otherwise occupied or
used. Indigenous peoples shall have the right to participate in this process.
Article 28
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to redress, by means that can include
restitution or, when this is not possible, just, fair and equitable
compensation, for the lands, territories and resources which they have
traditionally owned or otherwise occupied or used, and which have been
confiscated, taken, occupied, used or damaged without their free, prior
and informed consent.
2. Unless otherwise freely agreed upon by the peoples concerned,
compensation shall take the form of lands, territories and resources equal
in quality, size and legal status or of monetary compensation or other
appropriate redress.
Article 29
Indigenous peoples have the right to the conservation and protection of the
environment and the productive capacity of their lands or territories and
resources. States shall establish and implement assistance programmes for
indigenous peoples for such conservation and protection, without
discrimination.
States shall take effective measures to ensure that no storage or disposal of
hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories of indigenous
peoples without their free, prior and informed consent.
3. States shall also take effective measures to ensure, as needed, that
programmes for monitoring, maintaining and restoring the health of
indigenous peoples, as developed and implemented by the peoples affected
by such materials, are duly implemented.
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Article 30
1. Military activities shall not take place in the lands or territories of
indigenous peoples, unless justified by a relevant public interest or otherwise
freely agreed with or requested by the indigenous peoples concerned.
2. States shall undertake effective consultations with the indigenous peoples
concerned, through appropriate procedures and in particular through their
representative institutions, prior to using their lands or territories for
military activities.
Article 31
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop
their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural
expressions, as well as the manifestations of their sciences, technologies
and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines,
knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literatures,
designs, sports and traditional games and visual and performing arts.
They also have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their
intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge,
and traditional cultural expressions.
2. In conjunction with indigenous peoples, States shall take effective measures
to recognize and protect the exercise of these rights.
Article 32
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and
strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories and other
resources.
2. States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples
concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain
their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting
their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection
with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other
resources.
3. States shall provide effective mechanisms for just and fair redress for any
such activities, and appropriate measures shall be taken to mitigate adverse
environmental, economic, social, cultural or spiritual impact.
Article 33
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own identity or
membership in accordance with their customs and traditions. This does not
impair the right of indigenous individuals to obtain citizenship of the States
in which they live.
2. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine the structures and to select
the membership of their institutions in accordance with their own
procedures.
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Article 34
Indigenous peoples have the right to promote, develop and maintain their
institutional structures and their distinctive customs, spirituality, traditions,
procedures, practices and, in the cases where they exist, juridical systems or
customs, in accordance with international human rights standards.
Article 35
Indigenous peoples have the right to determine the responsibilities of
individuals to their communities.
Article 36
1. Indigenous peoples, in particular those divided by international borders,
have the right to maintain and develop contacts, relations and cooperation,
including activities for spiritual, cultural, political, economic and social
purposes, with their own members as well as other peoples across borders.
2. States, in consultation and cooperation with indigenous peoples, shall take
effective measures to facilitate the exercise and ensure the implementation
of this right.
Article 37
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the recognition, observance and
enforcement of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements
concluded with States or their successors and to have States honour and
respect such treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.
2. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as diminishing or
eliminating the rights of indigenous peoples contained in treaties,
agreements and other constructive arrangements.
Article 38
States, in consultation and cooperation with indigenous peoples, shall take
the appropriate measures, including legislative measures, to achieve the
ends of this Declaration.
Article 39
Indigenous peoples have the right to have access to financial and technical
assistance from States and through international cooperation, for the
enjoyment of the rights contained in this Declaration.
Article 40
Indigenous peoples have the right to access to and prompt decision through
just and fair procedures for the resolution of conflicts and disputes with
States or other parties, as well as to effective remedies for all infringements
of their individual and collective rights. Such a decision shall give due
consideration to the customs, traditions, rules and legal systems of the
indigenous peoples concerned and international human rights.
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Article 41
The organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations system and other
intergovernmental organizations shall contribute to the full realization of
the provisions of this Declaration through the mobilization, inter alia, of
financial cooperation and technical assistance. Ways and means of ensuring
participation of indigenous peoples on issues affecting them shall be
established.
Article 42
The United Nations, its bodies, including the Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues, and specialized agencies, including at the country level,
and States shall promote respect for and full application of the provisions
of this Declaration and follow up the effectiveness of this Declaration.
Article 43
The rights recognized herein constitute the minimum standards for the
survival, dignity and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the world.
Article 44
All the rights and freedoms recognized herein are equally guaranteed to
male and female indigenous individuals.
Article 45
Nothing in this Declaration may be construed as diminishing or
extinguishing the rights indigenous peoples have now or may acquire in the
future.
Article 46
1. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State,
people, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform
any act contrary to the Charter of the United Nations or construed as
authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair,
totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and
independent States.
2. In the exercise of the rights enunciated in the present Declaration, human
rights and fundamental freedoms of all shall be respected. The exercise of
the rights set forth in this Declaration shall be subject only to such
limitations as are determined by law and in accordance with international
human rights obligations. Any such limitations shall be non-discriminatory
and strictly necessary solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and
respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for meeting the just and
most compelling requirements of a democratic society.
3. The provisions set forth in this Declaration shall be interpreted in
accordance with the principles of justice, democracy, respect for human
rights, equality, non-discrimination, good governance and good faith.
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Lene Kielsen Holm
Sunset over the Ice
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Editors’ Note
This work started when Aqqaluk Lynge was a Visiting Fellow at
the Dickey Center, Dartmouth College in 2008. Aqqaluk Lynge
graduated from the Copenhagen College of Social Work in 1976.
He is a well-known Greenlandic author and politician who has
been a member of the ICC Executive since 1980.
Marianne Stenbaek is professor of Cultural Studies at McGill
University, Montreal, Canada. She has been involved in the ICC
since 1980 and was a Fellow at the Dickey Center in 2007. She has
done research in Greenland and is a well-known broadcaster for
Kalaallit Nunaata Radio.
Aqqaluk Lynge
aqqaluk
@
inuit.org
Marianne Stenbaek
marianne.stenbaek
@
mcgill.ca
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Blanket toss photo by Mary Sage. Photo on front cover: Inukjuaq Family, by Heiko Wittenborn