Members of the Finnish Parliament: Honour Saami self-determination and right to define Saami identity

Lue kirjeemme suomeksi: http://www.ssn.fi/2015/02/kirje-kansanedustajille-saamelaiskarajalakiuudistuksesta-seka-ilo-169n-rat...


Esteemed Member of the Finnish Parliament,

We the undersigned are deeply concerned about recent developments in the parliament committees with regard to changes to the legal definition of who is Saami, and urge you to pass the Government’s proposition (HE 167/2014 vp) without any additional provisions.

We call upon the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and especially article 33, which clearly states that Indigenous Peoples must have the right to determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions. It also states clearly that Indigenous Peoples have the right to determine the structures and to select the membership of their institutions in accordance with their own procedures.

The Saami Parliament is the elected political and self-government body of the Saami in Finland. The elections are regulated by the Saami Parliament Act (974/1995). Saami individuals who are in the Saami Parliament’s electoral roll have a right to vote or run as a candidate.

When defining Saami in Finland, firstly Saami has to identify her or himself as a Saami. This is called the subjective criteria. In addition the individual has to fulfill at least one of the following objective criteria:

Firstly, the individual has to have at least one parent or grandparent who has learned Saami as a first language.

The second criterion is that an individual has to be a descendant of someone who was entered in a land, taxation or population register as a mountain, forest or fishing Lapp.

Let us also point out that Saami Parliament has clearly stated that the second criterion is not acceptable because it does not indicate any connection to the Saami culture. Let us note that solely on the bases of taxation records you can’t define who is a Saami as the register is based solely on livelihoods, not ethnicity. This is a timely issue as the law reform of the Saami Parliament Act is ongoing in Finland.

Let us draw your attention to the decision made by the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court in 2011 (KHO 2011:81).

In the ruling, the Court overruled the Saami Parliament’s Election Board’s decision not to add four applicant individuals to the electoral register of the Saami parliament. Overruling the decision by the Saami Parliament, the Court claimed that evidence of an ancestor entered into a Lapp register as far back as 1763 still can be significant for an individual self-identifying as a Saami and should be considered in an overall assessment of the matter.

The rulings open up the electoral register to the Saami parliament to a large number of Finnish persons, including to the vast majority of the population of Northern Finland. Today in the electoral register there are approximately 5000-6000 individuals and the Finnish Saami Parliament numbers estimate that there are approximately 10 000 Saami living in Finland. If the Saami lose control over the body supposed to govern our cultural autonomy, Saami culture and future in Finland are in imminent danger.

We want to reiterate the recommendation of Special Rapporteur on the Rights on Indigenous Peoples to Finland in 2012, in which he urged ”the Government to take the measures necessary to comply with relevant provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples.”, referring to article 33. (A/HRC/18/35/Add.2)

We are also recalling CERD’s Concluding Observations for Finland in 2011, according to which ”The Committee recommends that, in defining who is eligible to vote for Members of the Saami Parliament, the State party accord due weight to the right of the Saami people to self-determination concerning their status within Finland, to determine their own membership, and not to be subjected to forced assimilation.” (CERD/C/FIN/CO/20-22)

Respecting these rights of the Saami is the prerequisite of successfully ratifying ILO convention nr. 169, which Finland is finally on the verge of doing today.

We urge you, therefore, to vote in favour of the Government’s proposal and dismiss additional provisions as brought forth by some of the committees.

Best regards,
the undersigned