Polar Research and Indigenous peoples' rights in focus at this year's Polar Law Symposium

This year's theme for the conference is: "Implementation of international minority and domestic law at the national level" and "Governance, resources, security, and jurisdictional issues in the circumpolar area". 

Two of the Keynote Speakers at the conference are Professor S. James Anaya at International Law at the University of Colorado and Åsa Larsson Blind, Vice Chair of the Saami Council, which is the Sámi's joint cultural policy and political institution and operates in Norway, Sweden, Russia and Finland.

In her speech, Åsa Larsson Blind emphasizes, among other things, the necessity of implementing Sámi rights and self-determination in the Nordic countries.
— We still need a serious discussion about how the application of the Sámi's self-determination should take place. In practice, none of the countries respect the Sámi people's right to self-determination, and the Sámi today have very limited influence over land, water and natural resources in the Sámi areas. This is necessary for many reasons, not least in view of the climate crisis and the green transition that is taking place.

She is supported by S. James Anaya, who has written extensively on international human rights and issues relating to indigenous peoples, and has especially looked at how to implement international minority and indigenous legislation at the national level in different countries linked to self-determination, among other things.
— It's about basic human rights, the same rights that apply to everyone should also apply to indigenous peoples, he says and continues:
— What we also have to relate to today, which is one of the core issues of our time, is how we get the green transition to take place, while at the same time we need to preserve and protect our natural resources from a long-term sustainable perspective. Here, the indigenous peoples' holistic and relational approach to the world around us has a lot to teach us all, not least regarding the climate crises. We are all dependent on new technology and the raw material it requires to function. At the same time, we must respect each other's way of life, where a new kind of conservation model needs to be used at both national and local level to make this work long-term.

More about the Polar Law Symposium
The conference starts with a Welcome reception in Jamtli's open-air museum on the evening of September 23, followed by a full conference program on September 24-25.
Read more about the program for the conference here