Arctic Peoples

by Clive Tesar

The recent conference of the Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region wrapped up with a strong statement on climate change. The representatives of parliaments from seven Arctic countries, and representatives from the European Union parliament were meeting in [GP:Kiruna], Sweden. The parliamentarians meet every two years to discuss issues that are important to people in Arctic countries.

In making their final statement, the parliamentarians made several mentions of the rights of indigenous peoples as expressed in international law, and in the United Nations’ Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The statement called on Arctic states and the European Union to:

• Use the attention and debate following the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) to raise a strong Arctic message on climate change on the international agenda, underlining the role of the Arctic as an early warning sign for global climate change;

• Make sure that concrete policy proposals are made on how to follow up the ACIA Policy Document from the Arctic Council meeting in Reykjavik, November 2004, and initiate a continuous follow up with reports at regular intervals (5 – 10 years);

• Ensure financial resources to generate monitoring and research stations/platforms that can secure observations of climate change and the effect of pollution;

• Strengthen the adaptive capacities of the Arctic residents as mentioned in a political statement by the Arctic states at the COP 11 meeting in Montreal, and to promote research, exchange of experiences and good practices, to develop strategies needed to support Arctic residents in their efforts to sustain their health, culture, economic life and general well being;

• Retain and intensify efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases and strengthen the multilateral environmental agreements relevant to the Arctic;

Besides the points covering climate change, the Parliamentarians also called for states to ensure that natural resources in the Arctic are exploited in a sustainable fashion, and to the benefit of local people.

Although the statement is not binding on any of the governments involved, the Parliamentarians who attend do use it to attempt to raise the profile of Arctic issues in their home governments. The next meeting of the Arctic Parliamentarians will take place two years from now in the United States.