News
Friday, 23 July 2010 10:52
Don’t walk this line
Independent filmmaker Bertrand Lozay have made a video performance alone on the Greenlandic sea-ice.
As a video-artist mr. Lozay got his movie screened in several places in Europe and Greenland. This shows you a clip of the 30 minutes DVD. The DVD is available in French, English, Greenlandic and Danish and can be purchased by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Monday, 12 July 2010 13:28
Subsistence whaling quotas
From 21 to 25 June 2010 the 62th Session of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was held in Agadir, Morocco. The meeting brought together 600 delegates from some 80 countries, in addition to Ministers, scientists, experts and NGO’s representatives. Representatives of Russian Chukotka Association of Traditional whale hunters who observed the meeting were satisfied with the meeting results.
The same volume quotas for aboriginal hunting of gray and bowhead whales in 2010 (135 gray and 5 bowhead whales) were confirmed. In 2010, unused strikes of gray whale can be transferred to another year, and also only whales brought on shore will be counted.
Due to the large number of harvested non-edible whales, so called, stinky whale (because of their rancid, medicinal stench and taste), the IWC decided to ignore the striking of 10 whales this year.
After years of debate, the indigenous peoples of Greenland were finally able to get a quota of 9 humpbacks in addition to 178 minke whales, 10 fin whales, and 2 bowhead whales. This positive solution was supported by the delegations of indigenous peoples involved in aboriginal whaling.
Thus, Vladimir Etylin from Chukotka said that indigenous whaling in the Arctic is under the pressure of IWC power. Arctic indigenous communities fear that their traditional food can be taken from them. The indigenous people of Greenland, Alaska and Chukotka should not be blamed for the global reduction of whales. It is countries and industry that since the 18th century have continued to destroy whale habitats and earn money at the expense of nature.
The key issue of the IWC meeting was the future of the IWC itself – a question that originated from the ongoing conflict between the so-called whaling and anti-whaling countries. After lengthy discussions the question remained open but all members wanted the organization to become as relevant, credible and effective a conservation and management body as possible.
Regarding scheduling of the next IWC meeting, the IWC Secretariat announces: "Although the Commission did agree to hold a meeting in 2011 we have (as yet) not received an offer from any member government to host the meeting. The venue for next year is therefore currently unknown."
The same volume quotas for aboriginal hunting of gray and bowhead whales in 2010 (135 gray and 5 bowhead whales) were confirmed. In 2010, unused strikes of gray whale can be transferred to another year, and also only whales brought on shore will be counted.
Due to the large number of harvested non-edible whales, so called, stinky whale (because of their rancid, medicinal stench and taste), the IWC decided to ignore the striking of 10 whales this year.
After years of debate, the indigenous peoples of Greenland were finally able to get a quota of 9 humpbacks in addition to 178 minke whales, 10 fin whales, and 2 bowhead whales. This positive solution was supported by the delegations of indigenous peoples involved in aboriginal whaling.
Thus, Vladimir Etylin from Chukotka said that indigenous whaling in the Arctic is under the pressure of IWC power. Arctic indigenous communities fear that their traditional food can be taken from them. The indigenous people of Greenland, Alaska and Chukotka should not be blamed for the global reduction of whales. It is countries and industry that since the 18th century have continued to destroy whale habitats and earn money at the expense of nature.
The key issue of the IWC meeting was the future of the IWC itself – a question that originated from the ongoing conflict between the so-called whaling and anti-whaling countries. After lengthy discussions the question remained open but all members wanted the organization to become as relevant, credible and effective a conservation and management body as possible.
Regarding scheduling of the next IWC meeting, the IWC Secretariat announces: "Although the Commission did agree to hold a meeting in 2011 we have (as yet) not received an offer from any member government to host the meeting. The venue for next year is therefore currently unknown."
.
ay
Published in
2010 News
Tagged under
Thursday, 08 July 2010 10:23
ICC discussion of resources and development
The 11th Inuit Circumpolar Council General Assembly came to its close on Canada Day, 1 July. The general assembly, which was carried out under the slogan “Inoqatigiineq – Sharing Life”, had among its dominating themes uses of renewable and non-renewable resources, and various resistances to these uses in as well as outside of the Inuit world.
The issue of the EU ban on seal products which will come into effect in August this year created a heated discussion among Inuit leaders on the one side and their guest from the European Commission Nicholas Hanley, head of the Commission’s Unit of International Relations, on the other.
Hanley accepted a gift from his hosts consisting of a seal skin with the remark that the EU seal ban exempts products made from seals harvested by Inuit. This provoked several Inuit leaders to take the floor and condemn the ban, arguing that it will colapse the market for seal skin products regardless of provenance.
Mary Simon, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, called the exemption an “empty box” whereas outgoing ICC Chair James Stotts said that the ban was “a disrespect and disregard of Inuit culture.”
The question of legitimacy of the ban has been brought before the World Trade Organization by Canada and Inuit organizations have filed an injunction with a European court instance to have the ban blocked.
Mr. Hanley, on his side, argued that trade prohibitions similar to the EU ban has been in force in the United States for decades, therefore he did not understand why so much attention was now given to the EU ban.
Regarding the extraction of non-renewable resources - oil, gas, and uranium in particular -, opinions among the Inuit delegates differed, some emphasizing the necessity of extracting natural resources in order to secure development, others stressing the need for carrying out exhaustive environmental impact studies before deciding to start drilling.
Both views were reflected in a statement made by ICC Alaska delegate Reggie Joule to the Greenlandic radio station KNR. In that statement, Mr. Joule pointed to the Mexican Gulf oil spill as an example of how lack of public control over oil companies will lead to disasters.
Yet, he also pointed to the commercial aspect of public control: “The community must try to become co-owners in oil projects in order to get more money out of them.”
At the General Assembly, ICC announced that an emergency summit on development is going to deal with the issues of Inuit natural resources extraction. The occasion for this might be the pan-Arctic Inuit leaders’ summit, which, according to the Nuuk Declaration, ICC is to set up in 2012.
The issue of the EU ban on seal products which will come into effect in August this year created a heated discussion among Inuit leaders on the one side and their guest from the European Commission Nicholas Hanley, head of the Commission’s Unit of International Relations, on the other.
Hanley accepted a gift from his hosts consisting of a seal skin with the remark that the EU seal ban exempts products made from seals harvested by Inuit. This provoked several Inuit leaders to take the floor and condemn the ban, arguing that it will colapse the market for seal skin products regardless of provenance.
Mary Simon, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, called the exemption an “empty box” whereas outgoing ICC Chair James Stotts said that the ban was “a disrespect and disregard of Inuit culture.”
The question of legitimacy of the ban has been brought before the World Trade Organization by Canada and Inuit organizations have filed an injunction with a European court instance to have the ban blocked.
Mr. Hanley, on his side, argued that trade prohibitions similar to the EU ban has been in force in the United States for decades, therefore he did not understand why so much attention was now given to the EU ban.
Regarding the extraction of non-renewable resources - oil, gas, and uranium in particular -, opinions among the Inuit delegates differed, some emphasizing the necessity of extracting natural resources in order to secure development, others stressing the need for carrying out exhaustive environmental impact studies before deciding to start drilling.
Both views were reflected in a statement made by ICC Alaska delegate Reggie Joule to the Greenlandic radio station KNR. In that statement, Mr. Joule pointed to the Mexican Gulf oil spill as an example of how lack of public control over oil companies will lead to disasters.
Yet, he also pointed to the commercial aspect of public control: “The community must try to become co-owners in oil projects in order to get more money out of them.”
At the General Assembly, ICC announced that an emergency summit on development is going to deal with the issues of Inuit natural resources extraction. The occasion for this might be the pan-Arctic Inuit leaders’ summit, which, according to the Nuuk Declaration, ICC is to set up in 2012.
eg
Published in
2010 News
Tagged under
Tuesday, 06 July 2010 08:32
Finn Lynge: No left left in Greenland
The fourth session of the recent Inuit Circumpolar Council general assembly in Nuuk on hunting and food security was rounded of by Finn Lynge, grand old man of Greenlandic public life and civil society.
Mr. Lynge gave a presentation entitled “Responsive and responsible development” that centered on Inuit opportunities for linking up with the surrounding world in questions of sustainable development.
Mr. Lynge, firstly, commented on the political development since the introduction of Home Rule in Greenland in 1979 with its ever-increasing gap between the political discourse and the social and environmental realities.
Greenland, Mr. Lynge remarked, is presently ruled by the most formally professed red-green political party in the modern history of the country, viz., the Inuit Ataqatigiit lead by Premier Kuupik Kleist. However, Mr. Lynge said, “the former leftwingers have swung around and are now going with the industry”, and stated: “There is no left left.”
Mr. Lynge then went on to remark that, despite consistent campaigning for the right to sustainable use of nature, it is not the claim for Inuit stewardship of the land, but rather animal rights measures that have prevailed, as the present EU ban on seal skin products clearly demonstrates.
Neither the Greenland Government, nor the ICC, Mr. Lynge said, have done enough in the way of maintaining relationships with their partners south of the sixties like the International Union for the Conservation of Nature or the United Nations’ Environment Program.
Time has come, he concluded, for ICC to relate also to people and organizations within environmental policy networks that mobilize ambivalent feelings on the part of Inuit:
“Go out there, meet them, understand them.
And give them to understand our world.
Create a meeting of the minds.”
Mr. Lynge gave a presentation entitled “Responsive and responsible development” that centered on Inuit opportunities for linking up with the surrounding world in questions of sustainable development.
Mr. Lynge, firstly, commented on the political development since the introduction of Home Rule in Greenland in 1979 with its ever-increasing gap between the political discourse and the social and environmental realities.
Greenland, Mr. Lynge remarked, is presently ruled by the most formally professed red-green political party in the modern history of the country, viz., the Inuit Ataqatigiit lead by Premier Kuupik Kleist. However, Mr. Lynge said, “the former leftwingers have swung around and are now going with the industry”, and stated: “There is no left left.”
Mr. Lynge then went on to remark that, despite consistent campaigning for the right to sustainable use of nature, it is not the claim for Inuit stewardship of the land, but rather animal rights measures that have prevailed, as the present EU ban on seal skin products clearly demonstrates.
Neither the Greenland Government, nor the ICC, Mr. Lynge said, have done enough in the way of maintaining relationships with their partners south of the sixties like the International Union for the Conservation of Nature or the United Nations’ Environment Program.
Time has come, he concluded, for ICC to relate also to people and organizations within environmental policy networks that mobilize ambivalent feelings on the part of Inuit:
“Go out there, meet them, understand them.
And give them to understand our world.
Create a meeting of the minds.”
eg
Published in
2010 News
Monday, 05 July 2010 13:32
Aqqaluk Lynge new ICC Chair
Thursday 1 July, the final day of the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s general assembly in Nuuk, Aqqaluk Lynge was elected new International Chair. He and the Greenlandic branch of the organization took over the chairmanship from James Stotts and the Alaskan branch.
The election of Mr. Lynge as ICC Chair for the next 4-year term came as no surprise. Mr. Lynge has been leading ICC Greenland for many years. It is the second time that he is leading the international organization. The first time that he served as ICC President was from 1997 to 2002.
The agenda of the final day of the general assembly also comprised a revision of the ICC founding charter as well as amendments of its bylaws. A proposal to reduce the number of general assembly delegates from the Chukotkan chapter of ICC from 18 to 12 got approved.
As its last performance the outgoing ICC executive council adopted the Nuuk Declaration, the official outcome of the 11th general assembly. The declaration duly references the Arctic Council and ICC permanent participant status therein, the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples, as well as the organization’s own Circumpolar Inuit Declaration on Sovereignty in the Arctic.
Finally, the new ICC executive council got presented, albeit ”new” is perhaps not the right expression as familiar faces make up the council. One exception is Kirt Ejesiak who has been elected Vice President and one of the two ICC Canada members of the Executive Council. As noted by former Chair Jimmy Stotts, Kirt Ejesiak is not only new, but even young blood. His election for the executive council was met with enthusiastic applause from the people assembled in the cultural hall of Nuuk city.
The election of Mr. Lynge as ICC Chair for the next 4-year term came as no surprise. Mr. Lynge has been leading ICC Greenland for many years. It is the second time that he is leading the international organization. The first time that he served as ICC President was from 1997 to 2002.
The agenda of the final day of the general assembly also comprised a revision of the ICC founding charter as well as amendments of its bylaws. A proposal to reduce the number of general assembly delegates from the Chukotkan chapter of ICC from 18 to 12 got approved.
As its last performance the outgoing ICC executive council adopted the Nuuk Declaration, the official outcome of the 11th general assembly. The declaration duly references the Arctic Council and ICC permanent participant status therein, the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples, as well as the organization’s own Circumpolar Inuit Declaration on Sovereignty in the Arctic.
Finally, the new ICC executive council got presented, albeit ”new” is perhaps not the right expression as familiar faces make up the council. One exception is Kirt Ejesiak who has been elected Vice President and one of the two ICC Canada members of the Executive Council. As noted by former Chair Jimmy Stotts, Kirt Ejesiak is not only new, but even young blood. His election for the executive council was met with enthusiastic applause from the people assembled in the cultural hall of Nuuk city.
eg
Published in
2010 News
Tagged under
Monday, 28 June 2010 13:08
Inuit gather in Nuuk
The 11th Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) General Assembly is in full swing in Nuuk. Starting on 28 June and lasting the whole week, The General Assembly will culminate on 1 July with the host of the event, ICC Greenland, formally taking over the Chairmanship from ICC Alaska for the next 4-year term. The same day will see the election of a new international chairperson as well as the presentation of a new Executive Council.
Testifying to colonial power structures still in place and ruling the lives of Arctic peoples, the 22 delegates of ICC Chukotka has travelled all the way through Russia and via Copenhagen, Denmark, to meet with their kinsfolk and indigenous associates from Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. Breaking the colonial structures, however, delegates from Canada has arrived in Nuuk on a chartered plane via Iqaluit, Nunavut
The gathering of the world’s Inuit leaders aims at strengthening unity among Inuit. They work to secure and develop Inuit culture and society, but their discussions also comprise inuit participation in political, economic and social developments. ICC - among other things in its capacity as a permanent participant in the Arctic Council - develops and encourages long-term policies for countering impacts of climate change in the Arctic and the rest of the world. Last but not least ICC works for international recognition of human and Indigenous rights of Inuit.
Among the matters to be discussed are following:
· Environment, including Climate Change
· Political and economic development
· Health and Well-being
· Hunting and Food Security
· Governance
· Inuit Arctic Policy
In addition to the political agenda, the General Assembly is garnished with an abundance of cultural and entertaining events, among them a film festival with a packed program of documentaries and features from all over the Inuit world.
For further information about the 11th ICC GA click here
Testifying to colonial power structures still in place and ruling the lives of Arctic peoples, the 22 delegates of ICC Chukotka has travelled all the way through Russia and via Copenhagen, Denmark, to meet with their kinsfolk and indigenous associates from Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. Breaking the colonial structures, however, delegates from Canada has arrived in Nuuk on a chartered plane via Iqaluit, Nunavut
The gathering of the world’s Inuit leaders aims at strengthening unity among Inuit. They work to secure and develop Inuit culture and society, but their discussions also comprise inuit participation in political, economic and social developments. ICC - among other things in its capacity as a permanent participant in the Arctic Council - develops and encourages long-term policies for countering impacts of climate change in the Arctic and the rest of the world. Last but not least ICC works for international recognition of human and Indigenous rights of Inuit.
Among the matters to be discussed are following:
· Environment, including Climate Change
· Political and economic development
· Health and Well-being
· Hunting and Food Security
· Governance
· Inuit Arctic Policy
In addition to the political agenda, the General Assembly is garnished with an abundance of cultural and entertaining events, among them a film festival with a packed program of documentaries and features from all over the Inuit world.
umh
Foto by Nuka MoellerFor further information about the 11th ICC GA click here
Published in
2010 News
Tagged under