UN decision on Sámi people in Finland is a victory for global indigenous rights

In October 2024, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR) issued a landmark decision stating that Finland had violated the rights of the Sámi Indigenous people to their culture and land. This decision, unprecedented in Europe, signals a potential paradigm shift in the protection of Indigenous rights globally.

The Sámi are a semi-nomadic Indigenous people who practise traditional reindeer herding in northern Europe. Their traditional territory, Sápmi, extends throughout parts of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia. It’s believed the Sámi have occupied this region for thousands of years.

A petition was filed before the UNCESCR by 17 members of the Sámi community in Finland due to encroachment by the Finnish state on their traditional territories – notably for prospective mining activities.

The petitioners argued that by failing to conduct a proper impact assessment and engaging in a process of consultation, the state violated their “rights to take part in the cultural life of a community and to enjoy just and favourable conditions of work that ensure remuneration that provides them with a decent living for themselves and their families”.

In reaching its decision, the UNCESCR relied on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This covenant outlines a series of social rights meant to provide a minimum standard...

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