Opening Address at Seminar on Extractive Industries and Indigenous Peoples

Dear friends and colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

It is good to be back in the Barents region – and back in Tromsø.

Our theme here today is “Extractive Industries and Indigenous Peoples”. The Barents region is immensely rich in natural resources – not only in the sea, but also on land, where indigenous peoples have lived for centuries. Balancing indigenous rights and development - driven by the harvesting of natural resources – is as important as it can be complicated. Dialogue between the key actors, greater knowledge and better understanding are needed.

I am therefore very pleased to see so many distinguished representatives of the three main groups in question – indigenous peoples, the business sector, and the local and central authorities – here today.

It is also an honour to have Professor James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with us. Professor Anaya’s report from the Sami areas covered several countries and examined issues of general relevance. We welcome this.

Indigenous issues are one of the key priorities for Norway’s current chairmanship of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council. Indigenous culture and history is a crucial part of this region’s identity – across and within the borders of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. I am pleased to have the President of the Norwegian Sami Parliament, Egil Olli, with us. It is crucial that indigenous peoples must are listened to.

This region is rich in minerals and natural resources – and we all know that conflicts can arise between the extraction of minerals and traditional ways of harvesting natural resources, and indeed indigenous peoples’ ways of life.

The question to be discussed here today is therefore: How can we best safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples, and at the same time promote development, dialogue and cooperation between indigenous communities, industry and the authorities?

Given our ambitions – as governments - to expand mineral extraction in the north, we have to ask ourselves: Do we have the necessary mechanisms in place to protect indigenous peoples’ rights? And are we being sufficiently clear about how we expect businesses to behave?

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are useful in this regard. They provide guidance for both governments and businesses. The principles were endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in June last year, and they have now become a central reference document for international work in this field. Norway has long been actively engaged in the issue of business and human rights in the international arena. Together with Russia and three other states, we are currently part of the core support group on this issue in the UN.

I very much appreciate having with us today one of the five experts from the UN Working Group on Human Rights and Business, Alexandra Guaqueta. She will speak about the corporate responsibility of the mining sector to respect human rights - particularly in connection with operations on indigenous land.

Learning from experiences – and best practice - is key. Today will be very much about just that. Representatives from all the key groups will share their experiences and ideas for the future.

It will not be possible to fully legitimise mining activities in this region, without taking into account the priorities of the peoples who traditionally live here – the Sami, the Nenets and the Vepsian.

The obligation to consult indigenous peoples in matters that concern them is set out in ILO Convention No. 169. In Norway, regular consultations have been conducted between the Sami Parliament and the Norwegian authorities for a number of years. This is an important element in the work to safeguard Sami rights in Norway. My colleagues from other ministries will say more about these consultations later today – and I expect the President of the Sami Parliament will also do so in his address.

In concluding, I would like to thank the Barents working group on indigenous peoples for the close cooperation with the three government ministries involved in preparing for this seminar. I would also like to thank the University of Tromsø for the important role it has played and for making all practical arrangements.

I look forward to an interesting seminar and fruitful discussions. It is my sincere hope that this seminar will promote dialogue and help foster sustainable social development in the Barents Region – and therefore also help to prevent conflict.

I am glad that we have a high-level representative from Russia present here today. I would now like to give the floor to the Governor of the Nenets autonomous district, Mr Fyodorov.

Thank you.