Dorothée Cambou, a member of TN ASRSR and of the TN’s Steering Committee, coordinated two sessions. One session was devoted to the topic of Sámi and Inuit rights with junior and senior researchers from Canada, France, the United Kingdom and Sweden presenting their work and discussing the development of the law and its content in Arctic states.
Subsequently, the second session focused on indigenous peoples’ rights in the context of energy, climate and environmental (in)justices. During this session, five speakers, including Karin Buhmann (lead of the TN) also shared their research. Among the issues debated in the session, participants offered several perspectives from Canada, the USA, the Nordic Countries and the Russian Federation concerning the impact of renewable and non-renewable energy projects on indigenous peoples living in the Arctic. The issues of justice and human rights dominated the discussions and despite regional differences, speakers shared common messages concerning the need to secure the rights of indigenous peoples in the sustainable transition.
The room was full at the ministry of foreign affairs and benefited from the presence of a number of knowledgeable and distinguished guests, including the French Ambassador of the poles and former presidential candidate Ségolène Royal. The two hours sessions ended with interesting questions and comments from the audience highlighting the importance to place human rights at the centre of the sustainable transition.
Dorothée Cambou and Greg Poelzer delivering their presentation on the topic of “Energy justice in the Arctic: An appraisal of the participation of Arctic indigenous peoples in the transition to renewable energy”.
Karin Buhmann during her presentation on “Public participation in decision-making in natural resource usage for renewable energy: comparing experiences from the Arctic and South Africa“.