COVID-19 and the Sámi people: Rights of cross-border families and communities must be respected even at times of crisis
Govven: Matthew Ross, Wikimedia Commons
Pandemic restrictions have brought tough border restrictions through traditional Sámi territories. These restrictions divide Sámi families and communities residing across nation state borders and have had a significant impact on traditional Sámi reindeer husbandry. While travel within nation states from areas of high-infection rates in the south is allowed to the north, families in low-infection rate cross-border areas in the north are denied access to their family members. This seems unwarranted. The Saami Council calls for nation states to uphold and respect the rights of indigenous Sámi people living across the nation state borders.
The Saami Council is worried about the COVID-19 situation. Many restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic can be considered appropriate from the perspective of fundamental rights, such as the right to life and the promotion of public health. However, the measures the nation states have introduced have serious consequences for the fundamental and human rights of the Sámi, especially the freedom of assembly and movement, and children’s rights, as the areas traditionally inhabited by the Sámi are divided into four different nation states: Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. Many Sámi families reside across nation state borders and they go to work across borders. Although it remains possible to cross the border to work in Norway, maintaining cross-border family ties is not possible. This seems unwarranted, considering that inside the nation states travel from high-infection rate areas in the south to the low-infection rate areas in the north remains possible.
Closed borders during the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the interaction between the Sámi people, communities, families, traditional livelihoods, business owners and employees. Sámi artists, artisans and other entrepreneurs have been put out of work as a result of strict travel restrictions across nation state borders. Border restrictions and strict border control during COVID-19 have also had a negative impact on traditional reindeer husbandry and border crossing reindeer herding work, especially on the Swedish-Finnish border.
The nation state authorities have not yet considered how border restrictions impact the collective rights of the Sámi people. This should also be considered in terms of de facto equality. The nation states have not in consultation and cooperation with the Sámi taken effective measures to ensure the implementation of the right to maintain spiritual, cultural, political, economic and social ties during the COVID-19 pandemic. (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Article 36)
The Saami Council is glad that the vaccine for COVID-19 is now available. The Saami Council points out that once vaccination progresses, the threshold for restricting fundamental rights should become higher. The Saami Council calls for the nation states to respect the rights of the indigenous Sámi people, especially in nation state border regions, when considering future actions in combatting the pandemic. We call for the authorities to pay attention to border communities, so that border crossing would run smoothly, the measures taken would respect privacy and the right to family life, promote cultural sensitivity and would not cause undue inconvenience to people. Nation states should have effective cooperation with other nation states and the Sámi on improving this issue.
