Statement on the Reform of the Sámi Parliament Act

Photo: Ville-Riiko Fofonoff / Sámediggi | Saamelaiskäräjät | The Sámi Parliament

Finland’s Constitutional Law Committee held a hearing on the Sámi Parliament Act reform on Wednesday, February 12. The Saami Council’s Vice President, Niko Valkeapää, participated in the hearing on behalf of the Saami Council. Read the Saami Council’s statement here.

Vice President of the Saami Council Niko Valkeapää. Photo: The Saami Council / Enni Similä

The reform of the Sámi Parliament Act is necessary and has already been delayed for too long. The current law violates human rights treaties that Finland is bound by, as evidenced by the condemnatory rulings Finland has received from the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The right to self-determination of all peoples is a cornerstone of international law. I emphasize that this concerns international – inter-peoples – law: between Finland and the Sámi people. This is not merely a domestic Finnish issue.

The Sámi are recognized in the Finnish Constitution as an Indigenous people – a designation with legal significance. Article 1 of the ICCPR, to which Finland is also bound, states: All peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right, they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development.

The right to free political organization is a prerequisite for the realization of other collective rights. This right is currently being violated by Finland.

The obstruction of free political organization also hampers the Sámi people's ability to freely develop their economic conditions. The Sámi Parliament plays a significant role in advocating for Sámi livelihoods and traditional land use. If the Parliament no longer genuinely represents the Sámi people, the loss of this support would push Sámi livelihoods into an increasingly vulnerable position.

The Saami Council emphasizes that it is the Sámi people’s internal matter to determine community membership, not a decision for Finns. The ongoing human rights violations are forcing the Sámi Parliament to become increasingly Finnicized, which could lead to a loss of legitimacy and waste decades of work in building relations between Finland and the Sámi people. The Sámi have never accepted the so-called Lappalainen Clause in the law because it does not define Sáminess but rather economic activity. This clause was used in tax records to classify Finns and settlers as Lappalainen. Therefore, we consider it essential to amend this clause, a change that is already included in the current legislative proposal. The Sámi Parliament is an advocacy body for issues related to the Sámi language and culture. It is therefore reasonable to require a living connection to these, and no better indicator of cultural connection has been presented than language use within one's family or ancestry.

The Saami Council is, however, critical of the expansion of the language criterion to the fourth generation, as it does not ensure a living cultural connection. The proposal for expansion was originally linked to negotiations on the Nordic Sámi Convention and an effort to harmonize legal status and electoral systems between the Sámi Parliaments of Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Since negotiations ended in 2016, we have gained new insights that highlight problematic aspects and suggest that further assessments are needed.

The Saami Council stresses that the so-called Lappalainen Clause must be removed from the law because it violates Sámi human rights. Therefore, leaving the law unchanged is not an option. The law must be reformed to ensure the realization of human rights and Sámi self-determination.

The Saami Council finds it crucial that the ongoing human rights violations in Finland end as soon as possible. The delay in reforming the law has already damaged Finland’s international reputation.

The Saami Council's position is that individual parts of the proposal should be improved to ensure the effective realization of Sámi self-determination. However, we also recognize that there is broad consensus within the Sámi community regarding most aspects of the legislative proposal. Finally, we express our support for the views of our member organization, SSG, on the bill.