The Saami Council addresses UN Special Rapporteur regarding Øyfjellet Wind AS
Picture from construction work at Øyfjellet.
The Saami Council is assisting Jillen-Njaarke reindeer herding district by addressing the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNSRIP) in a communication. The object is to inform UNSRIP of the wind power project in Øyfjellet (Vesterfjellan, Norway), which violates the international human rights conventions and the rights of the Sámi people. The communication also includes data and information provided by Motvind Norge.
“Both research and indigenous knowledge have indisputably established that reindeer avoid wind turbines to such an extent that the area comprising Øyfjellet Wind energy facility, and the 3 km surrounding area, will be regarded as lost pastures. ”
In 2016, Øyfjellet Wind AS was granted a license to build a large wind energy facility that consists 72 wind turbines in an area of 40 square kilometers that is vital for Jillen-Njaarke reindeer herding cooperative, an area that includes reindeer migration routes and crucial pastures. The local reindeer husbandry has never consented to this major encroachment of their territories. According to the company, the construction work began in December 2019 and completion is expected towards the end of 2021. The conditions given for the license were violated during spring migration in 2020, and Jillen Njaarke has therefore sued Øyfjellet Wind for breach of the license conditions and will meet 21 - 24 September in Oslo District Court. Both research and indigenous knowledge have indisputably established that reindeer avoid wind turbines to such an extent that the area comprising Øyfjellet Wind energy facility, and the 3 km surrounding area, will be regarded as lost pastures.
UNSRIP gathers, requests, receives and exchanges information and communications from all relevant sources, including Governments, Indigenous Peoples and their communities and organizations, on alleged violations of the rights of indigenous peoples. UNSRIP formulates recommendations and proposals on appropriate measures and activities to prevent and remedy violations of the rights of indigenous peoples.
The Saami Council expects a thorough investigation of the issue and awaits the recommendations from the UN Special Rapporteur on Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Øyfjellet Wind Energy Facility:
On 16 November 2016, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy of Norway approved the license to build the Øyfjellet wind farm at Mosjøen in Vefsn, in Nordland county in Norway.
Number of turbines: 72
Total height: 180 meters
Span of Rotor in diameter: 160 meters
Length of construction road / internal road: about 56 kilometers
