The Saami Council supports the Fosen protests in Oslo

Statement Issued by the Plenary Meeting of the Saami Council in Arjeplog, October 14, 2023.

It has been over two years since the Supreme Court of Norway concluded in a grand chamber that the wind power plants on Storheia and Roan violate the human rights of the Fosen Sámi according to article 27 of the UN Convention on Civil and Political Rights. Our land and sea areas are the foundation of Sámi culture. Intrusions in the natural basis for Sámis will therefore threaten the survival of Sámi culture.

On October 11 2023, human rights activists have once again gathered in the streets of Oslo, where they have conducted several actions against the Norwegian state and the state-owned energy company Statkraft in protest of the ongoing human rights violation in Fosen. The actions have led to the Norwegian government acknowledging that the human rights violation is ongoing and has apologized for it. However, neither the government nor the wind industry itself has halted the human rights violation.

The Saami Council supports our youth's actions and everyone who has joined them to defend the human rights of the Sámi in Fovsen-Njaarke. We demand that the Norwegian government respects the Supreme Court's decision and the rule of law, and that the government takes immediate steps to halt the human rights violation.