The Sámi people should have the final say in who is entered in the electoral roll of the Sámi Parliament
Saami Council is worried that the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) of Finland accepted in total 37 persons to the electoral roll of the Sámi Parliament in Finland, in contradiction to the view of the electoral committee and the executive board of the Sámi parliament. SAC published four yearbook decisions and a press release regarding this issue last week.
-This Finnish court keeps undermining the Human Right Committee’s 2019 decisions on this issue and does not respect the self-determination right of the Sámi as an indigenous people, says Áslat Holmberg, Vice President of the Saami Council.
According to the Sámi Parliament Act of Finland, in the processes of applying to the Sámi Parliament electoral roll, an individual has a right to appeal to the SAC. This is contrary to the self-determination right of indigenous peoples as recognized eg. in Article 1 of the Civil and Political Rights Covenant (ICCPR) and United Nations Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.
-The Sámi should have a final decision-making power about the Sámi Parliament electoral rolls. This should apply in principle to all Sámi parliaments’ electoral rolls in Norway, Sweden and Finland. The right to appeal may be necessary but then the appellate body should be in the hands of the Sámi. A joint Nordic Sámi appellate body could resolve this matter, says Áslat Holmberg.
Since year 2011 the SAC has accepted in total 161 persons to the electoral roll of the Sámi Parliament of Finland against the will of Sámi Parliament. Saami Council points out that this is a large number of persons when compared to the figure of 5,800, ie. the total number of persons in the electoral roll of the Sámi Parliament of Finland in the 2019 elections.
-If we compare to Parliamentary elections in Finland, it would mean that a non-Finnish body would grant to approximately 130,000 non-Finnish citizens eligibility to vote and run as a candidate in the parliamentary elections in Finland, says Holmberg.
The decisions of the SAC can impact the composition and legitimacy of the Sámi Parliament in Finland decisively and result in forced assimilation of the indigenous people Sámi in Finland.
The UN Human Rights Committee has found that the decisions of the Finnish SAC regarding the Sámi Parliament in Finland electoral roll violate human rights. In February 2019 the Human Rights Committee published its decisions on the Communications (Sanila-Aikio v. Finland and Näkkäläjärvi et. al v. Finland). In both Communications the Committee found that Finland had violated article 25, read alone and in conjunction with article 27, as interpreted in light of article 1 of the ICCPR, when the SAC accepted in total 97 persons to the electoral roll of the Sámi Parliament in 2011 and 2015. The Committee pointed out that Finland should provide the authors with an effective remedy. This requires it to make full reparation to individuals whose rights have been violated. Finland is also obligated to review the Sámi Parliament Act and to take all steps necessary to prevent similar violations in the future.
Saami Council stresses that Finland should recognize the Sámi self-determination and group acceptance as the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommended Finland in 2012 and in 2017, and amend the Sámi Parliament Act. The ultimate decision-making power of the SAC in the appeal process should be replaced, in line with the right of peoples for self-determination. The Sámi should have the final say in who is entered in the electoral roll of the Sámi Parliament.
