Issued a statement at the UN – calling on Nordic states to end continued human rights abuses
– Excellent experts, indigenous brothers and sisters, this is an intervention on behalf of the Sami youth in Finland, Sweden and Norway.
So began Elle Rávdná Näkkäläjärvi’s speech today on behalf of Nordic Sami youth at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.
In the speech, they raised issues surrounding “green colonialism” and its effects on Sami youth. They point out that the Nordic states use the green letter and the need to save the planet as a reason for settling in the Sami areas, and prevent the Sami from practicing their traditional way of life.
Several concrete examples of land and mineral extraction were highlighted, including the Fosen affair, which threatens Sami land and culture. They call on the international indigenous community to examine the developments taking place in the Sami areas, in the context of the transition to green energy – and they demand that the Nordic states immediately cease the continued human rights violations against the Sami. They also challenge the question of what is really being fought for if Indigenous peoples are to be sacrificed to save the planet, and what future do they have left.
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