Executive Parliament of Sámi Parliament in Finland in favour of human rights complaint regarding elections and electoral register
The Executive Board of the Sámi Parliament in Finland assembled for its fifth meeting in Inari on 29 April, with some members attending via remote connection. In the meeting, the Executive Board decided on further action regarding the recent decisions of the Supreme Administrative Court.
In its meeting, the Executive Board of the Sámi Parliament in Finland decided to sanction a human rights complaint jointly signed by the Members of the Executive Board to the United Nations Human Rights Council in the matter concerning the electoral register and elections for the Sámi Parliament. All three Sámi languages alive in Finland (Skolt Sámi, Inari Sámi and Northern Sámi), the territories of all municipalities in the Sámi Homeland, and the territory outside the Sámi Homeland are represented in the Executive Board of the Sámi Parliament in Finland.
The human rights complaint concerns the decisions issued by the Supreme Administrative Court (KHO) on 27 March 2024 concerning the electoral register and elections for the Sámi Parliament in Finland. The Supreme Administrative Court ordered that 65 persons be entered in the 2023 electoral register for the Sámi Parliament, contrary to the decisions made by the Sámi Parliament’s bodies, and that the elections be repeated.
– The Sámi Parliament stands by a long-term approach to strengthening the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Executive Board of the Sámi Parliament supports the human rights complaint. This is the latest development in a long series of established human rights violations by the State of Finland in the matter involving the electoral register for the Sámi Parliament, says Pirita Näkkäläjärvi, President of the Sámi Parliament in Finland.
In 2019 and 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) issued condemnatory observations on Finland concerning the interpretation of the Act on the Sámi Parliament and obliged Finland to review the Act in a manner that respects the right of the Sámi to self-government.
Private individuals or members of groups of private individuals may submit complaints to UN treaty bodies, such as the Human Rights Council, if they consider that their rights guaranteed under UN human rights treaties or their optional protocols have been violated.
– The Executive Board of the Sámi Parliament is in favour of an individual complaint, because the Supreme Administrative Court’s latest decisions violate the Sámi right to self-determination as an Indigenous People, President Näkkäläjärvi says.
The Plenum of the Sámi Parliament also discussed the Supreme Administrative Court’s most recent decisions on 12 April 2024. The majority of the Plenum adopted a clear position that the decisions constitute violations of human rights and the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Statement to General Synod: Sámi Parliament supports two parallel conceptions of marriage
In its meeting, the Executive Board of the Sámi Parliament in Finland also decided on a statement by the Sámi Parliament to the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, according to which the Sámi Parliament is in favour of the proposal made by the Bishops’ Conference for adding a provision on parallel conceptions of marriage into the Church Order. According to one conception, marriage is between a man and a woman, and according to the other, between two individuals. These conceptions have different theological foundations.
– The Sámi Parliament advocates LGBT-friendly policy, which must also be reflected in our positions in the General Synod. We decided on drawing up an LGBT agenda for the Sámi Parliament in our 2024–27 Action Plan. We support the motion made by the Bishops’ Conference, because it gives all couples access to a church wedding, but does not infringe on anyone’s rights, President Näkkäläjärvi says.
The Sámi have a representative and two deputy representatives in the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The representatives are elected for four-year terms by the Plenum of the Sámi Parliament. The motion made by the Bishops’ Conference will be discussed at the next meeting of the General Synod in May.
Further information:
Pirita Näkkäläjärvi
President of the Sámi Parliament in Finland
+358 44 753 3766
pirita.nakkalajarvi@samediggi.fi
