ABSTRACT
Increasing interest in the Arctic by non-Arctic actors, including the now 13 Observer states to the Arctic Council, contributes to growing concern of Arctic indigenous peoples throughout the circumpolar region. Though the role of Observers in the Arctic Council is limited by procedural bounds, non-Arctic Observers are working to increase their sphere of influence in all Arctic fora. However, one must ask what motivates such enthusiasm. Significantly, like the eight state members of the Arctic Council, non-Arctic states and third-party actors are not fully implementing or are not cognisant of indigenous human rights, interests, concerns and responsibilities.
Therefore, such rights, interests and concerns require comprehensive treatment in all contexts, including the Arctic Council as well as the corresponding legal obligations of the eight Arctic states and others explicitly concerning indigenous peoples. This chapter introduces an Indigenous human rights framework established by various international human rights instruments, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and briefly addresses the political, economic, social and cultural dimensions of Arctic indigenous peoples, and concludes with recommendations to non-Arctic states to educate themselves about Indigenous specific human rights that must be adhered to throughout their future engagement in the Arctic.
