UN Human Rights Committee intervenes in Nellim reindeer herders’ conflict

The livelihood and cultural identity of four Saami reindeer herders from the Nellim area in the northeasternmost part of Finnish Lapland is threatened by a decision by the Ivalo reindeer co-operative that essentially the entire herd of the Nellim group should be forcefully slaughtered.

Finnish Supreme Administrative Court have upheld the decision as legal under the Finnish Reindeer Herding Act. The Ivalo reindeer co-operative has announced that it will enforce its decision.

The situation in Nellim is a direct result of Finland, unlike Norway and Sweden, is not protecting reindeer husbandry as a distinct livelihood of the Saami, says the Finnish Saami Council in a press-release.

The Saami Council says the Finnish Reindeer Herding Act fails to distinguish between reindeer farming, common to Finnish reindeer owners, and traditional Saami reindeer husbandry. Reindeer farms can slaughter more reindeer compared to Saami traditional reindeer herding, as farmers keep their reindeer fenced e.g. resulting in less losses to predators.

Ivalo reindeer co-operative has decided how many reindeer each reindeer owner shall slaughter each year based on what is common in Finnish reindeer farming. For the Nellim group, pursuing traditional Saami reindeer herding, it has, however, been impossible to slaughter the amount of reindeer decided by the farmers, as doing so would eliminate their herds. Now, the Ivalo reindeer co-operative has decided that the Nellim Group has over the years amassed a “slaughter debt” entailing that essentially their entire herd should be forcefully slaughtered, the press-release from the Saami Council reads.

- The decision by the Ivalo reindeer cooperative is clearly absurd with devastating consequences for the Nellim Saami reindeer herders, yet somehow possible under Finnish law, says Mattias Åhrén, Head of the Saami Council´s Human Rights Unit.

He says Saami reindeer herders in Nellim are punished for pursuing reindeer herding in a traditional Saami manner.

– That this is possible under the Finnish Reindeer Herding Act underscores that the Act is racially discriminatory, Åhrén claims.

If the forced slaughter is carried out, this would constitute a brutal violation of the human rights of the Saami reindeer herders in the Nellim area, Åhrén continues.

The Saami Council calls on the Finnish government to immediately take action to prevent the forceful slaughter. We have requested that the UN Human Rights Committee and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples intervene in the matter, and will also bring this affair up when Finland appears before the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review, says Mattias Åhrén.

As mentioned the absurd situation in Nellim is possible because of Finland not protecting reindeer husbandry as a distinct Saami livelihood.

– The Nellim Case illustrates the need for Finland to immediately reform the Reindeer Herding Act to make reindeer husbandry a sole right of the Saami, Mattias Åhrén concludes.