Minority rights and minority identities - Sámi in Finland and Sorbs in Germany

This paper deals with intemational minority rights and their meaning as an identityresource fr ethnic minorities. It asks why small national groups, such as the Sami andthe Sorbs, have not vanished, as was prophesied by modemisation theorists. In fact,the opposite has occurred. In Europe, small national minority groups are now clearlygaining more opportunities to invent their own "national" policies. After a short introductionthat provides some general background, 1discuss some common definitions ofminority rights and the specific meaning of 'minority identity' used in this paper. Then,1 show how minority rights and minority identities are linked to each other, and whyand how intemational minority protection treaties have become a part of the everydayvocabulary of Sami, Sorb and many other national movements. The examples 1 useoriginate mostly from my field studies with the Sorbs in Eastem Germany and the Samiin Northem Finland. 1 argue that not only the image of the group projected to itsmembers is influenced by these treaties, but that the definition of the group itself is alsochanged

Mark Goodale and Sally Engle Merry (eds). The Practice of Human Rights: Tracking Law between the Global and the Local

MARK GOODALE and SALLY ENGLE MERRY (eds). The Practice of Human Rights: Tracking Law between the Global and the Local. Cambridge Studies in Law and Society. Cambridege: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Pp. 369. ISBN-978-0-521-86517-3 (hardback); ISBN-978-0-521-68378-4 (paperback)

Protecting indigenous identities? : An example of cultural expertise on sámi identity

The national law of Finland identify criteria of belonging to the Indigenous Sámi in order to protect their cultural heritage and identity. In Finland, the electoral committee of the representative organ of Sámi Indigenous Peoples, the Sámi Parliament, decides who fulfills the criteria for being Sámi and thus is included in the electoral roll. Since its establishment, the Sámi Parliament has rejected hundreds of applications by persons not recognized as Sámi. Unsuccessful applicants can appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland (SAC). In 2015, the SAC overturned 93 rejections. This led to an internal crisis of the Sámi Parliament and to the question, who actually has the cultural expertise to decide who is indigenous in Finland. Sámi activists filed two complaints with the United Nations Human Rights Committee regarding the violation of Sámi rights to self-determination. In 2019, the Human Rights Committee concluded that Finland had violated the rights of the Sámi. This paper analyzes what is the cultural expertise for ascertaining Sámi identity and who exercises it. The focus is on the evidence required by the SAC and the question of whether identity can be decided by legal experts, independent judges of a Finnish judiciary without any involvement of cultural experts. It is argued that the legal instruments adopted to protect Indigenous Peoples lack cultural expertise on the diversity and heterogeneity of the real-life contexts where rights are negotiated, leading applicants to repeat essentialist arguments of how Indigenous Peoples stereotypically would be.Peer reviewe

Beyond legal categories of indigeneity and minority-ness : The case of Roma and falling in-between

The categories emanating from international human rights law defining the belonging of peoples to different types of minorities invites for a re-assessment. These different minority categories such as indigenous peoples, national (historical) minorities and migrants tend to fix people to different types or levels of specific protection. The justifications for different treatment are, however, not born in a vacuum or value-free, and they rarely fit seamlessly with real life cases of needs of minorities. Thus, in this article I shall discuss the legitimacy and consequences of the current typology, which divides minorities into different categories. This categorization has direct consequences for the rights people can claim vis-à-vis their governments and the international community. To illustrate the key concerns with the contemporary categorization of minorities, this article presents the case of Roma and their current struggles to fit their claims and needs into the existing minority rights framework.Peer reviewe

Das Paradox der Minderheitenrechte in Europa

'Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, wie Menschen, die in Minderheitenbewegungen aktiv sind, Kultur und andere Quellen von Identität definieren müssen, um diese als politische Ressource nutzen zu können. Sie fordern Gleichberechtigung für Gruppen, die in einer Gesellschaft kulturelle, soziale und wirtschaftliche Nachteile erleben. Es wird dargestellt, dass jene Minderheiten, die sich selbst als homogene Einheiten mit eigener Sprache und Kultur und mit eigenständigen, über Generationen erhaltenen Traditionen beschreiben, die besten Chancen haben, von Staaten und internationalen Organisationen als echte Minderheiten anerkannt zu werden. Das Paradox der Minderheitenrechte soll genau dieses Phänomen beleuchten: Um als echte Minderheit anerkannt zu werden, ahmen die MinderheitenaktivistInnen die in internationalen Minderheitenrechtsinstrumenten festgelegten Normen und Kriterien für Minderheitenrechte nach. Eine Minderheit, die Kultur gemäß einem modernen Verständnis als etwas begreift, das ständigem Wandel unterliegt und auch Unterschiede unter den Mitgliedern der Gruppe betont, hat keine oder geringe Chancen auf Minderheitenschutz und Förderung. Das Rechtsparadox resultiert daraus, dass die Minderheitenschutzinstrumente nicht nur die Kultur und Identität von Minderheiten schützen, sondern auch mit definieren, was schutzwürdig ist.' (Autorenreferat)'The contribution addresses the question of how people, who are active in minority movements, must define culture and other identity resources of their minority, in order to be able to use them as political resources in their struggle for equal treatment and non-discrimination. It is argued that those minority movements, who describe themselves as mono-lingual, mono-cultural and homogeneous entities, having preserved their traditions for generations, clearly leverage the best chances to be recognized and accepted by states and international organizations as authentic minorities. The paradox of minority rights illuminates this phenomenon. Minority activists imitate the 'minority criteria norm', detailed in minority rights documents in order to be recognized and accepted. Any minority that would emphasize a modern understanding of culture as being exposed to constant changes and new developments, has no or only small chances to enjoy protection or the benefiting support for being a minority. The paradox results from the fact that minority rights do not only protect and support the culture and identity of a minority, but also co-decide what is worth of protection.' (author's abstract)

Sea Sámi under assimilation pressure : the role of Riddu Riđđu Festivála in revitalization of language and culture

Tässä katsauksessa pohdin merisaamelaisten perustamalla Riddu Riđđu -musiikki- ja kulttuurifestivaalilla kuulemiani kertomuksia oman äidinkielen ja suvun kulttuuriperinnön takaisinottamisesta tilanteissa, joissa kieli ja osittain kulttuuri ovat väistyneet jo sukupolvi tai useampi sukupolvi aiemmin. Katsaus pohjautuu etnografisen osallistuvan havainnoinnin menetelmällä tehtyyn tutkimukseen merisaamelaista kulttuuria elvyttämään perustetulla Riddu Riđđu -musiikkifestivaalilla Pohjois-Norjassa, sekä festivaaleille osallistuneiden perheiden haastatteluihin vuosien 2013–2019 aikana. Oman kielen ja kulttuurin takaisinottamisesta on kirjoitettu runsaasti varsinkin kielisosiologisen revitalisaatiotutkimuksen parissa. Pohjois-Norjan rannikon merisaamelaiset ovat yksi pohjoissaamenkielisen Saamen kansan vähemmistö, joka melkein jäi norjalaistamisen jalkoihin. Pohdin tässä katsauksessa pitkään kestäneen voimakkaan assimilaatioon vaikutusta Pohjois-Norjassa varsinkin merisaamelaisten nuorten perheiden näkökulmasta.Peer reviewe

Reflections on mother tongue and rights

Peer reviewe

Narratives on ‘refugee knowledge’ in the institutions of Europe

During the last decade the number of people fleeing to the European continent peaked. As a consequence, European institutions, together with the European Union member states, tried to find quick remedies to what they called the refugee crisis. The high number of refugees led to an increase in narratives regarding refugees, which were widely circulated in the media and within European institutions. In this chapter, we look at these narratives and how they prevent the European institutions from taking into account the refugees’ own knowledge and skills. We raise the question of whether disregarding refugee knowledge is intentional or whether it stems from a lack of consideration or benign neglect. The main questions for the analysis are: What are the dominant discourses or narratives regarding refugee knowledge impacting European rhetoric and, as a result of that, European decision-making and policymaking? In what ways do these institutions and organisations narrate and recognise the knowledge of refugees? How do they acknowledge the knowledge and capabilities of the refugees? The main site of research comprises institutions within the European Union, although some attention is also paid to the Council of Europe. We have analysed policy papers, travaux préparatoires, proposals, white papers, and news outlets. We look at what kinds of roles the refugees are assigned in these reports and whether any of these roles take the expertise of the refugees into account. We understand the so-called European refugee crisis as a context for identifying five different, partially overlapping, and even contradictory narratives. We demonstrate how these dominant narratives contribute to categorising refugees and migrants in stereotypical and harmful ways that hinder recognition of the refugees’ own knowledge and hearing their voices. Seeing refugees as valuable human beings with knowledge and skills risks being overshadowed by these problematic narratives, which are circulated and reproduced not only in the media but within the European institutions as well.Peer reviewe

Defining a People: How do international rights influence the identity formation of minority groups?. CES Working Paper, no. 84, 2002

This paper looks at the macroeconomic performance of EMU since it started in 1999. It argues that Euroland has benefited from a benign environment, appropriate monetary policy and structural reforms. However, there is no institution clearly in charge of formulating coherent economic policies in Euroland and this is reflected in the euro's external value. The paper then evaluates the need for policy coordination, distinguishing between weak and strong forms of coordination failure. It shows that intergovernmental coordination may be an answer to the latter, pareto-improving multiple equilibria. However, overcoming weak coordination failure requires further policy delegation to the EU level, particularly for the definition of an aggregate fiscal policy stance. Yet, this is only possible if the democratic deficit resulting from intergovernmental cooperation is closed by a European-wide policy consensus. To achieve this should be the objective of a European constitution