The reservation (name: Hietakero, reservation notification permit code: VA2020:0007) that is given to the company must be withdrawn. The Sámi rights holders receiving information regarding the reservation decision on their pastures in practice only through a newspaper announcement is not acceptable, and this practice does not comply with international legal framework on the rights of indigenous peoples, says Christina Henriksen, the President of the Saami Council.

The Saami Council calls for the amendment of the Mining Act of Finland, to ensure that the rights of the Sámi people are protected in every stage of every process.

Finland voted for the United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007, but still has not recognized the land rights of the Sámi people. The Saami Council urges Finland to seize the opportunity to implement the UNDRIP, by ratifying the ILO Convention No 169 and making necessary amendments to the inadequate Mining Act, to make sure that the principle of free, prior of informed consent is included. That also includes the right to refrain from giving consent, says the President of the Saami Council.

The Saami Council echoes the concerns of the Ergon Sámi siida in the North Western Enontekiö area and other Sámi communities regarding the news of a Dutch-owned mineral exploration company Akkerman Finland Oy attempting to enter the Finnish side of Sápmi, without the indigenous Sámi rights holders, such as reindeer herding siidas, being officially separately informed about the reservation.

http://www.hlrn.org/news.php?title=Finland:-Demand-to-Stop-Mining-Saami-Land&id=p3FqZQ==#.X3Zrrll7nOQ

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