The Permanent Forum is concerned over the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland to include individuals not recognized by the Sami community in the Sami Parliament’s electoral roll. The Forum urges the Parliament of Finland to amend the Sami Parliament Act in line with Sami Parliament proposals to protect the Sami People’s right to self-determination and ensure that their electoral processes reflect their standards of community membership.
The Permanent Forum recognizes that education systems must be culturally safe and support Indigenous Peoples’ languages. The Forum reiterates the urgent need for Member States to protect Indigenous Peoples’ languages, both spoken and written, during the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, by adopting appropriate laws and policies.