Agir avec les peuples oubliés ICRA International

In 2010 its Gross Regional Product was $443 billion. It is due to grow threefold by 2040. About 13% of oil reserves and 30% of conventional gas resources are located there. Greenland has started prospecting for big uranium deposits and rare earths. The countries bordering the area represent more than 3.5 billion people and 80% of the world’s GDP. In the next 10 to 15 years, thanks to global warming, it should offer better perspectives for fast transportation than traditional routes.

In 2011 Russia made an unsuccessful partnership offer to China, the “Silk Road on Ice”. In 2017 China started using the expression « Polar Silk Road » and planned to invest into infrastructure development in a multilateral perspective, attracting not only Russia, which does not have the means to make all the necessary investments, but all eight countries from the region.

In 1987 Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev planned to turn the Arctic into an area of peace, but then the United States withdrew so completely that today all they they have left is one icebreaker worthy of the name This has led to a deep strategic void. Both Putin’s Russia (which controls more than 50% of the area) and, to a lesser extent, China determined to take advantage of the situation. Hurt by NATO’s territorial advance since the demise of the Soviet Union, Russia has been keen to protect its Arctic coastline and control the development of the new sea routes.

But what countries take part in this circumpolar game? First, of course, are the neighboring States, i.e. those with a coast bordering the Arctic Ocean: Russia, the USA, Canada, Denmark (Greenland) and Norway (Svalbard). Then come the near-Arctic countries, with claims emanating from European nations (Sweden, Finland, Iceland, France with Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, and even independence-seeking Scotland) and China, which, though not geographically Arctic, stands to benefit from a validation of the notion of a “near-Arctic” to exert its influence. A third circle includes countries which, though not strictly bordering the Arctic, express an interest in the region, such as South Korea, India, Singapore or Japan — observer members of the Arctic Council. Mongolia and Papua-New-Guinea have shown an interest in joining them. The rather tenuous link these distant countries have with the Arctic is a further sign of its internationalization. 

In this veritable patchwork, a number of defining directions appear, such as the Sino-Russian partnership, triggered by Western sanctions following the annexation of Crimea, even though Russia remains prudent in its cooperation with its new ally; or the sometimes aggressive attitude of the United States, who are keen to restore their former position after their disengagement of the 1990s. The European Union for its part has summarized its position on the Arctic and its evolution (see www.observatoire – arctique.fr Union européenne – Observatoire de l’Arctique). 

We can also point to a number of convergences. An interest in the development of natural resources and the North-East passage is common to Russia, China, Japan and South Korea. Since 2017 indigenous representatives as well as several nations (Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Canada, the USA) have avoided any reference to the main international climate agreements, so as to preserve their freedom. Somewhat more hazily so far, the five countries bordering the Arctic Ocean (including Russia) have become aware of the necessity to check China’s influence in the Arctic. In all policies concerning this region Russia plays a pivotal role. From 2021 to 2023 it will preside the Arctic Council. It’s not difficult to understand its keen interest. In 2016, 80% of its natural gas and 20% of its oil came from its Arctic territories. Finally, compared to other areas, the Arctic has an important security advantage: 95% of its hydrocarbon resources are situated in the exclusive economic zones of the States neighboring the Arctic, plus Iceland. All these zones are subject to agreements concerning territorial delineation and/or delimitation of national fishing areas. It is therefore unlikely that conflicts should arise in the Arctic over fishing or hydrocarbons. Besides, a number of institutions impose laws applicable to the Arctic.

Created during its founding summit in Ottawa in 1996, the Arctic Council is the main regional institution in this part of the world. It works on the basis of consensus between its members and has adopted several binding agreements on environmental aspects and scientific cooperation. It is also a discussion forum. Its executive secretariat only comprises the eight so-called Arctic countries (Canada, Denmark, the United States, Norway, Russia, Iceland, Finland, Sweden). In 2019 it also included 39 observers, including France, which obtained this status in 2000, Spain (2006), Italy, Poland, etc, 14 intergovernmental or interparliamentary organizations, and 13 NGOs. The Council has no independent budget to carry out its projects, and no mandate to ensure proper implementation of intergovernmental agreements signed within its framework: its prerogatives lie within the exclusive competence of its member States. Other institutions must also be mentioned: the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (which comprises Russia, the European Commission, Scandinavian countries and Finland) and the Nordic Council (Scandinavian countries and Finland).

Indigenous peoples have been living in the Arctic for thousands of years. The Inuit live in Russia, the USA, Canada and Greenland (150,000); the Sami in northern Scandinavia and in western Russia (between 60,000 and 100,000, including 2,000 in Russia); 43 indigenous peoples in the north of Russia: Evenks, Nenets, Chukchis, Aleuts, etc (about 50,000); the Yakuts, whose territory covers one fifth of the Russian Federation, particularly in northern Siberia (300,000). In 2005 UNESCO listed them as World Heritage. All in all, about 600,000 people. They represent only a tiny fraction of the total population of Arctic States and what is more, their status varies from country to country, one of the most advanced in terms of autonomy being Greenland. Aware of their handicap, these indigenous peoples have formed transnational organizations, with representatives sitting in the Arctic Council: the Arctic Athabaskan Council (Canada, USA), the Gwich’in Council International (Canada, USA), the Aleut International Association (USA, Russia), the Sami Council (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia), RAIPON (Russia)

 

In the past half-century several international instruments have included indigenous peoples, but few of them are legally binding, and in any case, they are always subject to State ratification. France for one opposes any recognition of minorities or indigenous peoples within its borders, at least in the mainland. Indigenous peoples’ representatives are not members of the Arctic Council. They have the same right to speak as representatives of the various States but their opinion is merely advisory. It’s up to the organizations themselves to collect the financial means necessary for their participation in the Council and carry out the kind of research that could uphold their interests vis-à-vis the member States. In 2017, five of these six permanent participants set up the so-called Algu Fund, an endowment fund which intends to collect $30 million.

Another key point is indigenous elite training. Past decolonization history shows that these peoples are in need of leaders and managers. Forty years ago Jean Malaurie told me about his wish to see the rise of an Arctic Nelson Mandela. This hasn’t happened. In Greenland a university was established in 1987. Its 200 students or so are taught social science and theology, but neither law nor hard sciences, which are vital for the development of the country. Most of the teaching staff come from outside Greenland. In Russia, the idea of a Polar Academy was put forward in 1990, following a French-Russian expedition to Chukotka. A Circle of Northern Managers was at work from 1992 to 1998 under the patronage of the National School of Administration (ENA), the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) and the City of Paris. The Polar Academy was created in 1994 and became the State Polar Academy in 1997 (I teach there). Its 1 600 young indigenous students come from 68 different ethnic groups from Russia and other States of the former Soviet Union. In 2015 it was integrated into St Petersburg Hydroelectric University. It is one of six Russian universities that belong to the Francophone University Agency (AUF), another sign of the internationalization of the Arctic.