The Finnish Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee has given its green light to a government bill on the indigenous Sámi Parliament.
The committee did not call for any major changes to the cabinet proposal, which has already been approved by the Sámi Parliament itself.
The committee's alterations do not affect the key points of the proposal. These include the contentious issue of who has the right to be on the electoral roll to vote in Sámi Parliament elections.
"This is a historic bill that has failed in the previous three parliamentary terms, regardless of the government configuration," committee chair Heikki Vestman (NCP) said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
The committee proposed two relatively minor technical amendments to bring the proposal into line with the Finnish Constitution. They concern appeals from people who have applied to be included in the electoral roll.
The Constitutional Law Committee was unanimous in its assessment of the constitutionality of the bill. However, two objections to the bill were filed by MPs from the opposition Social Democratic and Centre parties.
MPs from the latter party were instrumental in blocking earlier versions of the bill, arguing that more people should have the right to vote in Sámi Parliament elections.
More indigenous self-determination
The new Sámi Parliament Act is aimed at promoting the Sámi people's right to self-determination and improving the Sámi Parliament's operating conditions.
A commitment to finally pass it into Finnish law was included in the agenda of the government led by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) when it took office two years ago.
The cabinet says that it seeks to implement decisions handed down by the UN Human Rights Committee in cases related to the Sámi Parliament’s electoral roll. It says that the latest amendments will bring the Sámi Parliament Act into line with international human rights treaties.
The committee underlined the right of the Sámi to determine their status and community membership. It said that the proposal focuses on the Sámi people's right to self-determination and the Sámi Parliament's self-governing status.
The latest proposal specifies that the right to vote in Sámi Parliament elections does not define who can be considered a member of the Sámi community.
If the bill becomes law as expected, the electoral roll will be revised based on criteria set by the Sámi Parliament, which has already approved the latest iteration of the long-contested bill.
The Sámi Parliament represents the approximately 10,000 Sámi people living in Finland. Its supreme authority is the 21-member Plenum, which meets 4–5 times each year at the Sajos Sámi Cultural Centre in Inari.
