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Saami
and the ILO |
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The
International Labour Organization (ILO) is an international
organization that promotes and protects the rights of the
employee. It has a tripartite system made up of governments,
employers, and employees. It has been a long-time ally to
indigenous peoples. The ILO Convention Number 107 was the first
international legislation that dealt with indigenous people
explicitly. Though it came at a time when assimilationist policies
were the norm, it was a major leap forward for indigenous rights.
No indigenous group was involved in the drafting of this
convention. The nation-states were still the only participants
allowed at such a high international level. The Saami were not
involved for this reason and because they had just formed one year
earlier.
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The review of 107 saw indigenous participation. The
most significant participation came from the Nordic Saami Council.
Leif Dunfjeld, currently a Senior Advisor for the Norwegian
Ministry of Municipal Affairs, was working in Geneva in November
1986. At the time he was working as a representative for the
Nordic Saami Council on the Working Group on Indigenous Peoples.
In 1986, the ILO Convention 107 was up for review. None of the
other indigenous groups saw the significance of participating in
this process. Mr. Dunfjeld was a major player in the revision
process. When the agenda had to be decided for the 1988 ILO
conference. Eight different proposals were submitted and the Saami
Council’s was heard and adopted. (Dunfjeld, 2002) ILO Convention
Number 169 is the revision and replacement of Number 107. The
assimilationist policies have been removed and are much more
current. The first country to ratify this document was Norway. |
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