It should be noted that according to Article III of the Convention, all the following acts shall be punishable: (a) Genocide; (b) Conspiracy to commit genocide; (c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide; (d) Attempt to commit genocide; (e) Complicity in genocide.

Hopefully this law will be finally approved by the Finnish MPs. It may open up the possibility for Finland to sign the ILO 169 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, and can also help to revive the negotiations with Sweden and Norway on a common Nordic Sámi Convention.

In the previous elections in 2024, about 5900 people had the right to take part in the elections of a Sámi Parliament in Finland. All rights will be reconsidered before the next elections, planned to take place in 2028 to coincide with similar elections in Norway and Sweden.

A revision, which is more controversial, is that voting rights will no longer be provided by the inclusion of an ancestor in the old Sámi tax registers in 1875 or earlier. This revision seems logical since these registers were based on economic activity rather than ethnic identity.

The new law limits voting rights based on the learning of the Sámi language as the ”first language” by the person in question or by any ancestor in three previous generations. This is one more generation compared to the previous law. This takes into account a long history of forced assimilation.

The law aims to solve the controversial issue of the exclusive right to participate in the elections of the Sámi Parliament. This right has previously been interpreted broadly. The elections in 2023 were invalidated by the Supreme Administrative Court because of the exclusion of 72 voters.

The proposed law, negotiated for 11 years, includes a welcome emphasis on the protection of collective rights. The law will better take into account Finland’s international legal obligations towards Europe’s only recognised indigenous people.

The journal issue is bilingual, my own article is in English: www.etudeskurdes.org/article/futu...

Yes, this is a strange story. According to the original editors of Kurdish Studies it was sold by the previous publisher in what they describe as "a hostile takeover through a predatory publisher" "which led to the resignation of the entire editorial team and editorial advisory board" in 2023.

New here. Thank you for your helpful Social Science of Migration Starter packs. I would be happy to network.
Yours
Östen Wahlbeck
Professor in Human Rights and Multiculturalism, University of South-Eastern Norway; Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Helsinki
@ostenwahlbeck.bsky.social