Arcticness by Ilan Kelman

Author:Ilan Kelman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UCL Press

This author would argue that preventing indigenous peoples’ access to a resource and access to the market for that resource due to the modernisation of practices and technology, stands in violation of the finding of the HRC. The HRC comment is, indeed, a landmark comment on acceptance of the technological development of indigenous peoples within the context of ‘tradition’. The legal response, however, for example in the European Union, has been slow. In all fairness, the EU does not consider subsistence hunting as being merely limited to the community sphere of exchange28 but as holding an external dimension. Otherwise, the notion of ‘income support’ would not appear comprehensible, nor would an ‘indigenous exemption’ be necessary in the first place. Notwithstanding, the law banning the trade in seal products in the EU narrates Inuit culture and economy in an outdated fashion. Although the Inuit were consulted as part of the preparatory process of the EU Seal Regime from 2006, by and large the perception of Inuit seal hunts still reflects the narratives of ‘traditionality’ as in the regimes of more than 100 years ago: the hunting of seals with ‘traditional’ hunting gear such as harpoons; the hunting of seals from canoes and/or on the ice; the hunting of only very small numbers of seals; and the processing and utilisation of seals on site without a larger external dimension.29

In Greenland, albeit a part of the kingdom of Denmark but having left the European Community formally in 1985 while Denmark remained a member, the Arctic and its livelihoods play an integral part in the legal environment. This is particularly the case with regard to the hunting of marine mammals. Since its colonisation, Greenland’s legal system has been subject to a dual system of Greenlandic and Danish rules – for example, the Greenland Administration of Justice Act in 1951 – but the legal and court system on the island has become significantly more ‘Danisized’.30 Hunting for any species in Greenland has therefore been subject to stringent national and international legislation. Since Greenland’s population is considered indigenous by the international community, any hunting for marine mammals falls under ‘indigenous exemptions’, both by the EU Seal Regime as well as under the ICRW. The hunts conducted, therefore, are considered legitimate and justifiable as fulfilling subsistence – and not commercial – needs. While this is normatively the case, the legal regimes in Greenland strictly regulate marine mammal hunts. By taking a microscopic look at the provisions of the legislative framework, little consideration for the realities on the ground, or for Arctic livelihoods, appears to be embedded therein. Licensing, animal welfare, reporting, technological requirements and quota provisions, to name but a few aspects, are an inherent part of the legal environment in Greenland. In terms of content, not structure, the Greenlandic system thus resembles other states in which marine mammal hunts are conducted, for instance Norway.31 Only by taking a step back can the consideration of Arctic livelihoods become apparent. This is particularly the case in international terms, for instance in the view of the IWC.

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