This chapter discusses pre-service teachers' views about the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child and how teachers perceive their connection to the educational context and their work. The authors argue that pre-service teachers' perceptions determine how successfully human rights education is implemented in practice. The data were collected from workshops and focus group discussions conducted with 82 primary school pre-service teachers in Northern Finland. The participants noted that children's rights are important and deeply connected to their work. However, they were insufficiently familiar with HRE concepts, and they were uncertain about whether it was acceptable to physically restrain children to protect them or others, as this could undermine a child's rights. To adhere to the principles in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the topic must be included in the pre-service study syllabus, more clearly added to the curriculum, and implemented in teacher practice.
International organizations are considered to be central actors on the stage of world politics. They are not simply passive collections of rules or structures through which others act. Rather, they are considered to be active agents of global change. International organizations are often the actors to whom we defer when it comes to defining meanings, norms of good behaviour, the nature of social actors, and categories of legitimate social action in the world. The article has an interdisciplinary approach to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent countries. The approaches of international relations and international law helps explain the power the ILO exercises in national and world politics. These insights are illustrated by exploring why state agents comply with norms promoted by the regime of ILO Convention No. 169. The article briefly introduces the historical approach of the ILO to indigenous issues and the complexity related to the concept of indigenousness; the highly relevant debate when states are considering the ratification of the Convention and even when implementing it. The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) in the ILO structure is the most central body guiding the States to normative and political changes in their domestic practices. It is argued that the Committee is using its authority and power through the normative regime and its supervisory mechanisms, and therefore is also interpreting the Convention. The system as a whole has effects on traditional state sovereignty and the demands of indigenous peoples' right to self-determination. The research questions focuses also on the compliance, implementation and effectiveness of international Conventions. The article has a Nordic approach with comparison to different approaches related to Article 1 dealing with the subjects/objects of the Convention and also different land right situations (Articles 13-19) especially in Latin America.
The Sami are often described as the only indigenous people of the European Union. They inhabit an area now known as, and claimed by, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola peninsula of Russia. Recent research recognises that the Sami in Sweden-Finland had a right to their lands and waters, comparable to ownership. Previously, others referred to the Sami as Lapps. In 1673 and 1695, King Carl XI approved the Settlement Bill of Lapland, which allowed non-Lapps to cross the border of Lapland to settle. This may be considered to be the beginning of colonisation, assimilation and integration. As is the case with other indigenous peoples around the globe, the Sami have been struggling for the recognition of their rights since colonisation. Discussion on indigenous Sami rights to land and waters have been going on for a long time in Finland, which is the focus of this article. Different stakeholders as well as international, national and local politics are involved when issues concerning indigenous Sami rights to use Northern lands for their traditional activities are discussed. In this context, the possible ratification of the ILO Convention 169 has been an important issue. Many of the challenges related to the ILO Convention No. 169 reflect the issues related to the subjects of the Convention or the right holders of the land rights. Currently, the question of 'who is a Sami' seems to be the most controversial issue.
Reindeer herding is both a traditional livelihood and a business still practiced in the northern parts of Eurasia. In the Nordic countries, reindeer herding has contributed to keeping remote northern areas inhabited while maintaining Indigenous cultures. Reindeer herders have also been able to adapt to new circumstances, and many of them have invested in value-adding production or secondary occupations, such as tourism. The main challenge for reindeer herding is the loss of pastures to other industries and infrastructure projects. The growing investment in wind farms—which not only compete for the same land with reindeer herding but may also disturb the herding practices—has emerged as a recent competitor to reindeer herding in the context of land use. In this article, we study the rights and opportunities of reindeer herders to participate in decision making on land use for infrastructure projects in general and wind farm projects in particular. Our focus is on the situation in Finland, but we also use examples of reported land use conflicts between reindeer herders and wind farms from other Nordic countries. The aim of this article is, on the one hand, to find out how the rights of reindeer herders in planning and making decisions on wind farms are regulated and, on the other hand, how these rights function in practice. In addition to national legislation on participation in land use, there exists a growing number of international conventions to protect the environment and the rights of Indigenous people. Wind farms are particularly interesting in that renewable energy is now internationally preferred and subsidized as “green energy” in the fight against climate change. The challenge remains how to protect traditional livelihoods and human rights while targeting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The article examines the common global phenomenon of indigenous urbanization. In Finland, more than 75% of the indigenous Sámi children are born outside the Sámi Homeland area. The development is fast and poses different kind of challenges for the entire Sámi society and culture. Youth and women are more likely to settle in urban areas and it is their Sáminess that is to survive or die in the cities. Indigenousness is no longer tied with traditional livelihoods or land use but instead requires other forms of cultural maintenance. In the contemporary situation Sámi have started through their own associations and networks require more appropriate services in the cities, including Sámi language learning in the schools and kindergartens. This is not always satisfactory. The article evaluates the existing international and domestic (Finland) legislation in regard to Sámi language, but also the implementation of these rights in practice.The author would like to acknowledge that the article is based on a joint research project called NUORGÁV – An urban future for Sápmi?, between Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, where it is studied how Sámi youth organise and network to impact urban Sámi policy. The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway and administrated by Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR).
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