Gauging US and EU Seal Regimes in the Arctic against Inuit Sovereignty (original) (raw)
Related papers
The recognition of Arctic communities in the EU seal regime
8th NRF Open Assembly Proceedings
When standing on a seal hunting vessel, looking into the rough sea one might be inclined to forget that in spite of its remoteness and somewhat self-contained social systems, Arctic and sub-Arctic communities are subject to significant legal and political developments elsewhere that impact community sustainability and cultural survival. Especially through the avenues of global trade, small communities in the north benefit or are put under pressure in response to fluctuating markets. Particularly seal hunting communities in the Canadian Arctic and the sub-Arctic island of Newfoundland feel these repercussions (Dahl 2000; Sellheim 2015a). With the adoption of the EU ban on trade in seal products, markets and trade in seal products have declined significantly, impacting the social fabric and community sustenance for local people. This paper examines to which degree the negative effects of the seal regime on sealing communities were taken into consideration during the legislative process. Reference is made to three distinct notions of 'recognition': first, the political recognition, meaning the political processes of recognising sealing communities; second, the legal recognition, meaning how communities are reflected in the law itself; and third, the empirical recognition, meaning in how far, in light of the legal and political ways of recognition, sealing communities are affected and which avenues exist for them to buffer adverse effects.
Polar Record
The EU ban on the import and commercialising of seals and seal products in the EU market, has attracted intense attention in recent years. As seal products mostly originate from outside the EU, it is argued that the EU action has been discriminatory and hence contrary to the WTO regulations. Canada and Norway have been critical of the EU regulation and have initiated dispute settlement procedures within the WTO since most of the products that enter into the internal market are mainly from these countries. The ban also provoked anger within the Inuit and other indigenous communities, mainly from Canada and Greenland. Although the EU regulation provides an exception for Inuit and indigenous hunts and the subsequent commercialisation of resulting products into the internal market, the exception suffers from clarity and lacks proper implementation procedures. The regulation is predicted to lead to the ultimate disappearance of the seal market in the EU, which directly affects the Inuit and other indigenous peoples engaged in sealing activities. They may lose their means of subsistence. While analysing the critical issues concerning the EU and the WTO regulations and its exceptions, the article focuses on the human rights perspective of the Arctic indigenous peoples affected by the EU ban.
The Impact of the Ban on Seal Products on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A European Issue
The Yearbook of Polar Law Online, 2013
A ban on seal product for animal welfare concerns had been adopted by the EU Parliament in 2009. This article examines whether the ban can be contested on the grounds of its effect on indigenous rights. It will first be determined whether the directive encroaches on the rights of indigenous peoples, as proclaimed by the UN Declaration. Despite the clause that exempts the purchasing of seal products, of which the Inuit are benefactors of; it is still believed that the Declaration has been breached, and thus constitutes a violation of their cultural and economic rights. The second section examines how the Inuit have challenged the Directive Regulation on Seal product. Overall, through the examination of this case, the goal of this article is to highlight the legal challenges facing Europe vis-à-vis the development of indigenous peoples’ rights.
Of whales and oil: Inuit resource governance and the Arctic Council
This article takes a normative approach to explore what and how we might learn from existing indigenous governance arrangements in the Arctic and how they may contribute to the larger debates over Arctic governance and who decides. It begins with a brief exploration of the existing literature regarding co-management; particularly what some legal scholars have defined as post-Westphalian resource management as well as engaging ongoing discussions about co-management as it pertains to the Arctic. It then turns to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC) as a case study and possible starting point for governing newly emerging resource management issues in the Arctic. Specifically, this article will look at how the governance framework of the AEWC might be applicable for the current governance discussions regarding Arctic offshore oil and gas development. Lastly, this paper will offer preliminary reflections as to how a post-sovereign resource management approach could contribute to the broader theoretical debates concerning who owns the Arctic and who decides. Specifically it offers one possible way to envisage the future of a strengthened Arctic Council operating in a world where states are not the only actors participating in the governance of the Arctic.
The Right Not to be Indigenous: Seal Utilization in Newfoundland
Arctic Yearbook 2014, 2014
The discussion surrounding the commercial seal hunt has for many decades revolved around the well-being of individual seals and claims of cruelty have long been the centrepiece of opposition towards the hunt. This opposition stands in contrast to the acceptance of Inuit or indigenous seal hunts irrespective of the numbers of seals hunted and animal welfare considerations. This is based on the high cultural and utilitarian value a seal represents in Inuit society and culture and this narrative has equally found its way into political processes and legislation, such as the recent ban on trade in seal products on the European internal market, Regulation 1007/2009 on Trade in Seal Products. This Briefing Note claims that the utilization of seal stemming from commercial hunts in Newfoundland, where the largest commercial seal hunt is conducted, goes beyond the notion of commercialisation and represents a cultural, utilitarian and identity-giving means while being an important element in the social cohesion of the island’s coastal communities. It claims that the discourse on seals and sealing is biased as it does not consider cultural and social elements of the hunt and the industry. Results stem from fieldwork conducted in April, May and November 2013 in the communities of Woodstock, Blaketown and South Dildo, Newfoundland.
Legislating the blind spot. The EU seal regime and the Newfoundland seal hunt
In September 2009 the European Union adopted Regulation 1007/2009 on trade in seal products (Basic Regulation) due to concerns over the welfare of seals in the non-indigenous commercial seal hunts, particularly in Canada. Throughout the policy-making process these moral concerns were a crucial element of the political will to bar seal products from the EU market. Also research carried out as part of the preparatory works leading to the Basic Regulation appeared to support the claim that the seal hunt, unless conducted by indigenous communities, is cruel and unnecessary, calling for a legislative response in the European Union. This dissertation screens the legislative process of the EU seal regime and considers in how far problem identification, goal setting and goal attainment are streamlined. Throughout this thesis it becomes obvious that also the claim of a European ‘moral concern’ is ambiguous although the Union successfully defended the regime under the ‘moral exception’ clause in international trade law. Even though animal welfare in general can be regarded as a Community value, the EU seal regime cannot be linked to other EU animal welfare laws as the regime does not have an impact on animal welfare in the seal hunts. Instead, the dissertation shows that, although the seal regime appears to be based on ‘objective’ scientific knowledge, it is based on an inherently biased approach towards the non-indigenous seal hunts. Indicative for the neglect of remote coastal communities in which the seal hunt is carried out is the lack of recognition of its socio-economic and cultural value for the people involved in it. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a seal hunting community and in the processing industry this dissertation shows how closely interlinked the seal hunt at sea is with the social fabric on land. Indeed, a lack of knowledge on conditions in the sealing industry existed prior to the seal regime’s adoption although its impacts were expected to be drastic. In spite of this gap in knowledge the regime was adopted.
2015
Conclusion 45 Bibliography 47 Treaties and Conventions 47 Cases and Jurisprudence 48 Reports, Resolutions and other Papers 48 Academic Literature 50 I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Nigel Bankes, my thesis supervisor, for his valuable comments on this research work, and for his knowledgeable suggestions for the overall development of this thesis. He was always quick to respond to my e-mails, and always made sure that I revised and was able to improve my work. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Law Faculty at the UiT-The Arctic University in Norway and the K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea. I am extremely grateful for my opportunity to study Law of the Sea at the Arctic University of Norway. Living in the environment you read and learn about is a very special learning experience. The courses over the past year formed the basis of this thesis. Finally, I would like to express my special gratitude towards my fellow LLM students for a wonderful year. Their enthusiasm, knowledge and experience inspired me. I would also like to thank my housemates at Breivika for their continuous support. They gave me a place to come home to after a long day of thesis writing.
Constructing Arctic sovereignty: rules, policy and governance 1494-2013
2014
Constructing Arctic Sovereignty: Rules, Policy and Governance 1494-2013 is a meta-narrative of the development of state sovereignty in the Arctic. It investigates the evolution of the rules of the international system over the longue durée, in so far as they frame Arctic sovereignty. It examines in particular the increasing importance of the legal dimension of territory and the transitions that have occurred with the introduction of new rules used by states to establish sovereignty. The thesis analyses the policy of the United States, Canada and Russia as they pursue their national interests in the region, with reference to (and at times in contravention of) international rules and codes, and it situates governance within the framework of the international system as a mechanism for states to pursue their interests in the Arctic beyond their sovereign borders. This thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge through its distinctive methodology and theoretical approach, as well as through its analysis of primary materials. Using the pillars of a constructivist research framework-including rules and interests over the longue durée-to develop a meta-narrative of Arctic sovereignty, it situates contemporary Arctic foreign policy and governance within the evolving framework of the international system, identifying imperialism as a common thread in the relationship between the Arctic states and Arctic territory. It concludes that the expansion of sovereignty over this new territory represents the continuation of imperialism within the international system by states, perpetuating an asymmetric relationship that allows states to absorb this territory for the purposes of resource exploitation in the pursuit of national interests, with international cooperation maintaining the primacy of the Arctic states within the region.
Bounding Nature: Conservation and Sovereignty in the Canadian and Russian Arctic
Today, conservation efforts of Arctic states reflect a state-based approach. This contrasts with international conservation efforts in the post-Cold War period, which were grounded in perceiving the region as a global commons. In this article, I examine the ways in which Canada and Russia use natural conservation areas as instruments to express sovereign rights. I compare Canada’s proposed Lancaster Sound National Marine Conservation Area at the eastern mouth of the Northwest Passage and Russia’s recently expanded Natural System (zapovednik) of Wrangel Island Reserve at the eastern entrance to the Northern Sea Route. These two case studies allow for an examination of the domestic politics of zoning, exclusion, and access alongside Arctic geopolitics and foreign policy discourse. Both parks are complex products of domestic and foreign policy, making them densely layered spaces of contested and contingent sovereignty. Moreover, Canada and Russia draw on regimes such as UNCLOS and UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee to defend their sovereignty in contested waterways. Whereas around the world, states have historically created national parks in areas without significant economic value, the conservation areas in and around Lancaster Sound and Wrangel Island lie in waters valuable for their geostrategic position and shipping potential. Yet importantly, the conservation areas are situated so as not to coincide with hydrocarbon interests. Ultimately, Russia and Canada’s establishment of these two conservation areas suggests ulterior motives of sovereignty and economic interests at work, suggesting that we should be carefully attuned to scrutinizing the intentions behind environmental measures taken in the Arctic.
Governing Arctic Seals: A Longitudinal Analysis of News and Policy Discourse
Politics and Governance
Arctic states, regional and local authorities, NGOs, and Indigenous communities have debated how Arctic seals should be governed for more than a century. This governance discourse covers a wide array of issues, from seal hunting and the sale of animal products to the impacts of pollution and climate change. This article examines the frames used by political entities to discuss the regional governance of Arctic seals in the North American Arctic from 1900–2020, a period defined by landmark agreements on seals. Informed by framing and agenda-setting theory, the article employs textual analysis of policy documents and newspaper articles. These serve as a source of information and space for policy advocacy and debate to study political entities’ discourse regarding the issues and policies that shape Arctic seal governance. The analysis focuses on English-language texts from regional and local newspapers and international newspapers of record. The article identifies four dominant frames,...