Permanent Participants!

The term Permanent Participants refers to specific indigenous peoples' organisations that participate in the functioning of the Arctic Council. It is a unique status forming one of the three groups of participants within the Arctic Council. The other two are the Member States (eight Arctic states) and Observers (non-Arctic states, non-governmental, inter-governmental and inter-parliamentary organisations). Six organisations representing indigenous peoples of the circumpolar Arctic enjoy Permanent Participants status. They represent approximately 500,000 indigenous peoples from across the Arctic. Given that the Arctic indigenous peoples are the original inhabitants, having lived in the region for thousands of years, they possess vital knowledge on the changes and shifts in the region over centuries. Their experiences are valuable contributions to integrating the Arctic governance framework. 

Often, a group of indigenous people enjoying the status of Permanent Participant live in regions that cross national borders. For example, the Saami Council, a Permanent Participant, is an organisation of the Sami people that inhabit four countries including Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia's Kola Peninsula. The Council represents this particular group at the Arctic Council. There also may be more than one indigenous people in one Arctic state that are represented through their respective indigenous people's organisations. The Permanent Participants work closely with the Arctic nations and enjoy a full consultation right in negotiation and the decision-making process at the Arctic Council. They participate in all the official meetings of the Council, where they sit with the representatives of the Arctic member countries and make valuable contributions to the Council's activities in all relevant areas. They also participate in and contribute to all six Working Groups of the Arctic Council that produce knowledge in several designated issue areas.

The decisions made at the Arctic Council, including the annual Ministerial meeting, reflect the voices of the Permanent Participants. While they do not have a veto in decision-making, their consent in the process is consistently acknowledged and observed. Most importantly, indigenous peoples enjoy an unorthodox influential position in an inter-governmental body, such as the Arctic Council. In this rather unique position, unlike elsewhere, the Arctic indigenous peoples are recognised as political elites in the inter-state governance framework. Their participation is a model of inclusive regional governance in which decision-making reflects the valuable, practical knowledge held by indigenous peoples. Also significant is that the Permanent Participants advocate for Arctic-wide trans-national cooperation and not the interests of any single nation. They support multi-state actions in the spirit of political cooperation to achieve the common goal of protecting the Arctic environment and promoting sustainable development. Their efforts ultimately help advance the lives of the four million inhabitants of the Arctic region.