Press Releases

08/20/2021

Chancellor Merkel in Moscow

Human rights for small peoples in northern Russia that are threatened by climate change (Press Release)

On the occasion of German Chancellor Merkel's visit to Russia, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) asked Merkel to try and act on President Vladimir Putin to protect the small peoples living in the north of Russia, in Siberia and in the far east of the country. "The 40 recognized indigenous communities living in northern Russia are suffering from the consequences of climate change. It causes the permafrost to thaw, and their last retreat areas are becoming accessible for raw materials extraction," stated Yvonne Bangert, STP expert on indigenous peoples.  "This year, the Federal Republic of Germany finally ratified ILO Convention 169 – the only international treaty that addresses indigenous rights. Russia has neither ratified this convention nor the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We expect Chancellor Merkel to address the rights of the communities of hunters, reindeer herders, and fishermen. She should try to persuade Putin to ratify these two important international treaties on indigenous rights and to implement the regulations in Russia's legislation."

The Russian Arctic has enormous natural resources – such as nickel and copper, which are important for the production of batteries and, thus, are increasingly in demand. 

Last year, the company Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) on the Taimyr peninsula made negative headlines after a diesel tank had burst (on May 29, 2020) as a consequence of thawing permafrost, causing the support buttresses to sink in. The Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, among others, are investors behind Nornickel. Russia is planning to invest 210 million EUR in the development of new oil deposits. However, pipelines, new harbors and oil production facilities are a threat to indigenous land and, thus, to the basis of the indigenous communities' traditional way of living.   

"The indigenous communities are no longer able to assert their interests freely and unhindered, as the Russian state has installed a government-loyal leadership in the indigenous umbrella organization RAIPON," Bangert criticized. "Other reresentatives are denigrated or are already living in exile. For independent organizations such as the Aborigen Forum, it is extremely difficult to work in Russia. This must change! Otherwise, the indigenous communities will be overrun by the coming raw materials boom. They too have the right to free, informed and prior consent to projects that affect their living conditions."