The statement of the member of the Russian state delegation S.N. TIMOSHKOV
Item 3 of the plenary meeting agenda of the 18th session
of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues “Follow-up to the recommendations of the Permanent Forum”, April 2019, New-York
Dear Madam Chair, and Distinguished Representatives of States and Indigenous Peoples,
Within the context of this item, I would like to highlight the recommendations of the Permanent Forum related to collective rights to lands, territories and resources, and how they are applied in our country.
193 peoples live in Russia, most of which were formed historically on the territory of our country. More than 60 of them are indigenous small-numbered peoples and are under special legal protection by the State. Many of them are nomadic or semi-nomadic.
Russian legislation establishes the right of indigenous peoples to the prioritized and free-of-charge use of land and biological resources in places of their traditional residence and traditional economy.
Let me share with you some facts: The federal government considers as such “places” more than half of the TOTAL area of 28 regions traditionally inhabited by indigenous peoples, and where they account for less than 2 percent of the population. This amounts to several hundred million hectares.
Additionally, 700 areas of traditional resource use have been established with a special legal status in 15 out of 28 indigenous regions of the Russian Federation. That amounts to approximately 25 million hectares. Indigenous peoples are entitled to restitution and compensation for damages in case of restrictions imposed on their traditional economy. In some regions the compensation for damages to the indigenous peoples amounts to about 10 million dollars annually under agreements with industrial companies.
Microsoft Word – Timoshkov.docx
Land management and mapping in more than a half of ALL traditional resource use areas have been completed using public funds. A herd of more than a million domestic reindeer grazes on the territory of our country, which obviously means that our indigenous peoples enjoy real access to their lands!
I would like to focus again on the issue raised yesterday concerning hunting grounds in the Murmansk region. We agree that certain domestic policy issues may be the subject of attention by the international community. But, in such cases, we call for conducting a thorough collection of complete and reliable information and pursuing the communication process with the State within the framework of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on indigenous issues. The number of Sami is 0.2% of the total population of the region, with 72% of the entire area assigned to their places of traditional residence and of reindeer husbandry. The attention of the international community should not be confined to unilateral evaluations.
Thank you for your attention.