"Notification of a specific instance under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by Jijnjevaerie Saami village to the Swedish and Norwegian National Contact Points, concerning Statkraft's socially unsustainable wind power operations in breach of Saami indigenous rights in Sweden," 23 Oct 2012

Background

Jijnjevaerie Saami village is an indigenous reindeer herding collective located in the municipality of Jämtland in the north-west of Sweden. The village is composed of 50 members, whose livelihood and membership in the village is entirely dependent upon continued reindeer herding practices. In 2010, Statkraft received planning permits…to build 460 wind turbines…all to be located on the traditional herding lands of Jijnjevaerie Saami village…

Jijnjevaerie Saami village alleges possible breaches of the Guidelines on the grounds that:

1. Consultations with the Jijnjevaerie Saami village are flawed and the project contravenes the wishes of the affected indigenous community. Statkraft has not meaningfully engaged the community, including a failure to obtain the free, prior and informed consent of Jijnjevaerie Saami community.
2. The project risks to inhibit the Saami community’s possibility to continuously pursue traditional reindeer husbandry, which is the basis of the community’s economic and cultural survival…