CCPR/C/124/D/2668/2015 insufficient weight to the Sami people’s rights to determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions and their right not to be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture, as recognized under articles 33 and 8, respectively, of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.20 6.4 The Committee notes that a process is currently ongoing to amend the Act on the Sami Parliament, including the criteria for determining the right to vote. It further notes the author’s unrefuted submission that the amendments could not enter into force before 2020 and would only partially remedy the violations suffered, since they would not end the effects of the alleged violations. The author considers that the very fact that the State party has sought to modify the Act is an implicit recognition of the violation of the Covenant. 6.5 The Committee recalls that, in accordance with its general comment No. 25 (1996) on participation in public affairs and the right to vote, any conditions that apply to the exercise of the rights to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives, to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections, should be based on objective and reasonable criteria. The Committee also recalls its jurisprudence in Lovelace v. Canada that the category of persons belonging to an indigenous people may in some instances need to be defined to protect the viability and welfare of a minority as a whole.21 In Kitok v. Sweden, the Committee considered that a restriction upon the right of an individual member of a minority must be shown to have a reasonable and objective justification and to be necessary for the continued viability and welfare of the minority as a whole.22 6.6 The Committee recalls that under article 33 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions, and the right to determine the structures and to select the membership of their institutions in accordance with their own procedures. Article 9 of the Declaration provides that indigenous peoples and individuals have the right to belong to an indigenous community or nation, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the community or nation concerned, and that no discrimination of any kind may arise from the exercise of such a right. In accordance with article 8 (1) of the Declaration, indigenous peoples and individuals have the right not to be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture. 6.7 In this context, the Committee notes that pursuant to section 3 of the Act on the Sami Parliament, for a person to be considered as a Sami for the purposes of being allowed to vote in the elections for the Parliament, in addition to considering himself or herself a Sami: (a) he or she or at least one of his or her parents or grandparents must have learned Sami as his or her first language; (b) he or she must be a descendent of a person who has been entered in a land, taxation or population register as a mountain, forest or fishing Lapp; or (c) at least one of his or her parents must have been or could have been registered as an elector for an election to the Sami Delegation or the Sami Parliament. The Committee also notes that, as undisputed by the parties, the objective elements were not applied by the Supreme Administrative Court in a majority of cases. 6.8 The Committee recalls its general comment No. 23 (1994) on the rights of minorities, in particular its observation concerning the exercise of cultural rights, namely, that culture manifests itself in many forms, including a particular way of life associated with the use of land resources, especially in the case of indigenous peoples. That right may include such traditional activities as fishing or hunting and the right to live in reserves protected by law. The enjoyment of those rights may require positive legal measures of protection and measures to ensure the effective participation of members of minority communities in decisions which affect them. 23 The Committee further observes that article 27 of the Covenant, interpreted in the light of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and article 1 of the Covenant, enshrines an inalienable right of 20 21 22 23 10 CERD/C/FIN/CO/20-22, para. 12. Communication No. 24/1977, para. 15. Communication No. 197/1985, para. 9.8. General comment No. 23, para. 7. GE.19-04714