E/C.12/76/D/251/2022 E/C.12/76/D/289/2022 According to the Mining Act, exploration work can be carried out with the consent of the landowner, and the exploration permit holder is obliged to pay compensation to the owners of the land included in the exploration area (sects. 7 and 99). 2.3 The regions where the Sami live are warming more than three times faster than the global average. Frozen and mouldy pastures and extreme snow conditions pose challenges for reindeer and reindeer herders, threatening the ability of the Sami to continue reindeer herding. This has a detrimental effect on the culture, language and traditional knowledge of the Sami, as it disrupts the practice of their traditional livelihoods, which is central to maintaining and transmitting their culture.3 Communication No. 251/2022 2.4 On 28 March 2014, the Geological Survey of Finland, an agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, applied for a mineral exploration permit, for a project called “Lätäs 1”, requesting permission for exploration works for gold, copper and iron, to include the drilling of 100- to 300-metre-deep holes into the bedrock in about 20 different locations over an area of 390 hectares in Kova-Labba Siida, the authors’ traditional reindeer herding territory. The project entails bringing into the territory one-ton drilling machines and five-ton support vehicles to provide a water source for the drilling. 2.5 The Safety and Chemicals Agency, which is responsible for mining permits, sought written comments from the Sami Parliament and the Käsivarsi Reindeer Herders’ Cooperative in October and November 2014 and invited them to participate in meetings on 17 May 2015 and 17 May 2016. On 14 November 2014 and 19 June 2016, the Käsivarsi Reindeer Herders’ Cooperative, acting on behalf of its members, including the authors, submitted statements concerning the negative impact of the mineral exploration works on Sami reindeer herding. The Sami Parliament stated on three occasions – 13 November and 15 December 2014 and 22 June 2016 – that the basic preconditions for free, prior and informed consent had not been met, given the lack of an assessment of the impact of the works on Sami culture. Under the Mining Act, the State party’s mining authority is obliged to assess the impact of mining or exploratory activities under consideration on the rights of the Sami as an Indigenous People (sect. 38). In this regard, the Supreme Administrative Court clarified, in its ruling KHO 2014:111, that the Safety and Chemicals Agency, as the permit authority, was obliged to contribute to ensuring that appropriate opportunities existed for the cooperation procedure, which involved making sufficient materials available to the Sami Parliament for assessing the impacts that the activities referred to in the application would have on Sami culture. 2.6 On 7 July 2016, the Safety and Chemicals Agency granted the Geological Survey of Finland a permit for an initial period of four years, renewable for up to 15 years, finding that the application met the requirements of the Mining Act. 2.7 On 8 August 2016, the Käsivarsi Reindeer Herders’ Cooperative submitted an appeal, signed by J.T., one of the authors of the communications, on behalf of all members of the cooperative, including himself and the other authors, to the Administrative Court of Northern Finland. 2.8 On 19 December 2018, the Administrative Court of Northern Finland dismissed the appeal and upheld the decision to grant the exploration permit, noting the involvement of the Sami Parliament and the Käsivarsi Reindeer Herders’ Cooperative in the permit procedure. 2.9 On 18 January 2019, the Käsivarsi Reindeer Herders’ Cooperative, together with the Sami Parliament, filed a request for leave to appeal and an appeal before the Supreme Administrative Court. 2.10 On 21 June 2021, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the appeal, considering: (a) that the cooperation procedure had ensured that the Sami had had a de facto opportunity to participate in the permit procedure; (b) that the exploration permit included conditions intended to reduce and prevent possible damage to reindeer herding, such as the conditions 3 GE.24-18518 Finland, “The Sámi in Finland and Climate Change” (2023), available at https://unfccc.int/documents/628002. 3