Russia Accuses West of Politicizing Indigenous Rights to Undermine Arctic Claims

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. The West is politicizing the issue of indigenous peoples' rights in an attempt to question Russia's rights to its ancestral Arctic territories, says the Russian Foreign Ministry's second report on the situation with indigenous peoples' rights in individual countries.

"The United States, Canada, and their allies are intensifying their activities at international forums, in regional formats, and in the media, promoting narratives about alleged violations of indigenous peoples' rights in Russia and a number of developing countries. In doing so, they are attempting to distract global attention from the problems in this area existing in North America, the Western Arctic states, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, and to cast doubt on Russia's rights to its ancestral Arctic territories," reads the report posted on the Foreign ministry’s website.

The ministry emphasized that the issue of indigenous peoples' rights is being overly politicized by Western countries "and is generally aimed at fostering division and confrontation rather than cooperation between all members of the global community."

The Russian Foreign Ministry explained that common problems in this area include the gradual destruction of customary lifestyles as a consequence of assimilation policies, environmental degradation due to industrial exploitation of territories and the militaristic activities of some states abroad, high unemployment, and the dependence of indigenous communities on state subsidies. "These negative phenomena are particularly acute in the countries of the Arctic region, which is why the situation there has been singled out for a separate report," the ministry noted.

The report identifies key issues affecting indigenous populations in six Arctic Council member states - Denmark, Canada, Norway, the United States, Finland, and Sweden - as well as Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.