It is with conviction that we, the undersigned, write to nominate the Arctic Council for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. The Arctic Council was established in 1996 to “provide a means for promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, with the involvement of the Arctic Indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.” It has exceeded all expectations. Amongst its achievements are promoting and maintaining peace and political stability in the rapidly-changing Arctic region; including Indigenous peoples, scientists, and non- governmental organizations, in addition to governments, in its work; and enacting measures that protect the Arctic environment, including mitigating the impacts of climate change. The Arctic Council provides a model for regional governance and deserves to be recognized for its success. Indigenous Inclusion The Arctic Council demonstrated from its beginnings a respect for Indigenous knowledge and rights, through the creation of the category of Permanent Participants for Arctic Indigenous organizations, of which there are six: Aleut International Association, Arctic Athabaska Council, Gwich’in International, Inuit Circumpolar Council, Russian Association of Small-Numbered Peoples, and the Saami Council. This was and remains unique in international governance. It needs to be emphasized that Indigenous peoples are not token members of the Council, but powerful and valued members with real influence on the Council’s work and direction. The Arctic Council continues to break ground in integrating Traditional and Indigenous Environmental Knowledge in its scientific assessments. Leader in Climate Change Science and Advocacy The Arctic Council’s ground-breaking scientific work in the 2004 Arctic Climate Impact Assessment was one of the first and most influential documentations of the effects of global warming. The Arctic Council remains a forum wherein all eight member states acknowledge and appreciate the impacts of climate change on human society and the environment, and are working in a united manner to mitigate and adapt to its consequences. This makes it exceptional. At the Fairbanks Ministerial – the biennial meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Arctic states held in May, 2017, and chaired this year by the United States, the Ministers were able to agree to retain reference to the Paris Agreement and reiterate the need for action to reduce long-lived greenhouse gases and short-lived climate pollutants. Subsequently, the Arctic Council hosted a presentation on the global implications of a rapidly changing Arctic at COP23 in Bonn, Germany, in November 2017, with the consent of all eight member states. With its efforts to reduce black carbon and methane emissions in the region, the Arctic Council also became the first organization to take climate-specific action at the regional level. A Commitment to Science, Knowledge-Creation and Evidence-Based Action More so than any other regional organization, the Arctic Council endeavours to produce high quality scientific knowledge through its six Working Groups in order to inform decision making and mitigate, amongst other things, the impacts of climate change and pollution. It has delivered world-class scientific assessments including the 2004 Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, the 2004 Arctic Human Development Report, the 2009 Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment, the 2017 Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA) assessment and three recently released sub-regional assessments on Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic (AACA). It furthermore contributed to the International Maritime Organization’s Polar Code, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Minamata Convention on Mercury and other globally significant environmental measures. The Arctic Council concluded an Agreement on Enhancing International Scientific Cooperation at the Fairbanks Ministerial in May 2017. This will make it easier for scientists to travel, bring their equipment across national borders, conduct studies and experiments and share their research and expertise on Arctic issues. It furthermore promotes respect for and use of traditional knowledge. What is noteworthy about this achievement is that it was co-chaired by the United States and Russia at a time during which relations were otherwise strained. Regional Peace and Stability The past several years have been difficult ones for East-West relations. The Arctic Council has made conscious and deliberate efforts to ensure dialogue and cooperation between Russia and the West is sustained, at least in the polar region. At the most recent Ministerial meeting, leaders acknowledged the importance of the organization. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called the Arctic Council “an indispensable forum in which we can pursue cooperation”. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov affirmed that in the Arctic “there is no potential for conflict”. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland stated the Arctic Council “is a place where we the Arctic nations can set aside issues outside the Arctic, and appreciate that we have the real honour of shared stewardship of this incredibly beautiful and precious region.” And Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende argued that “together we are not only making a major contribution to stability and prosperity in the Arctic. We are turning the Arctic into a global model for peace and sustainable development.” In its founding declaration, the Arctic Council precluded its members from discussing issues of military security. While some critics have called this a handicap, in practice it has allowed the Arctic to focus on matters pertaining to human, cultural and environmental security instead. At the same time, the Arctic Council was able to conclude the 2011 Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic. This led directly to the establishment of an Arctic Coast Guard Forum in 2015, which remarkably brought all eight states together to address emergency maritime response and combined operations in the Arctic at a time when all other military and defense cooperation was suspended. The Arctic Council has also included a number of European and Asian states as Observers, providing space for non-Arctic states to contribute to regional peace, stability and environmental protection. In this, the Arctic Council has provided a valuable lesson in adapting to a changing world and seeing increasing global interest in the region not as a threat but as an opportunity for mutual cooperation. Although not negotiated under the formal auspices of the Arctic Council, the November 2017 international agreement banning commercial fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean is an example of how its principles and values are being extended throughout regional Arctic governance. A Deserving Candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize In a time when facts have been challenged, diversity has been viewed with suspicion, and the value of international cooperation has been questioned, the Arctic Council has persevered in its work unabated. The Arctic region has always been a place where cooperation between and amongst groups was not only desirable, but in many cases necessary for survival. This philosophy has continued into the 21st century, where climate change, globalization, mass-scale utilization of resources, and narrow interpretations of geopolitics impose new challenges to the region. We can nominate no individual, no leader of the Arctic Council, because the organization is and has always been about the work that can be done when states, sub-national regions, Indigenous groups, researchers, and NGOs collaborate. The Arctic Council is a model for promoting fraternity between nations, and a deserving recipient of Alfred Nobel’s Peace Prize.
Signed by the Members of the University of the Arctic Thematic Network on Geopolitics and Security:
Prof. Lassi Heininen, Finland, CHAIR
Dr. Maria Ackrén, Greenland
Prof. Sandra Maria Rodrigues Balão, Portugal Prof. Michael Byers, Canada Dr. Baozi Cheng, China Dr. Lau Blaxekjær, Faroe Islands Harry Borlase, Canada Prof. Rasmus Bertelsen, Denmark Margret Cela, Iceland Dr. Michael T. Corgan, USA Francisco Cuogo, Brazil Dr. Duncan Depledge, United Kingdom Prof. Klaus Dodds, United Kingdom Karen Everett, Canada Dr. Heather Exner-Pirot, Canada Dr. Andrea Finger-Stich, Switzerland Prof. Matthias Finger, Switzerland Piotr Graczyk, Poland Prof. Gunhild Hoogensen-Gjørv, Norway Dr. Rob Huebert, Canada Malte Humpert, Germany Jussi Huotari, Finland Audur H. Ingolfsdottir, Iceland Kim Insuk, Korea Mikhail Kalentchenko, Russia Liisa Kauppila, Finland Dr. Sanna Kopra, Finland Dr. Whitney P. Lackenbauer, Canada Dr. Marina Lagutina, Russia Dr. Steven Lamy, USA Dr. Natalia Loukacheva, Canada Dr. Michal Luszczuk, Poland Prof. Nikita Lomagin, Russia Dr. Lotta Manninen, Finland Dr. John Markowitz, USA Matthaios Melas, United Kingdom Ayonghe Nebasifu, Cameroon Dr. Heather Nicol, Canada Dr. Annika E. Nilsson, Sweden Dr. Andreas Østhagen, Norway Prof. Willy Østreng, Norway Joël Plouffe, Canada Dr. Barbora Padrtova, Czech Republic Dr. Teemu Palosaari, Finland Dr. Gustav Pettursson, Iceland Mario Pontes, Portugal Andreas Raspotnik, Austria Dr. Larissa Riabova, Russia Benjamin Schaller, Germany Prof. Alexander Sergunin, Russia Dr. Jessica Shadian, Canada Dr. Jack D. Sharples, Scotland Dr. Jennifer Spence, Canada Ilya Stepanov, Russia Adam Stepien, Poland Dr. Aki Tonami, Japan Dr. Gleb Yarovoy, Russia Florian Vidal, France Andrian Vlakhov, Russia Gerald Zojer, Austria
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