Konsultasjonsplikt og samenes menneskerettigheter

The Department of Comparative politcs invites you to this lecture by Bjørn Olav Megard followed by a panel discussion between Megard and Torvald Falch led by Aaron Spitzer. The duty to consult and other human rights obligations the state has towards the Sami people, applies across all sectors and levels of government. The lecture will highlight how the obligation under international law is interpreted and made into practice in the ministries, through procedures, legislation, and guidance, and on how the implementation work is carried out across the ministries, in the Norwegian government context. Examples will be drawn from the everyday life of civil servants in the ministries.   

Bjørn Olav Megard
Director General, Department of Indigenous and National Minority Affairs, The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development
Mr. Megard is the Director General and Head of the Department of Indigenous and National Minority Affairs since 2012 and has worked in the department since 1999. The department is tasked with implementing and following up the Norwegian Government's objectives in the policy towards the Sami population and the national minorities. Mr. Megard holds a master's degree in social anthropology and a Bachelor of Science degree in climate sciences and math, both from the University of Oslo, as well as a master's degree of public administration from Harvard University.  

Torvald Falch
Political scientist and senior advisor to the Sami Parliament 
Mr. Falch is a senior advisor to the Sami Parliament where he has worked since 1994. The Sami Parliament is democratically elected by and among the Sami. It is an indigenous parliament that deals with all matters concerning Sami people. Mr. Falch's PhD dissertation 'Rights and representation' is a qualitative analysis of constraints and opportunities in developing indigenous political communities and institutions that exercise self-determination. 

This guest lecture is part of the course Comparative Arctic Indigenous Governance which is taught every spring at UiB. The lecture is free and open for all.