The first Cooperation Agreement

The first Cooperation Agreement of the newly established Batani international Indigenous Fund for Development and Solidarity has been signed with the Norwegian consulting company “Arctic Consult,” whose mission is to provide legal and economic advice to indigenous communities.

Arctic Consult will assist with the research project “Why indigenous rights don’t work in Russia?” This project involves a series of studies about the implementation of state policies that affect indigenous peoples, as well as the problems of the implementation of the rights of indigenous peoples to self-determination and access to lands and resources in the Russian Federation. The project will prepare science-based proposals for the development of a strategy for the sustainable development of the indigenous peoples of Russia, taking into account their right to self-determination.

Within the framework of the project, the partners intend to develop a new innovative methodology for collecting and processing information on the socio-economic development of the indigenous peoples of Russia and their self-government, the implementation of state policy towards indigenous peoples, as well as violations of their rights by public authorities and businesses.