The International Tug-of-War Over Arctic Territory and the Inuit Who Reserve a Right to the Land

It's official - the race is on to claim the rapidly thawing resources of the Arctic. "Canada's prime minister announced plans Friday for an army training center and a deep water port on the third day of an Arctic trip meant to assert sovereignty over a region, while Denmark said it was staking its own claim with a scientific expedition" (Gilles, Associated Press). However, ownership of the Arctic territory has long been a matter of dispute but increasingly so because of confusion and difficulty understanding applicable United Nation's Treaties covering the area. "Under a treaty called the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, territory is determined by how far a nation's continental shelf extends into the sea. Under the treaty, countries have limited time after ratifying it to map the sea floor and make claims" (Krauss et all, 2005). There have been other treaties regarding the Arctic but everyone is racing to grab a piece of this potential resource rather than working together for the benefit of all mankind. Has everyone forgotten that the Inuit have claimed this area for centuries?

Hey - Let Go of My Iceberg

Of course, there are those who agree with environmentalists who wish that our governments would focus on Polar Bears and myriads of other creatures who thrive in the Arctic wonderlands. However, the grab for the Arctic extends far beyond the need for last chances to claim new resources. Thawing seas have added new shipping routes and new fishery sources. In fact, "instead of the white wilderness that killed explorers and defeated navigators for centuries, the world would have a blue pole on top, a seasonally open sea nearly five times the size of the Mediterranean" (Krauss, 2005). A vision of a vast open commercial moneybed for some but a potential nightmare for the indigenous people who have survived here for generations.

Every Nation seeking oil profits desires a piece of the defrosting Arctic pie. Unexplored areas of the world are few and areas with extensive resources are even fewer. Nations bordering the Arctic have staked a claim to these areas for decades but now countries that are not directly bordering the Arctic want in on the action. Shorter and safer trade routes for ships offer a Pandora's box of the same that could eliminate days or weeks off current sea lanes. Global warming may be creating ecological disasters but the potential for oil, minerals, trade routes and other raw resources is creating a wild Gold Rush-era race for the goods for all parties involved, with interested nations hurrying to create ports and plant flags. Still, the Arctic claims and the potential for wealth may create a unique role for Canada's all too often overlooked indigenous peoples.

In a twist of fate, Nations may not be settling disputes with the local sheriff but rather with the indigenous native population that have lived and hunted in the disputed regions for centuries. "The 1993 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement acknowledges the contribution of Inuit to Canada's Arctic sovereignty" (Kaludjak, 2006). Nunavut - a recent Canadian territory - is a Canadian province situated on the Arctic circle whose name is an Inuktitut word meaning "our land" (Encyclopedia of Canadian Provinces, 2007). Nunavut is "the only place in Canada where most of the population (86.2 percent) are Aboriginals (Native Peoples)" (Encyclopedia of Canadian Provinces).

In short, the Inuit have a legitimate - and by extension Canada - to vastly unclaimed territories of the Arctic. The question is really whether or not the Canadian government can stand up to international pressure and support the Inuit's legitimate claims on the area.

A Shelf Too Far?

Nations can stake a claim in the arctic if they can prove they have a territorial right to the area. For example, most people are aware that international treaty and resulting law extends the sovereign rights of a nation to 200 miles beyond it's shore. However, most people are unaware that the 200 mile range is flexible. "The Law of the Sea Convention allows states an economic zone of 200 nautical miles (370km), which can sometimes be expanded. To extend the zone, a state has to prove that the structure of the continental shelf is similar to the geological structure within its territory" (BBC News, 2007). The United Nations is supposed to broker disagreements between nations regarding territorial disputes but decisions are rare and enforcement of those decisions is almost impossible due to budget, staffing and other constraints placed upon United Nations Delegates."Moscow argued before a UN commission in 2001 that waters off its northern coast were in fact an extension of its maritime territory. The claim was based on the argument that an underwater feature, known as the Lomonosov Ridge, was an extension of its continental territory. The UN has yet to rule upon the claim" (BBC News, 2007).

The International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea

Again, the Arctic is mostly under water or encased in ice but this is rapidly changing. Thus shelf boundaries and sea levels are more critical to territorial claims than territorial grabs. Countries have to prove that they have claim to the area and that the claim is legitimate according to existing treaty. Who settles the case if there is a dispute? In this case, the People's Court of the Sea is a little known group of agencies called the 'International Sea Bed Authority" and it's judicial arm called the "The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea". The International Tribunal for the Law of the SEA recently "celebrated its tenth anniversary in September 2006, and that had been a perfect time to reflect on the court's contribution to the settlement of maritime disputes," Tribunal President, Judge Rudiger Wolfrum said. The Tribunal had established a jurisprudence that had already contributed to the development of international law of the sea in a notable way" (United Nations, 2006).

Still, the International Sea Bed Authority is notoriously underfunded - "Mr. Nandan said the Authority's 2007-2008 budget was $11.78 million, but due to the failure of some members to contribute to the budget, cumulative arrears stood at $384,253" (United Nations, 2006) and it's impact on territorial disputes is nominal at best. Still, despite the fact that the International Sea Bed Authority is underfunded and slow to act, there is no doubt that the agency is in the middle of the ongoing territorial claims in the Arctic. "At the moment, nobody's shelf extends up to the North Pole, so there is an international area around the Pole administered by the International Seabed Authority" (BBC News, 2007).

References:

BBC News (2007). Russians Dive Below North Pole BBC News retrieved July 31, 2007 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6914178.stm

Encyclopedia of Canadian Provinces (2007). retrieved July 31, 2007 from http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/canada/Nunavut-to-Yukon/Nunavut.html

Gilles, R (2007). Canada Announces Arctic Port, Base Associated Press retrieved August 11, 2007 from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070811/ap_on_re_ca/arctic_grab

Kalujak, P. (2006) Sovereignty and Inuit in the Canadian Arctic Arctic Peoples retrieved July 31, 2007 from http://www.arcticpeoples.org/2006/11/18/sovereignty-and-inuit-in-the-canadian-arctic/

Krauss, C. et all (2005). Arctic Riches Coming Out of the Cold International Herald retrieved January 1, 2007 from http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/10/10/healthscience/web.1010arctic.complete.php

United Nations (2006). Meeting of States Parties to Law of Sea Convention retrieved July 31, 2007 from http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sea1886.doc.htm