On May 17, the 12th Wuhan University International Law Forum 2018 was successfully held in Room 323 of Law School. The speaker was Prof. Gudmundur Alfredson from University of Akureyri School of Law. He gave a speech with the theme of human rights issues in the polar regions while the host is Prof. Lee Xueping.
Professor Gudmundur Alfredson is a professor of polar law at the University of Akureyri, Iceland, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, and a sponsor of the annual seminar on polar law. He is the editor of the Polar Law Annual Journal (with Professor Timo Koivurova) and the International Journal of Minority and Collective Rights. Chief editor. He has served as Director of the Centre for Human Rights Studies in Rolle Valenburg, Sweden, staff of the United Nations Secretariat in New York and Geneva, and Chairman of the United Nations Working Committee on the Protection of Minority Rights. The rich international organization of human rights work experience and deep academic accumulation has enabled Professor Gudmundur Alfredson to have a deep understanding of the polar and human rights fields.
Professor Gudmundur Alfredson said that with the climate change, the importance of polar issues has become increasingly prominent and has attracted attention. More and more educational institutions have begun to study polar law, and polar law seminars are in the ascendant. The rational development and utilization of polar resources, the proper resolution of disputes in the polar field, the protection of polar human rights, and the global governance of climate change are the focus of academic discussions. Professor Gudmundur Alfredson gave a lecture on two issues, first discussing the human rights protection of minority groups in the polar regions. Compared with ethnic minorities in other parts of the world, ethnic minorities in the polar regions are a more special group, which includes minority groups from Japan, Maori in Australia, Anglos, Eskimos, etc., and the total population is expected to reach 4000000. One of the key issues in the protection of human rights of polar minorities is their right to land, that is, whether they can live in the polar regions and enjoy all the resources of the region. The international community has not reached an agreement on this. Many countries believe that the possession of land is an inevitable requirement for the protection of human rights. Many people believe that these decisions involving human rights should be made by the courts rather than the government or certain organizations.
In the second point, he explores the issue of independence in Greenland, which is one of the important influencing factors for ethnic minorities in the polar regions to realize their land-based human rights. Most of the Greenlanders live on the southwest coast, and Denmark has not consulted Aboriginal people about Greenland. Based on the sovereignty of Greenland, even Denmark, far from the Arctic region, still has the opportunity to stay on the list of Arctic countries, but the premise should be the protection of the basic rights of ethnic minorities. At present, 17%-19% of Greenlanders are fighting for independence, which has different international positions. For example, South Korea has not established diplomatic relations with Denmark but established an embassy in Greenland.
In the questioning session, the students of the International Law Institute, including international students, asked questions. Professor Gudmundur Alfredson and his students also discussed the historical rights of the polar regions, the military operations of different countries in the Arctic region, and the role that the UN Security Council can play in this field. The Arctic fishery resources and other issues were discussed. The professor made a concrete response to the problems of teachers and students. Finally, Professor Li Xueping summarized the lecture, and the students expressed their sincere gratitude to Professor Gudmundur Alfredson for his wonderful speech.
(Written by: Wan Xiaoge)
