Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North

Grigori Ledkow, Sergei Charjutschi, Pawel Suljandsiga

RAIPON is the abbreviation of Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North ( Russian name: Assozijazija Korennych Malotschislennych Narodow Sewera, Siberia i Dalnewo Vostoka Rossijskoi Federazii " Ассоциация Коренных Малочисленных Народов Севера, Сибири и Дальнего Востока Российской Федерации "). The organization is headquartered in Moscow represents the interests of about 40-50 Indigenous Peoples of the Russian North.

The highest body of the organization is the Coordinating Board, composed of representatives of different peoples. Chairman since 2013 Grigori Ledkov, from the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, who is also deputy of the State Duma for the United Russia party. Ledkov was elected in March 2013 at the VII Congress of Indigenous Peoples of Russia in Salechard in a controversial method to that post after Pavel Vasilyevich favorite Suljandsiga had withdrawn his candidacy.

History

The establishment of the organization, at that time under the name " Association of Small Peoples" in 1989 at the first congress of small indigenous peoples of Russia in the Moscow Kremlin. Among the participants of the congress, in which indigenous representatives from all over Russia for the first time reported publicly and uncensored about the disastrous situation of their ethnic groups, belonged to the former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev.

First President of the Club was coming from the far eastern Sakhalin peninsula writer Vladimir Sangi. This was replaced by Jeremej Ajpin, another writer, this time from the West Siberian people of the Khanty 1993. Sangi, however, did not accept his deselection, so that the organization had to be re-established under a slightly different name. Jeremej Ajpin did not particularly happy figure as President of RAIPON and was therefore replaced by the Nenets Sergei Charjutschi 1997, which was last approved in April 2005 for another four years in office.

Activities

RAIPON is mainly engaged in the field of legislation. Most important requirement is the implementation of securitized land rights in the form of so-called territories for traditional use of nature (Russian: territorii tradizionnowo prirodopolsowanija / Территории традиционного природопользования ). This concern followed RAIPON practically since its inception, the implementation of a corresponding law is however kidnapped by the government for years, what RAIPON President Charjutschi blames primarily the oil lobby.

Internationally, RAIPON committed within the United Nations, where in particular the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ( EMRIP ) for the development of indigenous rights. It has consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council ( ECOSOC) and is represented as one of six indigenous organizations of the Arctic as Ständigner participants in the Arctic Council.

Assessment

The role RAIPONs as the representative of the indigenous peoples of Russia is ambivalent. On the one hand RAIPON is by far the most important representation of the ethnic groups of the North and as such makes extensive work, both nationally and internationally. On the other hand, continues the traditional Heads of State and Government of the Organization's activities near narrow limits.