Documenting our Progress
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Inuit Rights Overlooked in Critical Draft of Global Plastic Treaty at INC-5
December 4, 2024 – Busan, Republic of Korea – After seven intense days, negotiations of a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, terminated early Monday morning. It was the fifth session of the Intergovernmental...
COP 28 “Transitional But Not Transformative” We are at a Human Rights tipping point – ICC Chair
The 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has concluded, and the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) assesses the results as mixed.
Inuit and Small Island States Collaborate with their Many Strong Voices at the IMO
ICC Press Release Friday, December 16, 2022 – London UK – This week under its provisional consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) partnered with Small Island...
Inuit and Small Islands Aligned on Reducing Black Carbon and the Decarbonization of the Global Shipping Fleet to Protect Vulnerable Communities
The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) participated virtually in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 77 meetings last week where important issues that impact the Arctic were discussed.
ICC Commends the Government of Canada for Precedent-Setting Legislation to Implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) applauds the positive actions taken by the Government of Canada in tabling legislation in the Canadian House of Commons on December 3rd that would implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Canada.
Inuit Circumpolar Council Welcomes UN General Assembly proclamation of a Decade of Indigenous Peoples’ Language
The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a significant resolution that ”Proclaims the period 2022–2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, to draw attention to the critical loss of indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve, revitalize and promote indigenous languages and to take urgent steps at the national and international levels.
Inuit Support Ban of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) Proposed at International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee Meeting in London, UK
Inuit worked with 14 other nations towards the development of a ban on the use of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) in the Arctic, which is currently banned in the Antarctic.
An Inuit Vision for the Future of the Pikialasorsuaq
Copenhagen, Denmark; Nuuk, Greenland; Iqaluit, Nunavut; Nov. 23, 2017 The Inuit Circumpolar Council’s Pikialasorsuaq Commission is calling for the creation of an Inuit- identified, Inuit-managed protected area in the...
Four Countries, One People: Inuit Strengthen Arctic Co-operation
Good afternoon (if past noon). My name is Nancy Karetak-Lindell. I was born and raised on the shores of western Hudson Bay in Arviat in the Kivaliq region of Nunavut. I was the Member of Parliament for Nunavut from 1997 to 2008 and since then I have served my community in many capacities. It is […]
Progress Made in Paris: ICC Urges Action Now
December 13, 2015 – Ottawa – The climate change treaty finalized today in Paris is “historic,” said Okalik Eegeesiak, Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) “but we recognize the compromise in the text.” Eegeesiak led the circumpolar Inuit delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP 21 talks in Paris and […]
Inuit Views Presented At The Economist’s Canada Summit
TORONTO – 3 December 2014 – Duane Smith of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) was invited by The Economist to present the views of Inuit at its premier Canadian event held here today, called The Canada Summit: Confronting the Big Questions. The event’s main panellists and speakers included Alberta’sPremier Jim Prentice and Bank of Canada […]
Inuit Circumpolar Council to hold General Assembly in Inuvik: First time the event will be in Canada since 2002
Ottawa (21 May 2013) – The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) has announced that it will hold its quadrennial General Assembly in Inuvik in July 2014. Inuit delegates, musicians, artists, and others will gather from Russia, Greenland, Alaska, and Canada to celebrate the unity of Inuit and map out the path forward for the organization over […]
Inuit Circumpolar Council Celebrates Inuit Day
OTTAWA – 7 November 2012 –Duane Smith, President of Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada today called on all Inuit and all Canadians to celebrate Inuit Day. In 2006 ICC General Assembly in Barrow, Alaska instructed ICC to “annually proclaim the November 7th birth date of ICC visionary, Eben Hopson, Sr., as Inuit Day, and to urge […]
Inuit Deeply Concerned about Canada’s Decision to Withdraw from Kyoto
15 December, 2011 –Ottawa, Canada – Inuit are Deeply Concerned About Canada’s Decision towithdraw from Kyoto. ICC Canada’s President, Duane Smith, said, “The news that Canada has withdrawn from Kyoto comes as a great disappointment to Inuit in Canada and the circumpolar world. In the past, Canada was seen as a global leader on many […]
Circumpolar Inuit to Global Leaders in Cancun: Strong Action on Arctic Climate Change Urgently Needed
3 December, 2010 – Cancun, Mexico – The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), representing Inuit from Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Chukotka, Russia, released a document today urging global leaders assembled for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference in Cancun to take strong action to prevent further impacts of climate change in the Arctic. […]
Circumpolar Inuit Call on Global Leaders to Act on Arctic Climate Change at COP15 in Copenhagen
13 November, 2009 – Copenhagen, Denmark — Inuit leaders, through the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), today released a document calling on global leaders to adopt a meaningful agreement at December’s UN Climate Change Convention (UNCCC) Conference in Copenhagen – one that will safeguard the future of the Arctic. The Inuit homeland in the Arctic has […]
Pan-Inuit Sovereignty Summit To Convene In November
November 29, 2008, Ilulissat, Greenland – Aqqaluk Lynge, President of the Greenland chapter of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) as well as ICC Vice Chair, told foreign ministers gathered here yesterday from Norway, Denmark, USA, and Canada that much of the Arctic belongs to Inuit. He stressed the importance of including Inuit in any negotiations […]
Indigenous people describe real perils of global warming
December 14, 2007 NUSA DUA, INDONESIA Indigenous people, including Canadian Inuit and Indian leaders, are emerging as some of the top stars of the Bali climate-change conference. From the Arctic to the South Pacific islands, indigenous people said they are among the first to suffer the worst effects of global warming. They drew connections between the planet’s north and south, describing how […]
Inuit of Canada Condemn UN Vote to Postpone Decision on the Adoption of International Declaration Supporting Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Canadian Inuit leader states: “A dark day for aboriginal Canadians and all indigenous peoples worldwide” Ottawa, 29 November 2006 The Inuit of Canada today condemned the split vote by the United Nations General Assembly (GA) to postpone consideration of the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The UN Human Rights Council […]
Inuit Petition Inter-American Commission On Human Rights To Oppose Climate Change Caused By The United States Of America
December 7, 2005 Contact: Paul Crowley, ICC 613-323-0212 Terry Fenge, ICC 613-762-8999 MONTREAL Ms. Sheila Watt-Cloutier, the elected Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), today submitted a petition to the Washington DC-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights seeking relief from violations of the human rights of Inuit resulting from global warming caused by greenhouse […]
Inuit Feast On Traditional Food In Celebration Of The Stockholm Convention
May 17, 2004, Iqaluit, Nunavut Inuit leaders, elders, community members and the former Chair of the International Negotiating Committee, Dr. John Buccini, celebrated the entry into force today of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), with a traditional feast of seal, caribou, whale and char. The Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) was a key […]
Climate Change in the Arctic: Human Rights of Inuit Interconnected with the World
December 10, 2003 Milan, ItalySheila Watt-Cloutier, the elected Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), spoke today to media, non-governmental organizations, and states attending the ninth Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Milan, Italy. Representing the 155,000 Inuit who live in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka in theFar East of the Russian Federation and living in Iqaluit, the […]
Arctic Dimension Absent From WSSD
Johannesburg, South Africa Monday September 2, 2002 Inuit leaders are in Johannesburg to press for the recognition of Arctic concerns on the global agenda, but are deeply concerned the Arctic will be ignored in the final political declaration. There were limited opportunities at WSSD to voice concerns of the sustainability of Inuit culture and the […]
Inuit Applaud Canada’s Leadership And The Global Effort To Eliminate Toxic Substances
Stockholm, Sweden, May 23, 2001 Sheila Watt-Cloutier, President of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (Canada) and Vice-President of Inuit Circumpolar Conference, and delegates of 110 countries took part in the signing ceremony today for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Ms. Watt-Cloutier congratulated David Anderson, Canada’s Minister of the Environment on signing and ratifying the […]