A study of Sami Children's Rights Under the UN Child Convention, 2011

The UN Child Convention (CRC) is the only UN general human rights conventions that specifically refer to indigenous rights. 1 August of 2003, the Convention incorporated in the Human Rights Act. This means that the Convention provisions on conflict takes precedence over provisions in other national legislation (§ 3). The Child Convention therefore has a very heavy legal weight in Norway and particular relevance for Sami children. There is still very little research on the Convention's importance for Sami children.

The main question of the project is: What means the CRC for Sami children, how are provisions relevant for Sami children made visible in the Norwegian legislation and how the provisions implemented in government and relevant institutions?

To limit the scope of the study, I will start with these three articles : Article 30 (Children of indigenous shall not be denied culture , language or religion), article. 29.1 (Education shall promote understanding and respect for indigenous people) and article 17 (The media shall have particular regard to indigenous children's linguistic needs).

The problem adds up to an interdisciplinary study in two parts: 1: Legal analysis of the relevant provisions of the Convention , other international conventions importance and visibility of the provisions of the Norwegian legal system. 2: A study of sociology of law of the implementation of the provisions of the relevant agencies and institutions.

The CRC is incorporated by law in such a way that it is directly relevant to public bodies and institutions. - But what happens in reality - in government and various institutions? Will Sami children's rights against the CRC respected? The project will identify what government organizations and institutions do to ensure Sami children's rights and evaluate it against the interpretation foundation made of CRC.

The data consists of three types of data: transcribed interviews, sound recordings and questionnaires. The Nesstar file contains data from the questionnaire. Two datasets are connected to the file, which concern pupils and teachers.