The Arctic Council
The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the Arctic States, its indigenous communities and on common Arctic issues, in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic region.
Background of Arctic Council
The Arctic Council was founded on the initiative of the Government of Finland in September 1989 where officials from the 8 Arctic Countries met in Rovaniemi, Finland, to discuss cooperative measures to protect the Arctic environment.
Through this cooperation, the Arctic Council formed with the signing of the Ottawa Declaration on 19 September 1996 in Ottawa, Canada.
The major focus areas of the Arctic Council are :
• The Environment and climate change.
• Bio-diversity.
• Oceans.
• The indigenous Arctic peoples.
• The participants of the Arctic Council
The participants of the Arctic Council are:
• Governments of the eight member states.
• The Permanent Participants PPS.
• Working Groups.
• Observers.
The members of the Arctic Council
• Only states with territory in the Arctic can be members of the Council. All eight countries (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, USA) are members making the Arctic Council a circumpolar forum.
The Permanent Participants
Aleut International Association
The Arctic Athabaskan Council.
Gwich’in Council International.
The Inuit Circumpolar Council.
Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North.
The Saami Council.
Working Groups
The work of the Arctic Council is channelled through six working groups. They are:
• Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP)
The ACAP acts as a strengthening and supporting mechanism to encourage national actions to reduce emissions and other releases of pollutants.
• Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP)
The AMAP monitors the Arctic environment, ecosystems and human populations, and provides scientific advice to support governments as they tackle pollution and adverse effects of climate change.
• The Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group (CAFF)
The CAFF addresses the conservation of Arctic biodiversity, working to ensure the sustainability of the Arctic’s living resources.
• The Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Working Group (EPPR)
The EPPR works to protect the Arctic environment from the threat or impact of an accidental release of pollutants or radionuclides.
• The Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME)
The PAME Working Group is the focal point of the Arctic Council’s activities related to the protection and sustainable use of the Arctic marine environment.
• The Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG)
The SDWG works to advance sustainable development in the Arctic and to improve the conditions of Arctic communities as a whole.
Observers in the Arctic Council
The Observer status in the Arctic Council is granted to non-arctic states, intergovernmental and inter-parliamentary organisations and other global, regional non-governmental organisations.
The observer country is invited to the meetings of the council and observes the work and proceedings of the council. In meetings, with the permission of the chair, observers may make statements, submit relevant documents and provide their perspective on various issues.
What are the criteria for selecting Observers?
• Accept and support the objectives of the Arctic Council defined in the Ottawa declaration.
• Recognise Arctic States’ sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the Arctic.
• Recognise that an extensive legal framework applies to the Arctic Ocean including, notably, the Law of the Sea, and that this framework provides a solid foundation for responsible management of this ocean.
• Respect the values, interests, culture and traditions of Arctic indigenous peoples and other Arctic inhabitants.
• Have demonstrated a political willingness as well as financial ability to contribute to the work of the Permanent Participants and other Arctic indigenous peoples.
What is India’s role in the Arctic Council?
India was granted the observer status at the Kiruna Ministerial Meeting on May 15, 2013. In becoming an observer, India had to agree to the following criteria set by the Council:
• To recognise the sovereign rights of Arctic states.
• To recognise that the Law of the Sea and the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, constitute the legal basis and the legal framework within which the Arctic will be managed.
• To respect indigenous peoples, local cultures and traditions.
• To be able to contribute to the work of the Arctic Council.
India has therefore officially recognised the territorial jurisdiction and sovereign rights of the Arctic states. India has also accepted the UNCLOS as the governing instrument for the Arctic implying that jurisdiction over both the continental shelf and maritime passage, and the resources of the ocean will primarily lay with the eight Arctic States.

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