Read the initial assessment of the specific instance issued by the Swedish and the Norwegian NCPs – 14 February 2013

Read the final assessement of the specific instance issued by the Swedish and Norwegian NCPs – 8 February 2016

In October 2012 the Swedish and Norwegian NCPs received a submission from the Sami reindeer herding collective in Jijnjevaerie Sami Village alleging that Statkraft AS, a Norwegian multinational enterprise, had not observed the general policies, human rights, and environment provisions of the Guidelines by planning to build a wind power plant on reindeer herding ground in Sweden.

The Sami reindeer herding collective acknowledge that Statkraft had consulted with the community during the planning stages of the wind power plant, but content that "meaningful engagement" had not taken place. They requested that the NCPs mediate between the parties to reach such a positive solution to the situation.

The NCPs met with both parties during the initial assessment process. The NCPs had decided to defer the case as a bilateral dialogue between the parties had been renewed since the request for review was received by the NCPs. In September 2013, however, the Saami village again requested the NCPs to facilitate mediation and a mediation process was initiated. Mediation took place during the course of 2014 but no agreement could be reached. 

The NCPs of Sweden and Norway have therefore assessed Statkraft’s compliance with the OECD Guidelines, which they present in their joint final statement along with their recommendations for future cooperation. For various reasons, the process has taken a disproportionately long time, and the NCPs regret this.  

The main question in the complaint is whether Statkraft has taken account of the Saami village’s interests and respected their human rights in connection with the wind power project, including carrying out risk-based human rights diligence and consulting with the Saami village. 

The NCPs have not found any grounds for concluding that Statkraft has failed to comply with the OECD Guidelines. The NCPs have pointed to some areas where there is room for improvement, including that Statkraft/Statkraft SCA Vind AB (SSVAB) can work in a manner that even more clearly promotes indigenous people’s rights and the implementation of the Guidelines.

The NCPs recommend that the parties show renewed will to negotiate an agreement on the further development of the wind power projects, their scope and extent and compensation schemes.  

In a press release dated 24 August 2016, the NCPs of Sweden and Norway congratulated the parties on reaching an agreement on their own following the conclusion of the NCP process.