July 14-18, 2025— Geneva, Switzerland—Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) participated in the 18th Session of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) held 14-18 July 2025 in Geneva. This session brought global focus to the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), including the right to maintain and protect traditional economies, as well as the right of Indigenous Peoples to data, including data collection and disaggregation.

Inuit Data Sovereignty

In its report, EMRIP affirmed that data are a powerful cultural, strategic, and economic ressource. The right to data includes the right to access, control, repatriate, and govern all forms of data about, from, or affecting Inuit – ranging from health and education to language, culture, environment, natural resources, and economy. This includes reclaiming cultural artifacts, historical records, and human remains held outside Inuit control.

In their intervention, ICC strongly affirmed that Inuit data sovereignty is a fundamental component of self-determination, equity, and justice across Inuit Nunaat.

“Inuit data governance means the right of Inuit to autonomously decide what, how and why Inuit data are collected, accessed and used. Data sovereignty is an expression of our self-determination as Peoples, and data ownership is a vital tool for self-governing our lands, territories and resources,” says ICC Chair Sara Olsvig.

In their report, EMRIP expressed concern, that many states fail to disaggregate data due to lack of legal recognition of Indigenous Peoples as distinct peoples with collective rights.

In the context of the right to development, disaggregated data are essential to enabling self-determination.

Disaggregated data – broken down by ethnicity, identity, gender, geography, and other relevant factors – are vital for informed decision-making and community-driven development. Such data enable Indigenous Peoples to monitor changes, assess policies and programs that affect them, and advocate for necessary services.

“For Inuit, the right to data, including data collection and disaggregation, is a necessary condition for equity, justice, and self-determined development,” says ICC Chair Sara Olsvig.

”Today there is no comprehensive data on Inuit who relocate to Denmark. This poses multiple challenges in addressing the needs of Inuit in Denmark. Similarly, in Alaska, Inuit – including Iñupiat and Yupik – are frequently grouped under broader Indigenous Peoples categories, erasing their distinct identities and realities. Inuit must not be erased in statistics.”

ICC called on all governments across Inuit Nunaat, national statistical offices, and Arctic researchers to work with Inuit to disaggregate data and address the situation and needs of Inuit.

The right to traditional economies

During the EMRIP 18th Session, ICC also addressed the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with respect to the rights of Indigenous Peoples their traditional economies.

Since 2020, catastrophic salmon declines – particularly in the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers –have led to fishing bans, including a 7-year moratorium on Yukon River Chinook salmon.

“Inuit have been the first to be restricted and the last to be heard,” stated ICC. “This is not just an environmental crisis – it is a justice and humanitarian crisis. Large commercial fisheries continue uninterrupted, while our people go unheard. ICC calls for Inuit-led management rooted in Indigenous Knowledge, with full and effective participation of Inuit in governance and decision-making”.

The ICC delegation included participants from the ICC’s Inuit Youth Engagement Program, who actively contributed to EMRIP discussions while gaining experience in international advocacy. At the session, they were mentored by ICC Chair Sara Olsvig and EMRIP member and former ICC Chair (2018-2022) Dalee Sambo Dorough.

ICC’s delegation consisted of Sara Olsvig (ICC Chair and Head of Delegation), Meghan Sigvanna Tapqaq and Cordelia Kellie (Inuit Youth Engagement Program participants from Alaska), and Aviaaja Isaksen and Maliina Jensen (ICC Kalaallit Nunaat staff).

About the EMRIP

EMRIP, established in 2007 by the UN Human Rights Council, provides expert advice and conducts studies to support the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) is composed of seven independent experts and meets annually to engage with states, Indigenous Peoples, organizations, civil society, and academia. About the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrc-subsidiaries/expert-mechanism-on-indigenous-peoples