Community security of indigenous peoples in the Barents Region

This chapter addresses community security in the context of the Barents Region. Community security is one indicator that forms the broad concept of human security, and is closely interrelated with other aspects of human security, including environmental, political, economic, health and personal security. The community security is directly linked to the realisation of human rights, which seek to ensure states and international actors meet their obligations to respect, protect and preserve the rights of individuals and communities. However, community security is not exclusively defined through legal collective rights, and requires definition through the framework of human security. The chapter explains the 'external components' to analyse and discuss threats to indigenous community security in the Barents Region. Discrimination against indigenous people in the Barents Region and the trauma of assimilation processes are also connected to the right to utilise traditional land and resources. In the Barents Region, the preservation of indigenous languages varies between Russia and the Nordic countries.