Call to Make Arctic a Zone of Peace
In 1989, in a
powerful statement that still resonates today, Mary
Simon, then President of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), wrote
eloquently about the need to establish an Arctic Zone of Peace. She
pointed out in her article that a vital starting point is to "recognize
that vast regions
in northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland and eastern Siberia constitute
first and foremost the Inuit homeland" and that Inuit people do not
want their traditional territories treated as "a strategic military and
combat zone between eastern and western alliances."[1]
Of course, today this same Mary Simon is Canada's Governor General which makes her Commander-in-Chief of Canada's Armed Forces. As such, she plays a major role in recognizing the importance of Canada's military at home and abroad and could no longer voice such opinions. Nonetheless, what is written in 1989 resonates today. She noted at that time that the Inuit people, who have lived in the circumpolar regions for thousands of years, are the Arctic's legitimate spokespersons. Because their lands and communities "transcend the boundaries of four countries" (i.e. U.S., Canada, Greenland (Denmark) and Russia), the Inuit are in "a unique position to promote peace, security and arms control objectives among Arctic states," she wrote.
"Any excessive military build-up in the North," she stated, "whether by the Soviet Union [which was still in existence then] or the United States, only serves to divide the Arctic, perpetuate East-West tensions and the arms race, and put our people on opposing sides."
From an Inuit viewpoint, an Arctic zone of peace would not allow nuclear weapons or testing of weapons of mass destruction, nor military activities that "disrupt or undermine the communities, territories, rights and security of aboriginal and other northern peoples." In that regard, safeguarding the Arctic environment "must take precedence over military exercises and activities."
It is unfortunate that today Simon is Commander-in-Chief of the very armed forces Canada is deploying in the arctic to establish U.S. hegemony and join in NATO military exercises targeting Russia and endangering the cause of world peace. Another reason that the U.S. wants control of the Canadian Arctic is to make sure the Northwest Passage cannot be used as a sea route between Europe and Asia, a route 7,000 kilometers shorter than that through the Panama Canal. Nonetheless the position the ICC took in 1989 when Simon was its Chair remains valid today.
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As a first step, the ICC proposed that Arctic nations must declare that an Arctic zone of peace should be a central objective for them, possibly brought about in stages. Furthermore, that from these countries, "there must be an express commitment that their future military and arms control policies will be consistent with the objective of a zone for peace" and that Canadian and Nordic state territory "must not be used by any country for offensive and destabilizing military purposes."
In addition, nuclear weapons and all air- and sea-launched cruise missiles must be banned and the naval uses of the Arctic reviewed, keeping in mind that "the principle of unrestricted 'freedom of navigation' on the high seas is out-dated and open to abuse by military powers."
An important step in reversing the trend of militarization would be to develop an "international legal framework that codifies offences against the peace and security of humankind" and that these standards would include such human rights "as the right to peace, the right to development and right to a safe and healthy environment."
In closing, on behalf of the ICC, Mary Simon urged "all Arctic governments, regardless of their military affiliation or nuclear status, to embrace the idea of an Arctic zone of peace," saying that for those whose ancestral home has always been the Arctic the future of the North merits no less!
Note
1. Mary Simon, "Toward an Arctic Zone of Peace: An Inuit Perspective," Peace Research, Vol. 21, No. 4 (November 1989). Canadian Mennonite University.
(Excerpted from "Get Canada Out of NATO!: Military Exercises in the Canadian Arctic," TML Monthly Number 2, March 2024.)
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 12 - December 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/M540124.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca