Proper representation of the three indigenous peoples in the formal structure of the Barents cooperation was what the 60 delegates at the Barents Indigenous Peoples Congress agreed upon in Kirkenes on February 4th 2010. The draft resolution will now be discussed by the three peoples' organisations and the Saami Parliamentary Council, and then sent to the Working Group of Indigenous Peoples in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (WGIP). As soon as the WGIP has handled the issue, the process will continue and the relevant bodies will be addressed. 

Currently, the three indigenous peoples of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (the Nenets, the Saami and the Vepsians) have one (1) joint representative in the Barents Regional Council (and in the Barents Regional Committee). So far, the Head of the WGIP has been invited to the Ministerial sessions of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) and to the meetings of the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO). Indigenous peoples have not, however, had any formal status in these meetings, beyind the fact that they have consultative status to both the state level (BEAC) and the regional level (BRC) .

Draft resolution (English version)

Draft resolution (Russian version)

The International Barents Secretariat provides further information about the formal structure of the Barents cooperation.