Sweden Must Strengthen the Protection of the Rights of the Sami People – Our Recommendations to Politicians

In 1977, the Sami People were recognised as an indigenous people in Sweden – yet, every day, Sami rights continue to be violated by the Swedish state. Below, we list three major areas in which Sweden falls short on rights and nature protection. To bring about change, we offer a number of recommendations to politicians and other decision makers responsible for Sweden’s approach to the indigenous Sami People, surrounding nature in Sápmi, and Sweden’s environmental objectives.

Since several years, Civil Rights Defenders is working to ensure that Sami rights are realised in Sweden. This work is carried out together with an expert panel consisting of representatives from Sami organisations and individual Sami activists. In 2017–2020, we collaborated with the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation on a joint project aimed at strengthening the rights of the Sami as an indigenous people. As part of this work, we have now produced a comprehensive document outlining the organisations’ shared position on certain key issues concerning the use of natural resources in Sápmi and Sami rights.

Read the Document

Click here to read the full document, including Civil Rights Defenders and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation’s joint statement as well as recommendations to politicians and other decision makers. (Link in Swedish).