Samernas rättigheter och inflytande över sina traditionella landområden

Sammanfattning: The Sami have lived in Sweden since the time before colonization and land borders. Nevertheless, the Swedish state doesn’t recognize any ownership of land and only some rights within their traditional land. Sweden has received international criticism repeatedly for the treatment of the Sami. The right to land and water, as well as the right to self-determination, are debated issues that haven’t been given a satisfactory solution. It has caused international criticism at several occasions in investigations by the Council of Europe and the UN. There have been no major changes in legislation in this area in recent years, despite several investigations. The thesis takes a starting point in the criticism received by Sweden from these international human right bodies regarding the right of the Sami to their traditional land areas and influence in decision making over these areas. The purpose is to investigate the extent to which the Sami are entitled to their traditional land areas, what influence the Sami have in decisions that affect these areas and to investigate what international obligations Sweden has. In the analysis, the essay takes a forward-looking approach to see how the rights of the Sami can be strengthened in these areas. At the time of writing, Sweden doesn’t have a special order of consultation with the Sami. In addition to the question of ownership or use rights, the issues that exist today regarding the legislation concern the geographical scope of winter grazing, the scope of hunting and fishing rights, the right to grant hunting and fishing rights and the protection of reindeer husbandry rights. Whether the Sami are considered to have ownership or a utility right, the question of who owns the land needs to be clarified. Clarification of the specific Sami rights is also required in the legislation. As long as the legal ambiguities are not eliminated, more conflicts will arise between reindeer herding Sami and non-reindeer herding Sami, the state and landowners. In order for the interest of the Sami to be satisfied, it is also necessary for their voices to be heard.