For Immediate Release
September 9, 2026
Swedish elections are taking place on September 13, 2026. Despite heavy UN criticism, six out of eight parties in the Swedish national parliament want to make it easier to establish new mines on Indigenous lands. As an SVT reporter pointed last week to recurring UN criticism regarding lack of Sámi consent and influence on mining and other industrialisation in Sweden, Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch refused any accountability, stating: “Then the UN is wrong.” Meanwhile in Kiruna, Sámi reindeer herding community Gabna is putting their foot down accusing the Swedish state of cultural genocide against their Indigenous community.
The full SVT interview can be found here, with English subtitles on Youtube here. (This is where Gabna raise cultural genocide and Busch says the UN is wrong.)
Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch (The Christian Democrats) wants “fewer reindeer” and has said the state should “reclaim” Indigenous lands. Her party is proposing to remove reindeer herding’s minimal legal protection as a national interest (riksintresse), a proposal supported by their government allies in The Moderate Party as well as the Sweden Democrats.
However, many reindeer herding communities in the north of Sweden are already fighting to uphold their culture. Gabna reindeer herding community is standing up against Per Geijer, an iron ore and rare earth mining project by state-owned LKAB which Busch, the Swedish government and the EU fiercely support. Lars-Marcus Kuhmunen is the chair of Gabna, and comments:
– The reindeer are central to identity, language, traditions, social structures, and way of life… They are a cornerstone upholding our culture and livelihood. Lose it, and Sámi culture and way of life face extinction.
The Per Geijer mine would cut off Gabna’s reindeers’ last migratory route, where the reindeer graze between summer and winter pastures. The community views this as the final blow after over a century of exploited lands (see video) – eradicating their culture.
– Unless we stop LKAB, their mining will wipe out our way of life. The state is committing a cultural genocide in Kiruna, states Kuhmunen.
A cultural genocide means a systematic destruction of a group’s distinguishing cultural bearing aspects such as language, values and livelihood. It points to the fact that a state does not need to use armed force to destroy a way of life and assimilate a minority group. Such destruction of culture is a problem that unites many Sámi communities across Sweden.
Sweden often maintains an image as progressive on human rights and environmental protection. This view is not shared by Gabna.
– Sweden and LKAB are maintaining a colonial order where Indigenous lands in the north are treated as a colony to provide Europe with minerals, says Karin K Niia, spokesperson of Gabna reindeer herding community.
In the new SVT documentary “Renar i vägen”, Niia stresses how this is not an isolated event but a final blow:
”We have lost hectare after hectare, and watched the fishing lakes and settlements be swallowed up by mining industrial areas to build Sweden’s welfare, but also to build the EU and Europe. How much must we sacrifice to build prosperity for others?”
Busch’s dismissal of the UN is also seen by human rights advocates as a worrying development.
– Ebba Busch known to be close with the mining lobby, says human rights activist Olivia Linander. Busch’s response to Gabna’s accusations of cultural genocide is just the latest sign of disregard, with no interest of listening to those whose livelihoods are at stake.
Linander continues with a comparison to Trump in the US:
– Instead of responding to this serious allegation from Gabna, Busch brushes it off. Not unlike Trump, she has a track record of dismissing reporters’ facts in the moment she first hears them, and questioning the legitimacy of institutions behind the criticism, whether it’s the UN or public service media. It is a very troubling development.
Media Contacts
- Lars-Marcus Kuhmunen and Karin K Niia, Gabna: samebygabna@gmail.com
- Olivia Linander, Swedish human rights activist: +46738226906
