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Resource Key: DK2FV7GZ

Document Type: Journal Article

Creator:

Author:

  • Rasmus Larsen
  • Carl Österlin
  • Johanna Westeson
  • Annette Löf

Creators Name: {mb_resource_zotero_creatorsname}

Place:

Institution:

Date: July 2026

Language: en

Emerging due diligence laws aim to ensure a just energy transition but leave companies with considerable discretion. In this paper, we explore the role of human rights impact assessment (HRIA) as an arena for clarifying corporate accountabilities – interpreting and synthesizing international law standards on Indigenous rights, international guidance on HRIA, methods for community-based impact assessments, and research about the impacts of competing land uses. We focus on Indigenous Sámi reindeer herding in the Nordics – a high-risk context for human rights violations seeing growing mining interest in relation to the energy transition. The criteria-based framework defines six preconditions that must be protected to ensure that herding communities can enjoy their collective rights to land and culture – notably the cultural practice of natural grazing-based herding and its seasonal migration. As case study we examine Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB’s proposed project ’Per Geijer’, i.e., the application for a concession permit on the traditional lands of Gabna reindeer herding community – with analysis demonstrating how LKAB’s project entails a significant risk of violating the Indigenous rights of the members of Gabna. We conclude with reflections on the incompatibility between Indigenous ontologies and colonial licensing regimes, and the need for critical and engaged research together with Indigenous rights holders. Our final argument is about how improved industry performance must be accompanied by proactive government policy, addressing the root failures in land use planning and licensing regulations.

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