Mattias Åhren

Mattias Åhrén origins from Ohredahke Sami indigenous Reindeer Herding Community in Northern Sweden. Academically, he holds Master of Law (LL.M) degrees from Stockholm University and the University of Chicago, and a PhD degree from UiT-The Arctic University of Norway where is also a former Professor and presently a visiting Professor at the Faculty of Law. Åhrén teaches international law, human rights, indigenous peoples’ rights and Sámi rights at universities around the world. He has written extensively on Sami and indigenous rights; including Indigenous Peoples’ Status in the International Legal System (Oxford University Press, 2016). As a practicing lawyer, Åhrén has served in a diplomatic capacity in numerous UN negotiations and processes relevant to indigenous peoples’ human and other rights. For example, he played a leading role in the negotiations leading up to the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Åhrén has also been commissioned to author expert reports by UN system organizations and specialized agencies. He has acted as counsel to Sami indigenous reindeer herding communities in proceedings before both domestic courts and international judicial institutions, most recently in the Rönnbäcken Case before the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Åhrén has also on several occasions served as expert witness in domestic court proceedings on Sami land and resource rights, including in the seminal Girjas Case. He has appeared in the same capacity before national parliaments, and has participated as appointed expert member in national legislative committees. Åhrén was a member of the Expert Group which drafted the draft Nordic Sami Convention.