The institute speaks at an informal meeting with the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Honored members of the committee,
We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in this informal meeting ahead of the review of Sweden’s compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
Since the last review in 2016, Sweden has taken significant steps towards strengthening the protection of human rights in Sweden. On January 1, 2020, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child became part of Swedish law, a convention that includes several economic, social and cultural rights. A current inquiry has further proposed that Sweden should ratify the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, as part of strengthening children’s ability to effectively claim their rights.
Meanwhile, Sweden has taken steps to shed light on systematic violations of human rights in modern Swedish history. In November 2023, Sweden’s first Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which focused on assimilation policies against the Tornedalians, Kvens, and Lantalaiset, submitted its final report.
The government has also established a truth commission for the Sami people, which began its work in 2022, a commission that is mandated to increase understanding of Sami history and how historical wrongdoings affect the present conditions of the Sami.
The fact that we, as a national human rights institution, are here with you today is also an example of the work that Sweden has carried out since the last review. Thanks to persistent pressure from this and other UN monitoring bodies, and thanks to tireless work from actors in civil society, a broad majority in the Swedish parliament voted for the establishment of the Institute in 2021. The Institute was installed in January 2022, became part of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) that same year, and is to be evaluated this autumn as a member of GANHRI. In our report, we encourage the Committee to ask the State Party what measures it intends to take to provide sufficient conditions for the Institute to fulfil the Paris Principles.
Esteemed members of the committee,
Although Sweden has taken several steps towards enhanced protection, and although the government has declared that it views the international human rights system as indispensable, during the first two years of our operation, we have seen clear signs of a fading willingness to protect rights when other priorities and interests are at stake.
To address the very concerning development of increased of gang violence with deadly outcome, the government has put forth a series of radical proposals, including the introduction of search zones, preventive coercive measures, access for police to biometric data, and expanded opportunities for social services to perform checks in criminal records. In many cases such proposals cross the boundaries of what is compatible with human rights. The pace of legislation is also very high, meaning that the impact analyses often are inadequate, lacking assessment of whether they are in line with the constitution and international requirements, and what effects they might have on different groups in society.
Meanwhile, we have seen several steps towards limiting who has access to rights, not least by weakening and conditioning the protection for non-citizens. As we mention in our report, the daily allowance for asylum seekers and individuals under the EU’s protection directive has remained unchanged since 1994, which means that the compensation initially intended to ensure a threshold level of adequate standard of living has gradually weakened with inflation. Moreover, the allowance is designed in a way that discriminates against larger families, offering full compensation for the two oldest children, but only half of that for other children.
The current government has initiated several measures that we believe could further deteriorate the protection of rights for individuals without citizenship or personal identification number. Among other things, an “information duty” is currently being investigated, which could mean that, for example, healthcare personnel, teachers and social service workers will become obliged to reporting individuals staying in the country without permission to the police or the Migration Board. We fear that taking steps in this direction risks undermining trust in important social institutions and causing people in vulnerable situations, including children, to refrain from claiming rights to education, care, or support that they are entitled to.
Your excellencies,
Apart from such urgent challenges regarding the general weight and universality or inclusiveness of the human rights protection in Sweden, our report highlights challenges that are particularly evident when it comes to economic, social, and cultural rights. In a survey on the public’s knowledge and awareness of human rights that the institute published last year, it became clear that few people in our country are familiar with their economic, social, and cultural rights and what they mean in practice.
We also believe there is a pent-up need for a thorough examination of the status of these rights in Swedish law. As far as we can tell, the last time such an examination was carried out was in 1971, when Sweden ratified the convention.
In our report, we stress how Sweden should strengthen the possibility of individuals to effectively claim economic, social, and cultural rights, and as part of this, ratify the third Optional Protocol to the ICESCR. We believe that the reluctance to do so indicates that the fundamental principle of the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights has not yet been fully realized.
Just like the civil society organizations did in their joint report to the committee, we want to highlight the need for a systematic process to handle the conclusions and recommendations coming from this and other international monitoring bodies. We note that some initial steps towards establishing such a process were taken after the last Universal Periodic Review in 2020 but have not been followed up since then.
We also wish to draw the committee’s attention to the fact that – although we have had very helpful exchanges with the Government Offices on practical issues – there has been no substantive dialogue between the government and relevant stakeholders, including civil society and independent actors like the institute, in preparation for this upcoming review. We are somewhat concerned that the Swedish delegation is not led by a member of cabinet.
Distinguished members of the committee,
Although Sweden fares well in terms of absolute poverty in comparison to other EU countries, we have recently seen an increase of people at risk of poverty.
It is also clear that economic vulnerability in Sweden is unevenly distributed, with foreign-born, older people, and single mothers being particularly exposed. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has found that over 51 per cent of Roma in Sweden live in households with severe financial difficulties. Twenty-eight per cent of Roma children grow up in material poverty.
We are also troubled by the significant rise in civil society’s food distribution to individuals struggling to make ends meet, especially during times of rapid inflation.
Concurrently, we note that expenditures for social protection have decreased relative to GDP over several decades. For instance, sickness benefits for people with disabilities have not kept pace with costs on food and housing.
We hope the forthcoming dialogue with Sweden will shed light on how these developments relate to ICESCR’s requirement for states to make full use of its available resources to fulfil the rights under the Convention.
Your excellencies,
In our report, we highlight several areas where we see challenges, especially for certain groups, in realizing their economic, social, and cultural rights. We would like to draw your attention to the recently published opinion on Sweden from the Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
As for the right to work, we are, for instance, concerned that 2023 saw the highest number of work-related fatalities in over a decade. We also observed examples of labor exploitation, particularly in industries like berry picking, personal care, food deliveries and construction.
Like many OECD countries, Sweden faces significant challenges with the availability and affordability of housing. While reliable statistics are lacking, clear signs point to increasing structural homelessness, along with an increase of families with children being evicted due to back rent. There are also clear signs of discrimination against Afro-Swedes, Roma and people with Muslim names in the housing market.
Your excellencies,
Another area where human rights are not given due attention is indigenous peoples rights. We are currently witnessing a rapid exploitation of land and natural resources in the northern parts of the country, an exploitation justified by the need for a green transition. At the same time, there are several examples of how the rights of the Sami people are not being respected in these processes. Instead of involving the Sami in shaping a sustainable climate policy, they and the nature-based reindeer herding, are increasingly being depicted as problems.
In 2022 the Government granted concessions to an iron ore mine in Gállok/Kallak in Norrbotten on Sámi reindeer herding land. This, despite of massive opposition from the Sámi parliament, the County Administrative Board and two UN Special Rapporteurs and most notably without the consent of affected Sámi reindeer herding communities. The decision has been criticized for its lack of human rights considerations and has been appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court where a ruling is pending.
Legal requirements on due diligence on human rights are still lacking in Sweden. We recommend Sweden to introduce such requirements for state-owned companies in line with proposed EU legislation (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive). A vote on the Directive is expected to take place in the EU council soon but Sweden has not yet clearly indicated support of its approval.
A Parliamentary inquiry (Renmarkskommittén) has also been established to address inadequacies and review legislation on rights to reindeer herding, hunting and fishing and propose amendments to other legislation on land use that affect these rights. The interim report (from last year), does not propose any amendments to adapt the legislation to case law from the Supreme Court. The final result will be presented in 2025.
In 2022 an Act on consultation in matters of special importance to the Sami people entered into force. The Act sets out a duty and procedure for the government and Agencies to consult the Sami with the aim to enhance their influence in decision-making. As of March the duty to consult also applies to local and regional governments. The Act is a step forward, however it has several shortcomings and limitations and does not meet international standards.
- adequate resources are not allocated to sami reindeer herding communities, Sami organizations and the Sami parliament for their participation in consultations
- Consultations are not carried out with a view of obtaining free prior and informed consent
- The Act does not include provisions on how to address or appeal omitted or faulty consultations.
To ensure that the Act fulfills its intentions of meaningful consultations we recommend these shortcomings be rectified once the Act will be reviewed. ‘To ensure that the Act fulfills its intentions of meaningful consultations we recommend these shortcomings be rectified once the Act will be reviewed.
Dear members of the committee,
We hope that the upcoming dialogue will provide a clearer picture of the challenges in these and other areas and the measures the state could take to strengthen the protection and compliance with economic, social, and cultural rights. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with the committee and intend to play an active role in following up on the committee’s conclusions and recommendations.
Fredrik Malmberg Director, Swedish Institute for Human Rights