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10 August 2000
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CERD
57th session
10 August 2000
Afternoon
Sweden Promotes Integration and Equal Rights and Opportunities for Everyone, Delegation Says A Government delegation from Sweden told the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon that promoting integration and equal rights and opportunities for everyone, irrespective of ethnic and cultural background, was one of the most important tasks of the Government.
The remark came as the Committee started its consideration of the fourteenth periodic report of Sweden on how that country was implementing the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Introducing the report, Lars Magnuson, Director-General for Legal Affairs of the Ministry forForeign Affairs of Sweden, affirmed that promoting integration and equal rights and opportunities for everyone, irrespective of ethnic and cultural background, was one of the most important tasks of the Government. It was an ongoing effort; and a number of initiatives had been taken after the submission of the report, he said.
Regis de Gouttes, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Sweden, requested the delegation to provide the Committee with information on the socio-economic indicators concerning the application of the provisions of the Convention in order to allow the identification of the social groups which were vulnerable to marginalization, exclusion and non-integration into the society.
Mr. de Gouttes said that subjects such as the rate of unemployment, illiteracy, delinquency, alcoholism, housing problems and rates of imprisonment should have been included in the report, and the measures addressed to rectify those situations were highly valued by the Committee.
The following Committee experts also participated in the discussion: Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Ion Diaconu, Deci Zou, Youri A. Rechetov, Marc Bossuyt, Brun-Otto Bryde, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr and Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai.
The Swedish delegation was also made up of Agneta Lindelor, Judge of Appeal at the Ministry of Justice; Goran Lindqvist, Deputy Director, Division for Immigrant Integration and Diversity, Ministry of Culture; Lars Ronnas, Deputy Director, International Law and Human Rights Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Ulrika Sundberg, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations Office and other international organizations at Geneva.
Sweden is one of the 156 States parties to the Convention and as such it is obliged to present summaries of its efforts in giving effect to the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 11 August, it will continue its consideration of the report of Sweden.
Report of Sweden
The fourteenth periodic report of Sweden (document CERD/C/362/Add.5) contains a detailed account of measures adopted by the Swedish Government with the view to implementing the provisions of the Convention. It also refers to the consideration of the issues raised by the Committee during a previous session. The report says that the main fount of legal protection against ethnic or racial discrimination is the Swedish Constitution. The penal code contains provisions prohibiting ethnic discrimination. In addition, racism and ethnic discrimination are being combatted in a number of ways.
The report says that in the course of just a few decades, immigration has transformed Sweden into a country characterized by cultural and ethnic diversity; the total population of Sweden as of 31 December 1998 was 8,854,322; more than 900,000 people currently domiciling in the country were born in other countries; a further 700,000 people were born in Sweden but have roots in another country through at least one parent; and 690,553 persons were naturalized between 1966 and 31 December 1997.
Introduction of Swedish Report
LARS MAGNUSON, Director-General for Legal Affairs of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, affirmed that promoting integration and equal rights and opportunities for everyone, irrespective of ethnic and cultural background, was one of the most important tasks of the Government. It was an ongoing effort; and a number of initiatives had been taken after the submission of the report.
Mr. Magnuson recalled that in December 1999, the Prosecutor General had issued a plan of action to reinforce the measures against crimes with racist or xenophobic motives. The plan prescribed that every regional office of the public prosecution should establish a special coordinating function for measures against such crimes. All racist and xenophobic crimes should be dealt with as a matter of priority.
In order to protect national minorities and the historical regional and minority languages, the Government had enacted a bill in that direction, Mr. Magnuson said. He also mention that in the beginning of this year, the Government had ratified the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The national minorities recognized in the country were Sami, Swedes, Finns, Tornedalers, Roma and Jews.
Mr. Magnuson continued to say that the national curricula for State and independent schools had been amended to include provisions on information about national minorities and regional and minority languages. In addition, rights had been given to individuals to use minority languages in dealing with administrative authorities and courts in geographical areas where the languages had established roots and were still used to a significant extent.
Mr. Magnuson further said that 8 per cent of the Swedish population were immigrants and that they accounted for 4.4 per cent of the locally elected representatives and 4.5 per cent of regionally elected ones. Some 35 per cent of the people with an immigrant background had participated in the local government elections in 1998. A commission was also created to propose measures to facilitate the participation in local government for people with an immigrant background. Recent developments showed that the employment situation of immigrants was improving, Mr. Magnuson said. It was a matter urgency for the Government to reverse the trend of high unemployment among immigrants. A number of initiatives had been taken to improve this situation.
The Government had also decided on a number of measures to increase the ethnic diversity in the State sector. Mr. Magnuson recalled that the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust in January this year was a tremendous success with 48 countries and a number of international organizations taking part. The message was that the Holocaust should never be forgotten, but also that modern societies could not tolerate racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.
Discussion
REGIS DE GOUTTES, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Sweden, said that the report had reiterated the information that the Swedish society had been transformed into multi-racial society because of the immigration; however, the report did not contain statistical data on the demographic breakdown of the population. The Government of Sweden was also expected to provide statistical data broken down according to race, colour, national origin or ethnic origin. The current report had given figures concerning the number of immigrants living in the country. Still missing in the report was the number of other minorities living in the country.
Mr. de Gouttes said that the delegation should provide the Committee with information on the socio-economic indicators concerning the application of the provisions of the Convention which could allow the identification of the social groups which were vulnerable to marginalization, exclusion and non-integration into the society. Subjects such as the rate of unemployment, illiteracy, delinquency, alcoholism, housing problems and the rate of imprisonment should have been included in the report. The measures adopted to rectify those situations were highly valued by the Committee.
Mr. de Gouttes recalled that in its previous conclusions on the report of Sweden, the Committee had noted that the recession had had serious consequences for the State party in general and had led to severe setbacks for refugees and immigrants, in particular; the consequences of the recession had been most felt in the labour market situation of refugees and immigrants, who had been found worse off than Swedes in most areas of society, and the gap had been widening. The current report noted that although unemployment in the country had declined in the last couple of years, unemployment among refugees and immigrants still remained high; the unemployment rate for non-Nordic nationals was 27 per cent compared to 5,7 per cent for the native Swedish population. He asked if the situation had changed in recent years.
Further, Mr. de Gouttes said it was regrettable that the current Swedish report contained practically no new developments concerning the Ombudsman charged with fighting ethnic discrimination in all aspects of the society, particularly in the labour market. That institution had been considered by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance as a good example for fighting racism.
Mr. de Gouttes asked the delegation to provide detailed information on Swedish policy concerning the Roma population which was estimated to number 20,000. What were the recommendations formulated by the working group on the improvement of the situation of Roma, which was created by the Government in 1996? The Government had extended financial support to the Nordic Council of Roma; and to address growing drug abuse among young Roma, it had contributed financially to the production of the film 'Grofo' ('The Duke') made by Roma with Roma actors. Were there other measures designed to address drug abuse?
Concerning the Sami people, Mr. de Gouttes recalled that the Committee had expressed satisfaction by the set up of a Sami parliament and urged the Government to take measures to allow Sami people to use their own language. What measures had the Government adopted to make a survey of the land to which the Sami had historical rights and to define the right to hunting and fishing on the land they had historically occupied?
Other Committee experts also queried the delegation on the subjects of the Sami and Roma people, on their general situation and their role in the Swedish society. Several experts referred to the contents of the report in questioning the delegation on such issues as immigration, refugees, minorities, xenophobia, racism and racial discrimination, and segregation in housing.
57th session
10 August 2000
Afternoon
Sweden Promotes Integration and Equal Rights and Opportunities for Everyone, Delegation Says A Government delegation from Sweden told the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon that promoting integration and equal rights and opportunities for everyone, irrespective of ethnic and cultural background, was one of the most important tasks of the Government.
The remark came as the Committee started its consideration of the fourteenth periodic report of Sweden on how that country was implementing the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Introducing the report, Lars Magnuson, Director-General for Legal Affairs of the Ministry forForeign Affairs of Sweden, affirmed that promoting integration and equal rights and opportunities for everyone, irrespective of ethnic and cultural background, was one of the most important tasks of the Government. It was an ongoing effort; and a number of initiatives had been taken after the submission of the report, he said.
Regis de Gouttes, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Sweden, requested the delegation to provide the Committee with information on the socio-economic indicators concerning the application of the provisions of the Convention in order to allow the identification of the social groups which were vulnerable to marginalization, exclusion and non-integration into the society.
Mr. de Gouttes said that subjects such as the rate of unemployment, illiteracy, delinquency, alcoholism, housing problems and rates of imprisonment should have been included in the report, and the measures addressed to rectify those situations were highly valued by the Committee.
The following Committee experts also participated in the discussion: Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Ion Diaconu, Deci Zou, Youri A. Rechetov, Marc Bossuyt, Brun-Otto Bryde, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr and Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai.
The Swedish delegation was also made up of Agneta Lindelor, Judge of Appeal at the Ministry of Justice; Goran Lindqvist, Deputy Director, Division for Immigrant Integration and Diversity, Ministry of Culture; Lars Ronnas, Deputy Director, International Law and Human Rights Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Ulrika Sundberg, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations Office and other international organizations at Geneva.
Sweden is one of the 156 States parties to the Convention and as such it is obliged to present summaries of its efforts in giving effect to the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 11 August, it will continue its consideration of the report of Sweden.
Report of Sweden
The fourteenth periodic report of Sweden (document CERD/C/362/Add.5) contains a detailed account of measures adopted by the Swedish Government with the view to implementing the provisions of the Convention. It also refers to the consideration of the issues raised by the Committee during a previous session. The report says that the main fount of legal protection against ethnic or racial discrimination is the Swedish Constitution. The penal code contains provisions prohibiting ethnic discrimination. In addition, racism and ethnic discrimination are being combatted in a number of ways.
The report says that in the course of just a few decades, immigration has transformed Sweden into a country characterized by cultural and ethnic diversity; the total population of Sweden as of 31 December 1998 was 8,854,322; more than 900,000 people currently domiciling in the country were born in other countries; a further 700,000 people were born in Sweden but have roots in another country through at least one parent; and 690,553 persons were naturalized between 1966 and 31 December 1997.
Introduction of Swedish Report
LARS MAGNUSON, Director-General for Legal Affairs of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, affirmed that promoting integration and equal rights and opportunities for everyone, irrespective of ethnic and cultural background, was one of the most important tasks of the Government. It was an ongoing effort; and a number of initiatives had been taken after the submission of the report.
Mr. Magnuson recalled that in December 1999, the Prosecutor General had issued a plan of action to reinforce the measures against crimes with racist or xenophobic motives. The plan prescribed that every regional office of the public prosecution should establish a special coordinating function for measures against such crimes. All racist and xenophobic crimes should be dealt with as a matter of priority.
In order to protect national minorities and the historical regional and minority languages, the Government had enacted a bill in that direction, Mr. Magnuson said. He also mention that in the beginning of this year, the Government had ratified the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The national minorities recognized in the country were Sami, Swedes, Finns, Tornedalers, Roma and Jews.
Mr. Magnuson continued to say that the national curricula for State and independent schools had been amended to include provisions on information about national minorities and regional and minority languages. In addition, rights had been given to individuals to use minority languages in dealing with administrative authorities and courts in geographical areas where the languages had established roots and were still used to a significant extent.
Mr. Magnuson further said that 8 per cent of the Swedish population were immigrants and that they accounted for 4.4 per cent of the locally elected representatives and 4.5 per cent of regionally elected ones. Some 35 per cent of the people with an immigrant background had participated in the local government elections in 1998. A commission was also created to propose measures to facilitate the participation in local government for people with an immigrant background. Recent developments showed that the employment situation of immigrants was improving, Mr. Magnuson said. It was a matter urgency for the Government to reverse the trend of high unemployment among immigrants. A number of initiatives had been taken to improve this situation.
The Government had also decided on a number of measures to increase the ethnic diversity in the State sector. Mr. Magnuson recalled that the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust in January this year was a tremendous success with 48 countries and a number of international organizations taking part. The message was that the Holocaust should never be forgotten, but also that modern societies could not tolerate racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.
Discussion
REGIS DE GOUTTES, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Sweden, said that the report had reiterated the information that the Swedish society had been transformed into multi-racial society because of the immigration; however, the report did not contain statistical data on the demographic breakdown of the population. The Government of Sweden was also expected to provide statistical data broken down according to race, colour, national origin or ethnic origin. The current report had given figures concerning the number of immigrants living in the country. Still missing in the report was the number of other minorities living in the country.
Mr. de Gouttes said that the delegation should provide the Committee with information on the socio-economic indicators concerning the application of the provisions of the Convention which could allow the identification of the social groups which were vulnerable to marginalization, exclusion and non-integration into the society. Subjects such as the rate of unemployment, illiteracy, delinquency, alcoholism, housing problems and the rate of imprisonment should have been included in the report. The measures adopted to rectify those situations were highly valued by the Committee.
Mr. de Gouttes recalled that in its previous conclusions on the report of Sweden, the Committee had noted that the recession had had serious consequences for the State party in general and had led to severe setbacks for refugees and immigrants, in particular; the consequences of the recession had been most felt in the labour market situation of refugees and immigrants, who had been found worse off than Swedes in most areas of society, and the gap had been widening. The current report noted that although unemployment in the country had declined in the last couple of years, unemployment among refugees and immigrants still remained high; the unemployment rate for non-Nordic nationals was 27 per cent compared to 5,7 per cent for the native Swedish population. He asked if the situation had changed in recent years.
Further, Mr. de Gouttes said it was regrettable that the current Swedish report contained practically no new developments concerning the Ombudsman charged with fighting ethnic discrimination in all aspects of the society, particularly in the labour market. That institution had been considered by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance as a good example for fighting racism.
Mr. de Gouttes asked the delegation to provide detailed information on Swedish policy concerning the Roma population which was estimated to number 20,000. What were the recommendations formulated by the working group on the improvement of the situation of Roma, which was created by the Government in 1996? The Government had extended financial support to the Nordic Council of Roma; and to address growing drug abuse among young Roma, it had contributed financially to the production of the film 'Grofo' ('The Duke') made by Roma with Roma actors. Were there other measures designed to address drug abuse?
Concerning the Sami people, Mr. de Gouttes recalled that the Committee had expressed satisfaction by the set up of a Sami parliament and urged the Government to take measures to allow Sami people to use their own language. What measures had the Government adopted to make a survey of the land to which the Sami had historical rights and to define the right to hunting and fishing on the land they had historically occupied?
Other Committee experts also queried the delegation on the subjects of the Sami and Roma people, on their general situation and their role in the Swedish society. Several experts referred to the contents of the report in questioning the delegation on such issues as immigration, refugees, minorities, xenophobia, racism and racial discrimination, and segregation in housing.