Sweden

Sweden has gained a reputation for being a vocal defender of human rights in the international arena. Yet the country fails to address serious human rights violations in its own backyard. This includes increased police violence, violations of privacy, ethnic/racial profiling, deficiencies in asylum law and crimes against the fundamental rights of Roma and Sami coupled with the increasing prevalence of hate crimes within Swedish society.

News from Sweden

The Council of Europe reviews how Sweden lives up to the rights of national minorities – read our alternative report 

  • Publications, Sweden
  • 8 March 2023

On 8–9 March, the Council of Europe reviews how Sweden complies with  the Framework Convention …

European governments continued weakening democracy in 2022, according to new report done by 45 civil liberties groups

  • News, Publications
  • 21 February 2023

Democracy continued to decline across Europe in 2022. An annual EU-wide rule of law report by 45 civ…

Statement on Rasmus Paludan’s latest Qur’an burning in Sweden 

  • Statements, Sweden
  • 1 February 2023

Lately, Quran burnings has received renewed attention after Rasmus Paladan, leader of the far right …

Thousands were executed in Iran in 1988 – now the trial starts in the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm 

  • News, Sweden
  • 11 January 2023

Today, the trial starts in Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm regarding the mass executions of politi…
More news from Sweden

Grave International Crimes

Grave violations of human rights, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, are committed all over the world. The perpetrators rarely face prosecution and are often able to continue to commit crimes with impunity. Through legal means, we work to keep dictators awake at night and to hold them accountable in order to achieve justice for their victims.

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Locked-Up – But Not Without Rights

Civil Rights Defenders monitors the human rights situation in Sweden’s locked institutions, such as jails, prisons, and custody or compulsory treatment institutions. We are involved in a number of legal cases in which our position is that human rights violations have taken place.

Sami Rights

In 2017, we launched our work to advance the rights of the indigenous Sami people together with Sami representatives and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. The project will be a major focus of ours in the coming years.

The Right to a Fair Trial

Civil Rights Defenders conducts advocacy aimed at authorities, politicians, and other decision makers to ensure that the right to a fair trial is respected. We offer training and litigate when people’s rights have been violated.

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Tackling Anti-Gypsyism against Roma EU Migrants

The number of hate crimes reported in Sweden remains high, as does the number of those that go unreported. Despite the high number of cases, only a few lead to prosecution or conviction. To change this, we are working together with Skåne City Mission to prevent hate crimes against Roma EU migrants in Malmö.

Read more about our work

Historic Victory in the court of Appeal

In 2017, the Swedish Court of Appeals ruled that a police registry of Roma people, revealed in 2013, was illegal and that the Swedish State is guilty of ethnic discrimination in the case and ordered the payment of historic damages. The ruling was a major victory for Civil Rights Defenders and for the approximately 4700 Roma who had been included in the registry.

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Press and media

Are you a journalist and want to book an interview with one of our experts on the situation for human rights in the country or interview human rights defenders from Sweden?

For more information and inquiries, please contact us here:
+46 (0)76 576 27 62 / press@crd.org

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