Human Rights in Sweden
Sweden has earned an international reputation as a country where human rights law is respected. However, serious flaws exist affecting ethnic and sexual minorities, persons with disabilities, women and the elderly who are often exposed to discrimination and other human
Human Rights in Sweden
Sweden has earned an international reputation as a country where human rights law is respected. However, serious flaws exist affecting ethnic and sexual minorities, persons with disabilities, women and the elderly who are often exposed to discrimination and other human rights abuses.
There are also other human rights issues that affect Sweden such as the increasing police violence, violations of privacy, ethnic 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. These are the main areas of focus for Civil Rights Defenders and will outlined in greater detail below.
Details have emerged in recent years demonstrating how Sweden has been heavily involved in telecommunications surveillance. There is a lack of effective protection of individual rights coupled with substandard mechanisms for transparency and accountability. Information from, among others, the whistle-blower Edward Snowden has shown that the Swedish Authority Defence Radio Establishment (FRA) has worked closely with its counterparts in the USA and UK. It has emerged that the FRA both engages in active signals intelligence but also that it shares large amounts of unprocessed raw data with American and British intelligence services. These revelations stand in direct contrast to previous assurances given by the FRA and the Swedish government.
The legislation that governs FRA’s activities limits the agency’s ability both to monitor people in Sweden and to participate in joint international operations. But the law regulating the FRA is vague and equipped with several exceptions that are difficult to interpret. The Defence Intelligence Court is supposed to guarantee that the legislation is complied with and must grant formal approval to any signal intelligence activities. The State Inspection for Defence Intelligence (SIUN) is also charged with overseeing the activities of the FRA. However, these control mechanisms are insufficient. An EU report published in November 2013 found that the national regulatory mechanisms in Sweden both lack independence and ability to effectively review and monitor compliance wit