Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

II. CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED 

A. Member States

Sweden

45. Sweden highlighted the fact that the fight against all forms of discrimination, including multiple discrimination, is one of the key human rights objectives of the Government. The most extensive initiative to achieve that goal in recent years is the new Anti-discrimination Act, which entered into force on 1 January 2009. The Act includes protection against discrimination on the five previously protected grounds; i.e., sex, ethnic origin, religion or other belief, disability and sexual orientation. It also adds two new grounds — age and transgender identity or expression.

46. Sweden noted that in conjunction with the adoption of the new Anti-discrimination Act, a new agency was established by merging the four previous anti-discrimination ombudsmen into a new body, namely, the Equality Ombudsman, who is mandated to supervise compliance with the Anti-discrimination Act and to combat discrimination and promote equal rights and opportunities for everyone.

47. Sweden noted that its penal code contains two provisions directly concerned with contempt or discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religious belief or sexual orientation; one relating to agitation against a national or ethnic group, the other to unlawful discrimination. The Code also contains a specific clause which states that, when assessing the penal value of a crime, it shall be considered an aggravating circumstance if the motive of a crime was to aggrieve a person, ethnic group, or some other similar group of people by reason of race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religious belief, sexual orientation or other similar circumstance.

Link to full text of the report: Report-Secretary-General-global efforts elimination racism-2010-eng