A/HRC/15/60
persistent discrimination against Roma and Sámi and the increasing number of racially
motivated hate crimes; the implementation of a ban on racist organizations; the specific
needs of migrant children and their rights to education, health and adequate housing; the
issue of torture in national legislation; and violence against women and the need to develop
a national plan of action to combat it. It called upon the Government of Sweden to adopt
and take effective laws and measures to address the recommendations effectively, including
those provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
487. Thailand commended the active contribution of the Government of Sweden to
human rights and humanitarian activities at both the domestic and international levels.
Thailand supported the recommendation that the Government consider the establishment of
a national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles. It also welcomed
the recommendations relating to measures dealing with violence against women. Thailand
encouraged Sweden to strengthen further the protection of human rights of migrant
workers, especially the rights of women victims of trafficking. Thailand urged Sweden to
take steps to ensure the implementation of its policies on combating sexual violence and its
law prohibiting the purchase of sexual services, hoping that these laws would be an
important tool for preventing the trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children.
488. Indonesia thanked the delegation of Sweden for its updates and detailed information.
It commended Sweden’s long-standing tradition of promoting human rights, democracy and
providing international development assistance to countries in need. It noted that Sweden
had not yet established a national human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles,
and reiterated its recommendation that it continue to work in this area. While expressing
support for press freedom and freedom of expression, Indonesia stressed that deliberate
religious-based provocative acts only perpetuated Islamophobia and intolerance and
undermined collective efforts to promote peace, mutual respect and understanding between
different communities. Indonesia hoped that such examples of intolerance would not be
repeated and that Swedish legislation prohibiting such crimes and hate speech would be
strengthened. Indonesia also welcomed Sweden’s initiative to establish bilateral dialogues
on human rights, including with Indonesia.
3.
General comments made by other relevant stakeholders
489. The International Save the Children Alliance called on Sweden to prioritize the
rights of undocumented children by, inter alia, implementing recommendations calling it to
adopt a legislative framework to ensure that all migrant children have access to the same
health-care services. It stressed the importance of including both undocumented children
and adults in the right to health care, since the well-being of a child was linked to that of the
child’s parents. It referred to recommendation 95.80, and called on the Government to
ensure that the principle of the best interest of the child would guide all related processes
and decisions, especially in asylum-seeking cases involving children. The Alliance called
upon Sweden to appoint an inquiry charged with framing legislation establishing that childspecific reasons or specific forms of persecution may serve as grounds for granting refugee
or other protective status.
490. The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom strongly supported the
recommendations made by treaty bodies that Sweden should allocate sufficient funding for
the advancement of women and, in this regard, requested the Government to look at
disarmament and a decrease in military spending as ways to ensure sufficient funds. The
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action that called on Governments to reduce
excessive military expenditure and control the availability of armaments with the purpose
of increasing the amount of available resources for, inter alia, human security, renewable
energy and sustainable infrastructure. Selling arms to unstable countries undermined the
principle of the responsibility to protect and facilitated budget allocations contrary to both
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GE.11-17043
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