A/HRC/13/31
detention and the treatment of the detainees. There was also no information about the
procedures in place to decide about their detention and its duration. This practice is
believed to amount to enforced disappearance and to involve other serious human rights
violations, including torture or other ill-treatment.
537. The role of the Government in this practice allegedly includes the detention of
persons inside its territory and their extrajudicial transfer to the custody of foreign
intelligence agencies.
538. There were also reports that the Government of Sweden was allegedly informed by
the secret detention of a number of persons falling under its jurisdiction or protection and
provided no information of their fate or whereabouts to their respective families. The
Government did not seek to facilitate their return.
Reply from the Government
539. On 8 July 2009, the Government replied to the general allegation stating that it noted
that the Working Group made general reference to information received from sources
without any further specification concerning the nature of these sources. Unfortunately,
based on the general and unspecified information provided by the Working Group, the
Government is not in a position to provide substantive answers to the questions posed by
the Working Group.
540. With the view to investigate earlier allegations put forward in Swedish media
regarding the Government’s involvement in renditions, the Government instructed the
Swedish Civil Aviation Authority and the LFV Group (Swedish Airports and Air
Navigation Services) to carry out an investigation into the exact circumstances of all flights
made by aircrafts suspected of being allegedly used to carry out renditions between 1
January 2002 and 17 November 2005. The results of the investigations have been presented
in two reports of 7 December 2005 and 15 December 2005 and included more than 19,000
flights, both arrivals and departures. The finding of the reports is that it cannot be
concluded that any of these flights were connected to the alleged practice of rendition.
These reports have inter alia been submitted to the Secretary General of the Council of
Europe. Finally, the Government assures that no enforced disappearances have been
sanctioned by the Government of Sweden or Swedish authorities.
Observations
541. The Working Group notes that the Government has signed the International
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and calls upon
the Government to ratify it and accept the competence of the Committee under articles 31
and 32.
Switzerland
Number of
outstanding
cases at the
beginning of
the period
under review
1
110
Cases transmitted to the
Government during the period
under review: 0
Cases clarified during the period
under review: 1
Cases sent
under the
urgent action
procedure
Cases sent
under the
standard
procedure
0
0
Government
Nongovernmental
sources
Number of
outstanding
cases at the end
of the year
under review
1
0
0
GE.09-17704
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