Defending Human Rights by Dialogue

The Swedish Minister for Integration and Gender Equality, Ms Nyamko Sabuni, does not exactly personify a typical European Minister. Consequently, Forum 2007 was not a typical European conference.

"Sweden had the opportunity to host this conference and we wanted to do it differently. I hope we succeeded; it was an experiment. Hopefully we have inspired others to break the usual patterns and do things a bit differently," she says. She particularly stresses the importance of creating conditions for a true dialogue.

"What I miss most at ordinary seminars is that no one connects to what others say, as all the speeches are prepared in advance. So despite the intention to create interactivity, it doesn't happen. I also believe that people can talk more freely in small groups. When in plenary the demands are so high, everything has to be so perfect. This can often lead to speeches not fitting into the ongoing discussion."

The invitations to Forum 2007 were widely spread. Many NGOs were invited - not only the international NGOs, but also the small, local ones - as well as political representatives from local, regional and national levels.

"I pleaded with other governments to consider diversity when making up the delegations," Nyamko Sabuni explains.
One might say that the set-up of the conference was a reflection on the Swedish approach to addressing human rights issues. But even if this approach has been successful at the national level, there is still a long way to go.

Human rightss violations in Sweden

"In Sweden there has been a general belief that human rights violations only happen in other countries. We Swedes sometimes find it difficult to understand that discrimination, men's violence against women and maltreatment of the Roma people are human rights violations taking place in Sweden. It is important that we clearly communicate that this is the case and continue to work systematically to counteract further violations."

In these endeavours, Ms Sabuni stresses the importance of the National Action Plan for Human Rights, which has been launched for the period 2006-2009. A central measure that has been carried out as part of the action plan is the establishment of the Delegation for Human Rights in Sweden.

A delegation for implementation

The Delegation is composed of persons with experience from politics, public administration, civil society and the private sector. Its task is to support long-term work to ensure full respect for Sweden's international human rights commitments in the activities conducted by government agencies, municipalities and county councils.

"I believe we have good reasons to be proud of the Action Plan, and I hope it can serve as an inspiration to other countries that are willing to admit and address these problems."

One important aspect of the Action Plan is the political consensus; all political parties supported the idea of adopting such a plan and around 400 actors from all sectors of society were invited to take part in compiling it.

"When addressing these issues I believe it is important to look for consensus; these kind of long-term plans should not be discarded when a new government is elected," Ms Sabuni underlines.

The Swedish Action Plan was actually drawn up under the leadership of the former Social Democratic government, and is now being implemented by the newly elected Alliance for Sweden Government.

"Focus may be a bit different in our implementation, but we are continuing on the same track to create long-term sustainability and to keep working to ensure full respect for human rights in Sweden."

Personal experience of discrimination

Discrimination, regardless of its type and motive, is the one thing she wants to particularly stress and this is a common theme throughout the Action Plan. Is this linked to her personal experiences?

"I did not usually realise until it was too late that I had been discriminated against. So in that respect, I am not a good example. Intellectually I know what discrimination is about, but I don't let it get to me emotionally. But my advice is to speak up at once when you feel something is wrong. Never let it stay within and turn into aggression and bitterness."

She recalls one time when she was young and applied for a job. The initial interview over the phone went fine, and she was called for a meeting. When she turned up, the potential employer lost his cool and burst out: "Oh, are you that black!"

"Well, what could I say? I am this black! So the incident was no shock to me. This man had an image of what a Swede should look like. This Swede just looked rather different!"