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When Women’s Issues Disappear From The Conversation: The Human Rights Situation In Sweden

5 February 2015

Racial discrimination, hate speech, rights of migrant workers, etc.: various were the issues raised as priorities during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Sweden. However, gender equality and women’s issues were dramatically absent from the discussion. But is all the work already done on gender equality?

Gender based violence

Each year, about 17 women and girls are killed in Sweden by a current or former partner. 50% of the reported cases of deadly violence could have been avoided, had the authorities reacted adequately. 46% of all women in Sweden have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a partner and/or a non-partner since the age of 15, while the EU average is 33%[1].

Despite WILPF Sweden’s recommendations to tackle high rates of domestic violence and ensure that victims have access to an adequate support system, very few countries addressed gender issues. In fact, only 12 out of 93 participants expressed concerns regarding women’s rights.

The majority of gender-related recommendations focused on reducing the wage gap between men and women. Greece and the Philippines, however, did recommend Sweden to analyze and address root causes of violence against women.

WILPF, nonetheless, deplores the under-representation of gender and women’s issues in the human rights conversation on Sweden.

Racial discrimination and xenophobia

In 2010, the political party Sverigedemokraterna (SD), springing from the neo Nazi movement and whose politics rest on a fascist ideology, was elected into the national parliament for the first time. In 2014, this party won almost 13% of the votes.

Furthermore, according to a report by the Afro-Swedish Association, while hate crimes are decreasing in general, afro-phobic hate crimes are increasing. In addition, the Roma remain very exposed to discrimination in the Swedish society, including institutionalised discrimination such as the Roma register established by the police in southern Sweden in 2013.

Many UN state members expressed concerns with regard to the rising of hate speech, racial discrimination and xenophobia.

WILPF, who supports prevention of, and action against, structural racism and extremism, welcomed the high number of recommendations addressing such issues. Slovenia, for instance, encouraged Sweden to better promote tolerance and further develop inter-cultural dialogue.

Similarly, several countries, such as Canada and Argentina, recommended adopting judicial and administrative measure to ensure effective investigation and prosecutions in cases of hate speech as well as hate crimes.

WILPF’s remaining concerns

Given the fact that Sweden has a large weapons industry and exports arms to non-democratic countries where human rights are violated, we regret that no member state raised the issue and the consequences of international arms trade on human rights. In fact, WILPF argues that arms sales to countries where there is risk of weapons being used to violate human rights must end immediately as mandated by the Arms Trade Treaty.

Even though the Human Rights Council has recognized the link between human rights violations and arms transfer, UPR sessions are still not addressing the violations of the rights of citizens in other countries and are, in particular, ignoring topics such as arms sales and its consequences on human rights.

What to do now?

Both the Human Rights programme and WILPF Sweden will now advocate for the full implementation of all recommendations and hope that the government will be open to receive support and advice in this task.

If you would like to know more on the UPR process, visit UPR Info’s webpage to find out how you can engage in the advancement of the human rights situation in your country.

Do you know what part of the process your country is in? You might still be in time to make a change! Spreading the word about the UPR mechanism is also essential to the protection and promotion of human rights.

To get the latest news directly to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter. Don’t forget to keep an eye on our website and to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

[1] European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Violence against women: an EU-wide survey, Main results

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.

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