A/HRC/55/47/Add.2 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that, in the drive to address violent extremism and societal violence, Sweden cannot afford to set aside the strength and resources that can be drawn from diversity. D. Discrimination on the basis of religion or belief 45. The Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination against individuals in a variety of ways (see para. 18) and is aimed at combating discrimination and promoting equal rights and opportunities regardless of sex, transgender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation or age. The office of the Equality Ombudsman oversees compliance with the Act, promotes equal rights and opportunities, and ensures that individuals subjected to discrimination obtain redress. It regularly reports on incidences of discrimination and harassment, and obstacles to equal rights and opportunities, and reports annually on the state of discrimination in Sweden, drawing from complaints filed with it. Over the past decade, it has carried out numerous studies on perceived discrimination, including on grounds of religion or belief.10 46. In the reports, it is acknowledged that discrimination is a widespread and complex societal problem. In surveys and perception studies, ethnicity (which often overlaps with religion or belief in Sweden) is the second most common ground for perceived discrimination after that of sex. Of the actual complaints filed with the Equality Ombudsman, ethnicity is also the second most common ground for discrimination, after disability. The Equality Ombudsman most commonly receives complaints relating to working life and education. Perception studies also show perceived discrimination by the police and negative portrayals of persons belonging to religious minorities, in particular Muslims, in the media. In a 2010 study, based on 100 in-depth interviews with persons who had reported discrimination, many of the participating Muslim men reported that they often felt branded as “dangerous terrorists” or as “oppressors of women” by society at large. Persons belonging to various non-conformist Christian communities reported that they sometimes felt perceived as “a bit simple” or just “generally suspicious in general” by society at large. In its 2021 report on racism, the Ombudsman for Children in Sweden, drawing on existing research, noted the prevalence of bullying or derogation based on religion or belief among schoolchildren.11 47. The Special Rapporteur notes that the Discrimination Act does not comprehensively protect all public activities. Law enforcement agencies, including police, prison, customs and migration officials, for example, are not fully covered, including in relation to their acts of authority. The Special Rapporteur was informed during her visit of an inquiry into the matter, commissioned some years ago. A report with relevant proposals was completed in late 202112 and remains with the Government for its consideration. 48. A case heard at the Swedish Labour Court in December 2023 13 determined that a Muslim woman working as a security guard in the Stockholm subway was not subjected to discrimination when prohibited from wearing a headscarf at work. The court noted that the employer had a neutrality policy that prohibited the wearing of visible political, philosophical or religious symbols during working hours, and held that such symbols could be perceived as provocative in certain situations by individuals with opposing sympathies and beliefs, increasing the risk of threats and violence. The Special Rapporteur notes the criticism of the ruling among legal experts, further noting how the prohibition of discrimination, including on the basis of sex and religion, is at risk of erosion when restrictions are justified on the basis of assumptions about risks. 10 11 12 13 GE.24-04001 There are also various local and regional anti-discrimination bureaux. See https://www.barnombudsmannen.se/globalassets/dokument/publikationer/om-barns-och-ungasutsatthet-for-rasism_2021.pdf (in Swedish). See https://www.regeringen.se/rattsliga-dokument/statens-offentliga-utredningar/2021/12/sou202194/ (in Swedish). Swedish Labour Court, Judgment No. 71/23, 13 December 2023. 9