A/HRC/55/47/Add.2
(i)
Confront discriminatory anti-migrant and racist rhetoric that has marred
politics and media and creates fear and a sense of lack of belonging for some religious
communities, inhibits public participation, leads to underreporting of incidents, puts
asylum-seekers at risk of refoulement, including regarding sur place or other
conversions, and creates a climate conducive to disinformation campaigns. Rights are
to be guaranteed by law, not trampled on for political ambition;
(j)
Establish independent and specialized institutions that meet international
standards for carrying out work to counter hate speech, and accessible mechanisms for
religious and belief communities and civil society organizations to be able to report hate
speech based on religion or belief;
(k)
Expand awareness-raising initiatives addressing discrimination and
intolerance, recognizing that they transcend religious and ethnic distinctions, and
further promote religious literacy and literacy of freedom of religion or belief;
(l)
Train teachers to teach the importance of freedom of religion or belief for
a pluralistic, diverse Swedish society that welcomes all, as part of or alongside
citizenship education;
(m) Regularly collect disaggregated data relating to religion or belief to help
address the serious underreporting of violations of freedom or belief, help authorities
to become aware of its prevalence, and provide an empirical basis for developing
policies to enhance enjoyment of this right;
(n)
Ensure that the country’s multi-tiered governmental financial support for
faith, which is an international good practice, is not distorted through discriminatory
assumptions about different groups or politicized. Notwithstanding challenges, foreign
funding for religious activities should not be considered suspect if it is legal;
(o)
Continue to strengthen regular engagement and dialogue with faith
communities and interfaith organizations at every level of government in an
environment of trust-building and open exchange, which, among other things,
stimulates religious communities and civil society organizations to report all instances
of discrimination to the authorities, including the police and local authorities; and
facilitate and encourage interfaith initiatives, especially those rooted in the community
and set up by faith communities and civil society organizations themselves;
(p)
Continue to work towards ratification of the Indigenous and Tribal
Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) of the International Labour Organization, while
considering further measures to strengthen the access of the Sami people to influence,
participation and livelihoods in full respect of their freedom of religion or belief; and
take all necessary measures to ensure that Sami remains and sacred objects are
repatriated to Sápmi;
(q)
Strengthen the institutional setting of human rights protection, including
by taking all measures necessary to allow the Swedish Institute of Human Rights to
discharge its mandate in full compatibility with the principles relating to the status of
national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris
Principles).
GE.24-04001
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