sou · GYB370 · 2011-01-01 00:00:00 — As a result of accession to Union (EU), the incorporation of Convention on Human Rights into Swedish law in 1995 and internationalisation, issues relating to human rights have become increasingly topical in the application of law, other public activities and society at large. The international rules on human rights are being steadily developed and are having a clearer impact on the Swedish legal system and administration. An increased need is thus arising for people who are in these fields to address the conventions on human rights and the practice and pronouncements of the convention bodies. The Government has recurrently, for instance in the two national action plans for human rights, pronounced the objective of full respect for human rights and its intention to raise the level of knowledge and awareness of human rights in . In the Delegations view, it would significantly strengthen knowledge and awareness of human rights if these rights were highlighted in various ways in public administration directly on the basis of the international rules. Human rights also represent a set of values for society at large. It is important that individuals, including children and young people, understand the meaning of human rights, both as their own rights and as the rights of others. Efforts should therefore also be made to raise the level of public knowledge and awareness of human rights as the rights of the individual and the obligations of the public institutions. On this basis, the Delegation proposes actions in several areas. Judicial regulation, governance and supervision of work on human rights The fact that transformation is the usual method for embodying conventions on human rights in Swedish legislation means that the rights may be expressed in a number of provisions in different statutory instruments without necessarily becoming visible speci- fically as human rights. According to the principle of interpretation in accordance with existing treaties, however, Swedish internal law has to be interpreted in a way which is consistent with international commitments, provided this is possible within the framework of the wording of the Swedish provision. In the event of a clear conflict between a right under a convention which has not been incorporated and a provision in Swedish internal law, the latter takes precedence. Since joined the EU it has become increasingly necessary to apply legal rules of an international nature. However, there is no clear tradition yet for applying other international rules or documents, despite the principle of interpretation in accordance with existing treaties. The Delegation considers it important that awareness of human rights, and the custom of using the con- ventions as a guide in Swedish administration and , should be raised. This may, for example, mean using the conventions and the pronouncements of the convention bodies in interpreting national law in areas in which has repeatedly had to take opinions from the convention bodies. The international commitments has made through its membership of the EU and in the framework of cooperation in the UN and intergovernmental organisations are interrelated and influence one another. Now that the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights has become legally binding, the need for knowledge of human rights is also increasing. In the Delegations view there are thus reasons why human rights should now be highlighted more clearly during the legislative process and in the application of law. If full respect for human rights is to be ensured and violations of rights are to be prevented, the work of protecting human rights needs to be continuous and present at every stage of the legislative and judicial process. The Delegation proposes that an inquiry should be appointed with the remit to investigate the suitability of incorporating more human rights conventions into Swedish law. years have now elapsed since the question of incorporating Convention on Human Rights was investigated and more than ten years since an inquiry considered whether the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ought to be incorporated. Since then, work on human rights has been intensified at the national level, in part through the national action plans, and has gained fifteen years of experience in applying Convention on Human Rights as Swedish law. Several UN conventions on human rights have been incorporated in . In the Delegations view, arguments can be advanced both for and against incorporating conventions on human rights. Regardless of the possibility of doubt on the effects and consequences of incorporation, the Delegation considers that the decision on what position the conventions are to have in Swedish law should be based on a thorough analysis in the light of current circumstances. Despite regular discussion on the issue of incorporation, there is no recent and in-depth analysis in the public press and other literature of the issue of incorporating conventions on human rights into Swedish law. The Delegation considers that the suitability of incorporating more conventions on human rights should therefore be investigated. The Delegation also proposes that provisions which explicitly refer to the agreements on human rights which has made a commitment to comply with should be introduced, for purposes of clarification, into several existing statutory instruments. This work should start both with some special laws which govern public activity in situations in which people are particularly vulnerable in relation to, or dependent on, the public institutions, for example because they are deprived of their freedom, are ill, are refugees or in some other way are in need of the support of society, and with some statutory instruments of general significance for public administration. The statutory proposals which the Delegation presents in these areas have been formulated in an overarching and guiding . The proposed provisions refer to the conventions on human rights as guiding all activity, without the texts of the conventions themselves being directly applicable. The objective of the proposed statutory provisions is to clarify and provide a reminder of what already applies today, namely the fact that the human rights conventions are to be used as material for interpretation in the application of national legislation. The laws concerned include the Act, the Act on the Treatment of Persons Arrested or Remanded in Custody, the Prisons Act, the Care of (Special Provisions) Act, the Closed Juvenile Detention Act, the Aliens Act, the Health and Act and the Planning and Act. To ensure that responsibility to take account of human rights is also clarified in an overarching way in the governance and supervision of public activity, the Delegation proposes that provisions referring to human rights should be introduced into the Administrative Procedure Act and the Ordinance. The Delegation also proposes that provisions sig- nifying an obligation to take account of human rights in regulation and in the context of government inquiries should also be intro- duced into the Ordinance on Impact Assessment in Regulation and the Committees Ordinance. In addition, the Delegation proposes that the responsibility of the municipalities and county councils to respect human rights should be clarified in the Local Government Act. The proposed provision is in the nature of guidance and does not encroach upon local government autonomy. Furthermore, provisions on responsibility for human rights being respected should be introduced into the instructions for a selection of government agencies, primarily those responsible for activities in the areas covered by the proposals for clarifications in law, including the Swedish , , the Swedish Prison and , , , and , and Planning. The Delegation also proposes that the Government should con- tinue the development of work on human rights in in a third national action plan or equivalent strategy document. The Government should aim for a high degree of collaboration with other actors on the action plan, both in the preparation of the document and in the implementation of the measures. A national institution for human rights The UN General in adopted Principles Relating to the Status of National Institutions, the Principles, which indicate guidelines for national institutions charged with promoting and protecting human rights. At the World Conference on Human Rights in in 1993, the Member States of the UN agreed through the Declaration, which was adopted by the General in the same year, that all countries should have a national institution for human rights. Under the Principles, national institutions for human rights have to have an independent position and a broad mandate to protect and promote human rights. The number of countries which have established national institutions for human rights is steadily rising. In 2010 there were such institutions in response to the Principles in 67 countries. The UN High Commissioner and for Human Rights, as well as for Fundamental Rights, all emphasise the importance of Member States having national institutions which promote and protect human rights at national level. has on several occasions been advised to establish a national institution for human rights by the UNs monitoring committees, and also in the periodic review by the . The Delegation proposes that a national institution – the Commission for Human Rights – be established in on the basis of the Principles. This Commission should have an independent position, as recommended in the Principles, and a broad mandate to protect and promote human rights in . The Commission should be tasked in particular with -studying and reporting on how human rights are respected in and submitting proposals on how the situation can be improved, -proposing statutory changes or other measures which are needed to ensure that international commitments on human rights are fulfilled, -having contacts with international organisations and also in other respects taking part in international cooperation on issues relating to human rights, and -promoting education, research and professional development, information and increased awareness of human rights in . It should not be part of the Commissions mandate to consider complaints of human rights violations in individual cases. Experience from the Parliamentary Ombudsmen and the Equality Ombudsman suggests that the Commission would probably receive a large number of complaints if it had the power to consider them. This would seriously encroach upon the Commissions ability to set its own priorities. The Delegation proposes that the Commission for Human Rights should be established as a public agency under the Riksdag. The Commission should be headed by three commissioners elected by the Riksdag. Under the Principles, a national institution for human rights is to have a mandate regulated by constitution or ordinary law. As the Delegation considers it desirable for the Commission to be appointed without delay, it is proposed that the Commission should be established through amendments to the Riksdag Act and through a law containing instructions for the Commission for Human Rights. The position and mandate of the Commission should then also be set forth in the Instrument of Government. The Commission for Human Rights is not intended to take over any part of the responsibility incumbent on other public institutions to respect international commitments on human rights. The role of the Commission should instead be to promote the safeguarding of human rights from a comprehensive perspective and to work in a supportive and proactive in relation to other actors. Education, research and knowledge development Work towards full respect for human rights in requires knowledge. As mentioned above, individuals should have an awareness and knowledge of human rights, both their own and those of others. Those who are in the public sector need to be aware of human rights as obligations the public institutions have to fulfil in relation to the individual. The new Education Act, which came into force on 1 2010 and is applicable to most education programmes with effect from 1 2011, stipulates that schools have to convey, and establish broad support for, human rights and design the actual education provided in accordance with these rights. Delegations opinion, this is a significant reform. Clear for- mulations on education on human rights should now also be introduced into curricula and syllabuses for the public school system. In view of the schools clarified responsibility for human rights, it is also crucial that there are good teaching materials in the area which are capable of placing human rights in a Swedish context, and that the National Schools Inspectorate, through its supervision, ensures that schools are fulfilling their responsibility for human rights. In line with the clear role which human rights have acquired in the new Education Act, a corresponding provision should also be introduced into the Higher Education Act. Degree descriptions for vocational education programmes where human rights are of particular relevance to the students future careers and where requirements for knowledge of human rights are not yet included should be supplemented by the addition of such a requirement. Training and professional development relating to human rights for public officials are already undertaken today. However, the measures taken are often temporary in nature, and there is no long- term plan regarding how skills relating to international commitments on human rights are to be offered to government officials. The Delegation therefore proposes that the Government should task () with devising a strategy for how government officials should be given long-term and systematic training on human rights. The Government should also invite the Authorities and Regions to take part in an dialogue to discuss how to ensure that employees and elected repre- sentatives in municipalities and county council can be offered professional development on human rights in a systematic and long-term . Research on human rights in is undertaken to a limited extent at present. The level of knowledge on human rights impacts on the of achieving success in efforts to ensure respect for human rights in . Research on the role of rights in key areas of society such as health care, education, the legal system and democratic processes is necessary for the work on human rights in these sectors. It is therefore crucial that the Government encourages research and other development of knowledge on how human rights are regulated, applied and perceived in . The Delegation proposes that a long-term research programme on human rights in should be established. This research programme should consist of four parts: a basic research part, a graduate school, needs-motivated research studies and a research network. The Government should task the with formulating and managing this research programme more closely in cooperation with other research programmes. As human rights issues are of a cross-sectoral nature, the Delegation considers it important to aim for a large number of scientific disciplines to be represented and for the research to cover the whole breadth of human rights. Initiatives should also be taken to develop statistics on human rights as basic data for both development of knowledge and follow- up. Indicator systems covering the reporting of quantitative data in the form of statistics have been introduced or are being devised in a number of policy areas. The principal purpose of such systems is to be able to follow development in a structured and in so doing to be able to design well-targeted initiatives. Another pur- pose is to be able to report on development to the Riksdag. The Delegation considers that the trend in the human rights situation should also be followed up and presented in this way. The Delegation therefore proposes that, under the next national action plan or equivalent strategy for human rights, the Government should develop national targets and indicators for human rights in collaboration with the Authorities and Regions, taking account of the work on such indicators undertaken in international organisations. Civil society and the business community Civil society and the business community have important functions to fulfil in the protection and promotion of human rights. Respect for human rights, and knowledge and awareness of them, depend on a strong and varied civil society in which various organisations, groups and interests can have a say. Human rights are strengthened by there being actors in civil society who monitor and highlight human rights issues and who can present peoples experiences of shortcomings and strengths in the protection of rights. The civil society organisations also have an important role to play in the work of disseminating knowledge and awareness of human rights. When the organisations provide services on official instructions they have the same responsibilities as the public institutions to respect the human rights of the individual. There are systems today for providing government support to civil society organisations who are in a number of areas. Although many of the organisations which receive government support in accordance with these support systems work partly or indirectly on issues relating to human rights, there is a lack of support systems at present for organisations whose objective it is to work for human rights in in an overarching way. Support for such activity is instead directed towards certain limited rights issues, types of organisations or kinds of activity. The Delegation therefore proposes that the Government conducts a review of existing grant systems for government support to civil society organisations with the aim of clarifying whether they work satisfactorily in relation to the work of the organisations for human rights, or whether changes need to be made so that the organisations can make a still greater contribution to promoting respect for human rights in . Several initiatives have been taken at both international and national level to clarify the social responsibility of business with regard to human rights. The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Business and Human Rights has presented a framework for these issues. The Delegation proposes that the Government should take practical measures to implement the framework in a systematic way, earmarking sufficient resources for the work. These measures can suitably be designed in a way equivalent to the statement jointly made by the Swedish and Spanish governments during Presidency of the EU. The Guidelines for , which relate among other things to respect for human rights, are being updated in 2010 and 2011, and a revised version of the Guidelines will probably be published in 2011. The Delegation proposes that the Government should arrange for the new Guidelines to be translated into Swedish and have the previous handbook revised in accordance with the new Guidelines. The Government should also actively disseminate the Guidelines and the Handbook and urge Swedish multinational companies to ensure that human rights are respected in their operations in and abroad. The Delegation also proposes that the Government should implement measures to actively disseminate the forthcoming international standard on social responsibility, ISO 26000, and encourage its use by organisations in civil society, business and the public sector. Kommissionen för mänskliga rättigheter lag om ändring i riksdagsordningen Härigenom föreskrivs i fråga om riksdagsordningen1 dels att 3 kap. 8 § ska ha följande lydelse, dels att det ska införas en ny paragraf, 8 kap. 15 a §, samt närmast före paragrafen en ny rubrik av följande lydelse, dels att det ska införas en ny tilläggsbestämmelse 3.8.6 av föl- jande lydelse. Riksdagsstyrelsen, fullmäktige och direktionen i , ombudsmän, sty- relsen i samt riksrevisorerna får göra fram- ställningar hos i frå- gor som rör organets kompe- tens, organisation, personal eller verksamhetsformer. får föreskriva att riksdagsstyrelsen, fullmäktige och direktionen i , ombudsmän och Riksdagsstyrelsen, fullmäktige och direktionen i , ombudsmän, sty- relsen i , riksrevi- sorerna samt Kommissionen för mänskliga rättigheter får göra framställningar hos i frågor som rör organets kompe- tens, organisation, personal eller verksamhetsformer. får föreskriva att riksdagsstyrelsen, fullmäktige och direktionen i , ombudsmän, sty- 1 Riksdagsordningen omtryckt 2007:726. styrelsen i även i andra fall får göra framställ- rättigheter även i andra fall får göra framställningar hos riks- Särskilda bestämmelser om redogörelser till från ett riksdagsorgan finns i lag. Vad som sägs i första stycket gäller också var och en av riksrevisorerna i . Ytterligare föreskrifter om sådana framställningar finns i lagen (2002:1023) med instruktion för . Kommissionen för mänskliga rättigheter får göra fram- ställningar hos med anledning av en fråga som uppkommit vid utförandet av uppdraget. Ytterligare föreskrifter om sådana framställningar finns i lagen (0000:000) med instruktion för Kommissionen för mänskliga rättigheter. Kommissionen för mänskliga rättigheter ska välja tre kommissionärer att leda Kommissionen för mänskliga rättigheter. Kommissionen för mänskliga rättigheter ska i enlighet med den instruktion som beslutar främja säker- ställandet av de mänskliga rättigheterna i . Kommis- sionen beslutar självständigt hur verksamheten ska bedrivas. En av kommissionärerna ska svara för myndighetens admi- nistrativa ledning. bestämmer vem av kommissio- närerna som ska ha denna upp- gift. Kommissionärerna väljs var för sig. Vid val med slutna sedlar tillämpas förfarandet i 1 § andra stycket. Val av kommissionär gäller från valet eller den senare tidpunkt som bestäm- mer till dess att nytt val har genomförts under sjunde året därefter och den då valde har tillträtt uppdraget. Valet ska dock aldrig gälla längre än till ut- gången av detta år. En kommis- sionär kan inte väljas om. På förslag av konstitutions- utskottet får entlediga en kommissionär som inte har förtroende. Om en kommissionär avgår , ska välja en efterträdare för en ny sju- årsperiod. lag (0000:000) med instruktion för Kommissionen för mänskliga rättigheter Härigenom föreskrivs följande. 1 § Kommissionen för mänskliga rättigheter är enligt 8 kap. 15 a § riksdagsordningen en myndighet under med uppgift att främja säkerställandet av de mänskliga rättigheterna i . Kommissionen beslutar självständigt hur verksamheten ska bedrivas. 2 § Kommissionen har särskilt till uppgift att 1.undersöka och rapportera om hur de mänskliga rättigheterna respekteras i samt föreslå åtgärder för att förbättra situationen, 2.föreslå författningsändringar eller andra åtgärder som behövs för att säkerställa att internationella åtaganden om de mänskliga rättigheterna uppfylls, 3.ha kontakter med internationella organisationer och även i övrigt delta i internationellt samarbete om frågor som rör de mänskliga rättigheterna, samt 4.främja utbildning, forskning och kompetensutveckling, information och ökad medvetenhet om de mänskliga rättigheterna i . Kommissionen ska inte pröva klagomål om kränkningar av de mänskliga rättigheterna i enskilda fall. 3 § Förvaltningsmyndigheter, kommuner och landsting ska på begäran lämna kommissionen det biträde som den behöver för att kunna fullgöra sina uppgifter. Detsamma ska gälla för andra som fullgör uppgifter inom den offentliga förvaltningen. 4 § Uppkommer i kommissionens verksamhet anledning att väcka fråga om en författningsändring eller någon annan åtgärd från statens sida, får kommissionen göra framställning i ämnet till enligt tilläggsbestämmelsen 3.8.6 till riksdagsordningen eller till regeringen.