U.S. Mission to International
Organizations in Geneva

As delivered by Charles Bentley

The United States welcomes the delegation of Sweden to the UPR Working Group.

The United States recommends that Sweden:

1. Strengthen efforts to combat anti-Semitism at all levels of government by engaging with civil society, and by instituting training for law enforcement and prosecutors.
2. Prioritize and devote additional resources, such as establishing hate crimes units in all police districts, to deter, investigate, and prosecute hate crimes, including those based on race, religion/creed, or national origin.
3. Reduce the average length of pretrial detentions and eliminate pretrial detentions over six months in length.

We commend Sweden on its long track record of protecting and promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms.  However, we are concerned about societal intolerance toward members of minority religious and ethnic groups, particularly frequent instances of targeting against members of the Jewish community.  We are encouraged by the government’s decision to hold an October 2020 International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Anti-Semitism.