Finally time for Sweden to catch up on Human Rights?
On 9 June, the Swedish Parliament will vote on whether or not to create a long-overdue body for human rights promotion and protection, the Swedish National Institute for Human Rights.
Join us in the aftermath of this historic decision as we discuss critical issues, including the implications for human rights in Sweden. We will also discuss the role of the new Institute as well as its quest for international legitimacy. Should the vote go against, the debate will be livelier still!
Morten Kjærum is Director of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and adjunct Professor at Aalborg University. Morten was the founding director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights and has been Chair of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GHANRI, formerly ICC) as well as .of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI).
Anna-Karin Lindblom is Inquiry Chair for the establishment of a Human Rights Institute. She is Head of the Gender Equality Unit at the Ministry of Labour, a position she is now on leave from. She has extensive experience from the Government Offices, where she was previously Head of the Division for Youth Policy, Civil Society and Adult Education, but also worked with human rights at the national level. She is a lawyer and has a doctorate in international law.
Mia Ahlgren, Disability Policy Officer, is the human rights and cross-sectoral disability policy officer at the Swedish Disability Rights Federation, representing the national umbrella for 49 organisations of persons with disabilities. She has been active in international and European policy on disability rights, accessibility and Universal Design since 2003. She coordinated the work of civil society organisations to produce a national report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2019.
Jason Naum is an independent expert on National Human Rights Institutions, based in Denmark. For over a decade he led the Raoul Wallenberg Institute’s education and capacity development work with NHRIs internationally, working on issues ranging from legislation and accreditation to training and institutional strengthening with institutions in Europe, South and South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from Lund University with a specialization in international human rights and humanitarian law.
Read more: Our work with NHRIs
Read more: The Swedish National Institute for Human Rights
For more information, please contact:
Josh Ounsted
Josh is Head of the Thematic Area ‘Access to Justice’.
He previously served as the Director of the RWI Regional Office in Nairobi and before that as Director of the Institute’s Office in Jakarta. Prior to working for RWI, he worked for organisations including the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights.