RED Network

In 2010, a total of 992 complaints were received.

Qualitative Info

The majority of the complaints reported to the Equality Ombudsman in 2010 were  in the area of employment. In 2010, a total of 992 complaints of discrimination in employment were made to the Equality Ombudsman, 289 of which concerned ethnic discrimination. As for the recruitment, the Equality Ombudsman received 202 complaints and for cases of on-going employment, 376 complaints. The most common cases were harassment in the workplace, wage and labour management (The Equality Ombudsman, Årsredovisning, p. 24, http://www.do.se/Documents/Material/%C3%85rsredovisningar/arsredovisningdo2010.pdf.) Accessed 2012-03-10). 

 

 

	2008	2009
Ethnic discrimination that ended up before Courts	·     4 court cases concerning Roma, two shops, restaurant and hotel. ·     1 case in the court of appeal ·     1 case in the Supreme court, won. ·     District court, Roma woman[1] ·     5 court cases concerning housing	Housing: 1 court case won and 1 court case lost, appealed to the Court of Appeal Health: 2 Court cases won.
Ethnic discrimination that ended up before Courts and led to a sanction	·     2 court cases won concerning Roma[2][3]	3 court cases won
Ethnic discrimination that ended up before Courts and led to a compensation	·     Supreme Court, compensation 5000 SEK (500 Euros).[4] ·     Court of appeal, compensation 25 000 SEK (2500 Euros).[5] ·     District court, compensation 40 000 SEK (400 Euros).[6] ·     Lidköping District court, compensation 50 000 SEK (5000 Euros). [7] ·     Svea District court, compensation 50 000 SEK (5000 Euros).[8]

 

 

External Url http://www.do.se/Documents/Material/%C3%85rsredovisningar/arsredovisningdo2010.pdf, www.do.se

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The number of cases where ethnic discrimination was found/established by the Equality Ombudsman was 584 cases in 2010. 

Numbers of cases 584

Qualitative Info

 

 

 

 

Table

 Type of sector- Ethnic discrimination 2010 

 

Type of sector	Ethnic discrimination
Employment agency	3
Employment	199
Not legally protcted	40
Health care	19
Membership	4
Parental Leave Act	1
Business/Profession	3
Public Procurement	34
Social security	20
Social services	33
Education	74
Housing	154
Military service	0
Total	584

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Source: The Equality Ombudsman, http://www.do.se

External Url www.do.se

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In 2010, the Equality Ombudsman (DO) reached 38 settlements and took 11 cases to court. 

Exemplary cases Roma woma refused to rent an apartment, Muslim man refused to shake hands

Qualitative Info

 

 

In 2010, the Equality Ombudsman (DO) brought an action in court in 19 cases.

Furthermore,  DO reached 38 settlements compared with 36 settlements lin 2009.

DO won a case in the Labour Court ( AD ) and five cases in a public court. DO has thus been successful in six cases of the eleven that were settled in court.  The corresponding results for 2009 were three cases out of twelve. 

 

 

Examplary cases during 2010 are as follows:

 

A woman was refused the opportunity to rent an apartment because her husband was Roma. The Equality Ombudsman and the landlord reached an agreement whereby the woman received 40 000 SEK in compensation. The woman was at the showing of an apartment with a management company in Finspång and signed a contract the next day. Neighbours had threatened to move because there had been problems with Roma in the area, according to the landlord. The Equality Ombudsman (DO) investigated the case and determined that the woman was the victim of ethnic discrimination. The parties reached a settlement that rewarded the woman 40 000 SEK (4 486 Euros). [1]

 

A ruling from the Stockholm District Court 8 February 2010, stated that it was discrimination when the employment services of Älmhult decided to suspend a Muslim man from his economical benefits. The man refused to shake hands with a  female boss of the company during an interview for internship. The Equality Ombudsman sued the Employment Service for discrimination on the ground of religion. The Equality Ombudsman stated that “Sweden is a multicultural country and we have to be able to see that there are different ways to show each other respect other than shaking hands”.

The Stockholm District Court ruled that the Swedish Employment Office had to pay 60 000 SEK (6 729 Euros) in damages to the man.[2]

 

In July 2010, the Equality Ombudsman and a motel reached a settlement that awarded a woman 50 000 SEK (5 607 Euros). The woman was harassed during the job interview and was denied the job because she is married to a man from Iraq.[3]

The Equality Ombudsman, Årsredovisning 2010 (Annual Report, 2010), http://www.do.se/sv/Material/Arsredovisning-2010/ (accessed 2012-03-12). 

 

External Url www.do.se

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There were no ECtHR cases - decisions based on art. 14 in 2011.

Numbers of cases 0

External Url http://www.echr.coe.int/NR/rdonlyres/596C7B5C-3FFB-4874-85D8-F12E8F67C136/0/TABLEAU_VIOLATIONS_EN_2011.pdf

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In 2011, the Committe for Social Rights, concluded that the situation in Sweden was not in conformity with several articles in the European Social Charter. 

Qualitative Info

 

Sweden was found to be in non-conformity with the European Social Charter regarding: 

 Article 19 - Right of migrant workers and their families to protection and assistance. Paragraph 8 - Guarantees concerning deportation. The Committee concludes that the situation in Sweden was not in conformity with the Article 19§8 of the Charter during the reference period on the ground that migrant workers expelled on account of national security have no right of appeal to an independent body. 

 

Article 19 - Right of migrant workers and their families to protection and assistance

Paragraph 10 - Equal treatment for the self-employed

 

Article 17 - Right of children and young persons to social, legal and economic protection

Paragraph 2 - Free primary and secondary education - regular attendance at school

The Committee concludes that the situation in Sweden is not in conformity with Article 17§2 of the Charter on the ground that children unlawfully present in the territory do not have effective access to education.

 

Article 7 - Right of children and young persons to protection

Paragraph 9 - Regular medical examination

The Committee concludes that the situation in Sweden is not in conformity with Article 7§9 of the Charter on the ground that a regular medical examination for all young workers is not guaranteed by legislation.

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Source: Council of Europe, The European Social Charter, http://www.coe.int/T/DGHL/Monitoring/SocialCharter/ (accessed 2012-03-12). 

External Url http://www.coe.int/T/DGHL/Monitoring/SocialCharter/

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4 cases from the European Court of Justice dealing with issues of migration, ethnic and/or religious discrimination have been reported from 2007 to 2011. 

 

Numbers of cases 4 Exemplary cases Halilova Others v. Sweden, Akhmadov and Bagurova v. Sweden, 2007-07-10, Grigorian Others v. Sweden, Decision 2007-07-05,

Qualitative Info

The following are cases from the European Court of Justice dealing with issues of migration, ethnic and/or religious discrimination. 

Halilova Others v. Sweden
(Application No. 20 283/09, decision of 13 October 2009)
Expulsion of a woman and two of her children, but not the son who was born in Sweden or the father of the child, both of whom are Swedish citizens, would cause a disruption of the family.  The Court decided to hold proceedings in those parts that related to splitting the family  and declared the remaining parts of the complaint were declared inadmissible.

Limoni Others v. Sweden
(Application No. 6576/05, Decision on 4 October 2007)
The Court ruled that the Sweden's expulsion of Roma who came originally from a village in Kosovo back to Serbia was not considered contrary to Article 3 and the complaint was therefore declared inadmissible.
 

Grigorian Others v. Sweden, Decision 2007-07-05
The rejection of a family that had been established in Sweden, but without a residence permit  would not violate Article 8 and the complaint was declared inadmissible.
 

Akhmadov and Bagurova v. Sweden, Decision 2007-07-10
The conslusion from the court was that the parties failed to prove  a real risk of treatment contrary to Article 3 if they were rejected back to their home country. The complaint was therefore explained  inadmissible.

 

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Source: The Swedish Courts (Sveriges Domstolar) http://www.domstol.se/ (accessed 2012-03-12). 

External Url http://www.domstol.se/

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