In a follow-up interim report published today on Sweden´s implementation of the two priority recommendations in its 2018 report, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), reiterated that Sweden should grant adequate powers and expertise to investigate discrimination by all public authorities, including law enforcement agencies, to the Ombuds institutions. ECRI considers that this recommendation has not been implemented and pointed out that this situation creates a problem, inter alia, in the area of law enforcement, which was highlighted by the controversy surrounding the creation of a Roma-database by a regional police force. Furthermore, ECRI encouraged the Parliamentary Ombudsman to work in consultation with the Equality Ombudsman in these cases.

The second priority recommendation concerned the Introduction Programme for refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. ECRI had called on the authorities to review it with the aim of strengthening it and achieving higher success rates in labour market participation, paying particular attention to addressing the specific needs of women. ECRI noted that while the government has taken steps to strengthen the programme, including through a new intensive introduction year consisting of additional language and vocational training components, the gender gap in the area of integration and labour market participation for newly arrived migrants persists. Evaluations of the Introduction Programme show that women are less likely than men to have access to, and benefit from, integration measures. ECRI considers that the recommendation has been partially implemented.

ECRI underlines that these conclusions concern the two specific priority recommendations made in its 2018 report and do not aim at providing a comprehensive analysis of all developments in the fight against racism and intolerance in Sweden.