Response to interpellations 2025/26:223, 228 and 229 regarding the review of Sweden by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Jämställdhetsministern Nina Larsson (L)

Mr. Speaker! Ulrika Westerlund has asked me what measures I and the government plan to take in light of the recommendations from CERD, how relevant civil society organizations will be involved, and whether I and the government will take the recommendations from CERD into account in a potential drafting of a new Tidö Agreement.

Dzenan Cisija has asked me what concrete measures I and the government intend to take so that Muslims and Afro-Swedes can feel welcome, safe, and equal in Sweden against the background of the increasing Islamophobia and Afrophobia that the committee points out, as well as whether I and the government will ensure that current and future legislation and policy based on the Tidö Agreement do not have discriminatory effects for Muslims, Afro-Swedes, and other minorities.

Leila Ali Elmi has asked me how I intend to strengthen the work against hate crimes, particularly regarding the low clearance rate, the difficulties in establishing racist motives, and the increasing prevalence of hate propaganda even from public figures, as well as what measures I intend to take to ensure that Sweden receives reliable and comprehensive statistics on how minorities, migrants, and other vulnerable groups are affected by discrimination and inequality, in accordance with CERD's recurring recommendations. She has finally asked how I intend to ensure that the measures resulting from the Tidö Agreement do not conflict with international commitments or have discriminatory consequences, in accordance with CERD's recommendations.

The Swedish government repeatedly reports on compliance with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, CERD. The reviews result in summary conclusions with recommendations from the committee.

Views and recommendations from international review bodies are not legally binding but provide guidance in the work to ensure full respect for Sweden's international commitments on human rights. The summary conclusions with recommendations that the committee submitted to Sweden in December last year concern a large number of areas. The recommendations are analyzed and followed up in the Government Offices.

According to the Government Offices' routines for work on the follow-up of Sweden's international commitments on human rights, civil society organizations and relevant authorities shall be invited to a dialogue on the conclusions and recommendations when so deemed appropriate.

It is too early at this stage to comment on the substantive content of the conclusions with recommendations that were submitted a couple of weeks ago, as well as to say which measures may eventually be taken in view of them. In order to disseminate the summary conclusions and recommendations, they have been posted on the government's website.

I can, however, already say that Sweden will respond to the committee in accordance with the timetable set by the committee, as Sweden always does to the various treaty committees in the UN. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination requests that Sweden responds within one year regarding three of the currently relevant recommendations. Furthermore, the committee recommends that Sweden submits its next periodic report no later than 5 January 2029.

Racism is harmful to the individual who is targeted but also to our democratic society as a whole. The government's work against racism continues with united strength based on the new action plan against racism and hate crimes, which lays the foundation for accurate, evaluable, and long-term work in the area.

The action plan takes a collective grip on the work to combat all forms of racism but also aims to make visible, and with various measures counteract, specific forms of racism, including anti-Muslim racism and anti-Black racism. A large number of measures against different forms of racism, discrimination, and hate crimes are currently being implemented.

The government works for all of Sweden and for all Swedes, regardless of whether one is born here or has roots elsewhere. We have a constitutionally protected freedom of religion, where the core is that individuals may practice their religion individually and together with others. This applies equally to everyone – Christians, Muslims, Jews, and other believers. Racism and discrimination must never be allowed to restrict people's rights and opportunities in life.

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Ulrika Westerlund (MP)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer! It was primarily about the process, so I thought I would delve a little bit into different themes from the recommendations and comments that Sweden received from the committee against racial discrimination.

Initially, I want to talk a bit about, above all, that which concerns the Tidö Agreement. As the Minister is aware, the committee writes, among other things, that it is concerned about the reported discriminatory effects that the agreement has had for certain groups in Sweden and the negative consequences that these groups have been affected by when the Tidö Agreement has begun to result in various legislative changes. The committee specifically mentions Muslims, Roma, people with backgrounds in Africa or Asia, Sámi, and people who do not have citizenship in Sweden, such as stateless persons, undocumented persons, asylum seekers, and refugees.

The committee is concerned about Sweden's lack of ability to protect the groups' opportunities to enjoy their human rights fully, and in particular the right to security and protection, the right to freedom of movement and the right to freedom of opinion and expression and health. Then the committee lists some concrete examples that the Tidö Agreement has resulted in and which they find particularly worrying, for example the requirement for public employees to report undocumented persons they come into contact with to the police and the migration authorities, what we in the opposition have called the reporting law. Now the government has backed down from the original proposal which also included, for example, healthcare staff. The proposal now only applies to employees at certain agencies, but this has also been met with strong criticism from the trade union movement. How has the government reasoned here? Will the proposal be taken further?

The Committee on Racial Discrimination also highlights, among other things, the Tidö Agreement's proposal to withdraw paid interpretation into Swedish for people who have been here for a longer period, including within healthcare. This is on a government bill list, I saw recently, and is to be brought up in March.

The committee also criticizes the decision we already have regarding the introduction of so-called security or search zones. Before this review, very many civil society organizations were involved and wrote their own reports to the committee. Civil Rights Defenders focused on, among other things, the search zones and stated that even children under 15 years of age can be subject to searches and that the law significantly increases the risk of arbitrary interventions by the police. This is particularly serious, as the police lack clear guidelines on how to work without risking discrimination.

This is also serious because it is not possible for those who are subjected to this type of racial profiling and are searched in these zones to pursue their cases, because discriminatory measures by the police are not prohibited in the Discrimination Act. There was such a proposal in an investigation that the previous government commissioned, but it has not been taken forward by the government. It is very serious, writes Civil Rights Defenders.

Civil Rights Defenders also addresses the consequences of the Tidö Agreement – not only of the proposals themselves but also of the effects of the government's policy on public discourse. Among other things, they provide some examples of how representatives for the government parties and the Sverigedemokraterna have targeted Muslims by publicly stating that all mosque constructions should be stopped, implying that Muslims as a group do not have the same basic values as others in the EU and that it is a problem, or that it is a problem that Islam is spreading in Sweden.

The committee recommended, by reason of some of the problems that I have highlighted, that Sweden should conduct a review from a human rights perspective of the legislative changes implemented in connection with the Tidö Agreement to ensure that Sweden lives up to its international commitments. I wonder if the government intends to carry out such a review.

I also wonder about the specific change in the Discrimination Act. I found a statement from the minister's representative, Paulina Brandberg, from April 2024, where she said that it would happen. I found nothing more than that. It obviously makes me curious.

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Dzenan Cisija (S)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you to the Minister for the answer!

Today, many Muslims and Afro-Swedes are in a particularly vulnerable position. Islamophobia and Afrophobia have made it much harder for these groups to live in Sweden now than just a few years ago. Hate crimes remain at a disturbingly high level – over 6,400 reported hate crimes in a year, of which 20 percent had Afrophobic motives. Since investigations are most often dropped, it is practically risk-free today to commit that type of crime. At the same time, more and more people testify to everyday racism in school, on the bus, in the shop, and at the workplace. Threats and hate have become common, and many of us notice a normalization of racist expressions that were previously completely unacceptable.

In December last year, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination published its conclusions following the review of how Sweden complies with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The UN body directs serious criticism at Sweden's lack of work against racism, hate crimes, and structural discrimination. Particular attention is drawn to the situation for ethnic and religious minorities, including Muslims and persons of African origin. The UN committee notes that these groups are subjected to recurring discrimination in, among other areas, the labor market, education, the housing market, and healthcare.

The UN committee notes that these minority groups are also subjected to a high number of hate crimes and racist hate speech, even from public figures. The UN committee points out, among other things, a low clearance rate for hate crimes and a lack of identification of racist motives. The committee also points to extensive Islamophobia and Afrophobia as well as structural discrimination of Afro-Swedes, which affects their lives very negatively.

Furthermore, the UN body notes that Sweden allows hate speech from public figures, often high-ranking politicians, and that the discriminated groups are not involved in decisions concerning them.

Sweden has introduced several action plans against racism and hate crimes, but we are still waiting for the government to implement them. Muslim and Afro-Swedish groups testify that the situation is worsening during this wait. Many report that they no longer feel welcome in their own country, which is deeply worrying and completely unacceptable in a democratic society, which Sweden is to be.

Mr. Speaker! I want to ask the responsible minister: What concrete measures does the government intend to take, and when, so that Muslim and Afro-Swedish minorities shall feel at home in their own country?

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Leila Ali Elmi (MP)

Mr. Speaker! I would first like to thank the Minister for being here and taking the debate. But I, like my colleague, cannot offer thanks for the answer, as it mostly concerned the internal process in the Government Offices. I will now repeat my questions because they were not answered.

Mr. Speaker! The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has reviewed Sweden. The Committee identifies three particularly serious areas: the development of racism and hate crimes, the discrimination of minorities and persons with a migrant background, and the situation for the Sámi people.

The Committee notes that Sweden has significant deficiencies. It points to the very low clearance rate of hate crimes, the difficulties in investigating and establishing racist motives, and the increasing spread of racist hate propaganda – especially when it comes from persons in public positions. It also specifically points out the Tidö Agreement and recommends a systematic review of the measures resulting from the agreement to ensure that they do not conflict with international commitments and do not have discriminatory consequences. The Committee also criticizes that Sweden lacks reliable and comprehensive statistics on how minorities, migrants, and other vulnerable groups are affected by discrimination and inequality.

Mr. Speaker! Against this background, I pose three clear questions to the Minister: How does the Minister intend to strengthen the work against hate crimes and against the low clearance rate, and so that racist motives can be better substantiated? What measures does the Minister intend to take so that Sweden can obtain reliable and comprehensive statistics on how minorities, migrants, and other vulnerable groups are affected by discrimination and inequality? How does the Minister intend to ensure that the measures resulting from the Tidö Agreement do not conflict with international human rights obligations and do not have discriminatory consequences?

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Jämställdhetsministern Nina Larsson (L)

Mr. Speaker! The goal of the policy for human rights is to ensure full respect for Sweden's international commitments on human rights. Views and recommendations from international review bodies provide guidance in the work to ensure full respect for Sweden's international commitments in human rights issues.

The criticism that has emerged, of which several parts are highlighted by the interpellants, we are now analyzing carefully from the government's side. We intend to return to it. Exactly how we will rectify and respond to this is still too early to say. These are issues that we will discuss moving forward, but I still want to delve into some parts and answer the interpellants' questions.

I will begin with the criticism regarding the lack of prosecution of hate crimes, which the committee highlighted and which several of the interpellants mentioned. One underlying cause of the lack of prosecution is, among other things, the challenge of identifying hate crime motives during the reporting of various crimes. The perpetrator may also be anonymous, which can complicate matters. In connection with a number of crimes, for example graffiti and property damage, it can also be difficult to find a specific perpetrator.

The Swedish Police Authority has had a specialist operation for the investigation of hate crimes and crimes of influence against democracy-bearing functions since 2015. The operation, which is designated as the group for crimes threatening democracy, is national but is conducted in three of the seven police regions: Stockholm, Syd, and Väst. The functions have cooperation with the Prosecution Authority's so-called hate crime prosecutors as well as internal cooperation with, for example, Redex, the Swedish Police Authority's and the Security Service's cooperation for the reduction of extremism.

The Prosecution Authority also has specially appointed prosecutors who handle hate crime cases. The authority has a specially appointed subject specialist regarding hate crimes who works closely with the prosecutor responsible for the subject in order to raise the knowledge level among the operational prosecutors. Knowledge-enhancing efforts are of significant value in this.

Efforts are also being made to create conditions for the exchange of experiences and information between these prosecutors, among other things through networks and annual conferences.

The work of the Police and the Prosecution Authority is continuously developing.

Hate crimes must be combated regardless of where they occur. One of the sub-goals in the government's action plan against racism and hate crimes is that a larger proportion of the hate crimes committed shall be reported, investigated, and prosecuted. In the action plan, among other things, Brå, i.e., the Swedish Crime Prevention Council, and the Swedish Police Authority are pointed out as particularly important in the work to develop the operations and reach this sub-goal. The knowledge that Brå produces, including through statistics on police-reported hate crimes and in-depth studies on hate crimes, is an important contribution to that development work.

The Swedish Police Authority shall continue to develop the work of investigating and prosecuting individuals for hate crimes and other crimes that threaten democracy. This is also part of the action plan against racism and hate crimes. That also includes the work against IT-related hate crimes and other crimes that threaten democracy. Furthermore, according to the action plan, the Swedish Police Authority has a mandate to have continuous dialogue and cooperation with the groups that perceive themselves to be exposed to hate crimes.

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Ulrika Westerlund (MP)

Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer. It did not contain answers to my questions, so I leave it to my colleagues here to comment on it.

I will move on and perhaps return to the questions I asked initially. Now I want to talk about something that was included in the review of Sweden and which previously has not been present in this clear way, namely a child's perspective.

In the autumn, the Riksdag's network for human rights in Sweden held a meeting. We received presentations from various organizations that had worked on reports for the review. Among others, Rädda Barnens ungdomsförbund participated. Many of us who were there were likely moved by the quotes from children in their report, which I recommend for reading if the minister has not already read it. Among others, there was a quote from a child who stated that everyone has at least one racist teacher. Another child stated that racism becomes everyday life when those in power do not react.

The committee writes in its review, in the section on children's situation, among other things that it is concerned about reports of racial discrimination and hate crimes affecting children in Sweden, also in school, and that the handling of these attacks is not satisfactory. Here, and throughout the report, Muslim and Roma children, children with origins in Africa or Asia, and children who are Sámi are specifically mentioned. The committee also mentions in this context the visitation zones and how they affect children from certain specific groups.

Even here, there is a set of recommendations to Sweden based on the observations. Among others, Sweden is urged to ensure that the discrimination act is actually applied effectively in schools and that those who are subjected to discrimination can obtain redress. Further measures also need to be taken so that Sweden can tackle discrimination, harassment, and hate crimes in schools. The committee has received reports that this is something that students from the mentioned groups are subjected to by both other students and by teachers.

The committee wants to see a system where children who are subjected to discrimination and hate crimes, and their parents, can easily report it. This system shall be child-friendly.

The committee also wants Sweden to collect information on complaints regarding racial discrimination and hate crimes in schools and report it in the next report to the committee. The statistics shall include information on ethnicity, age, religion, and so on, as well as information on what was done after the crimes were reported. How were they investigated? What did it lead to? How did the victims receive redress? Here the committee is entering into what we usually call equality data. It would be interesting to hear a comment on this.

The committee also recommends that Sweden develop and implement mandatory training for teachers and school staff to counter discrimination and hate crimes. It is also understood, of course, that Sweden should review the legislation regarding the visitation zones.

In light of all these recommendations, I would like to ask the Minister what the plans are to also take measures in the area of children and schools in accordance with the recommendations.

It would be interesting to know how the government will proceed to include children in the work against racism. These are general comments of the type that this and other UN committees often make. The involvement of affected groups is too poor; this also applies to the group of children. Listening to children's testimonies can be a way to ensure that the measures that have been taken have actually had an effect.

I conclude by reminding of some of the other issues, regarding the MR review of the Tidö Agreement and what happens with the change of the anti-discrimination legislation.

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Dzenan Cisija (S)

Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer that no measures are currently planned. I would, however, like to emphasize that the situation requires concrete action now. The Minister has a special responsibility to protect discriminated and threatened minorities in our country.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has reviewed Sweden. They recommend, among other things, that in accordance with the UN Convention, we ban organizations and groups that spread hate and prevent Nazis and racists from organizing, recruiting members, and demonstrating their strength on the streets.

The UN recommends that Sweden monitor and counter the spread of racist propaganda in public, not least hate speech against groups on the internet. The Government should also clearly condemn racist statements from public figures, even from high-ranking politicians. It is noteworthy that there are currently no convictions against politicians for hate speech against groups.

Sweden should stop the structural discrimination against Afro-Swedes. Due to racism, they have poorer access to education, jobs, health, and housing.

Furthermore, Sweden should combat Islamophobia. A broad initiative is needed to counter stigmas and negative stereotypes regarding Muslims, especially in the media and in political discourse. The state should actively promote equal opportunities for Muslims – for example, Muslim women should not be discriminated against in the labor market if they wear a veil. Hate propaganda, attacks against mosques, threats, and violence must cease.

The UN body also recommends that the vulnerable groups be involved in decisions and work concerning themselves. Those who personally experience racism must be allowed to participate and influence the solutions.

Madam Speaker! The six recommendations that I have now enumerated come from the UN body. This is what the international community considers Sweden should do to live up to its commitments on human rights and non-discrimination. All people are equally worthy, and no Swede should have to doubt their right to be a part of Sweden.

The responsible minister has said that it is too early to say whether the government will follow the UN's recommendations. Therefore, I ask another question: Does the government intend to acknowledge that Sweden has problems with increasing Islamophobia and Afrophobia?

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Leila Ali Elmi (MP)

Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer and want to remind that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is very well aware of the police's mandate, Brås mandate and the government's action plan against racism but despite this finds this insufficient. What more does the Minister want to do to meet this criticism?

I will, however, try to concentrate on one issue. The UN has criticized Sweden for a lack of reliable and comprehensive statistics on discrimination and inequality. Review after review says the same thing: Sweden knows too little about how racism and discrimination strike. Without knowledge, we cannot conduct effective policy, and without correct statistics, we cannot combat racism and discrimination in the right way.

Madam Speaker! A common objection to equality data is that they can be dangerous or fall into the wrong hands. They are also equated with racial registers, but the equality data the UN recommends are based on self-identification and anonymity. They are the exact opposite of a compulsory register, namely a tool for protection. At the same time, the Liberals do not hesitate to map immigrants on racist grounds and invest 5 million to map immigrants' opinions and values.

I therefore ask the Minister: Why is it legitimate to map the values of immigrants but dangerous to map discrimination? Why does one want to measure people but not power? Why does one want to map those who are subjected to [something] and not that which they are subjected to?

(Applause)

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Jämställdhetsministern Nina Larsson (L)

Madam Speaker! I thank the interpellants for the questions and comments, and I welcome their engagement.

The report with the criticism arrived a few weeks ago, and the government is now analyzing the proposals and measures that have been received. It is, however, too early to say exactly how we will respond to this, but we will do so according to the schedule.

Several of the interpellants are requesting equality data or comprehensive statistics on how minorities, migrants, and other vulnerable groups are affected by discrimination. I will therefore spend a moment commenting on this. Statistics and overall information on the population's composition and living conditions are an important and often necessary basis for shaping, developing, and monitoring the government's policy.

At the same time, data collection is complex, especially within the framework of the work against racism, and consideration needs to be taken both of methodological issues regarding anonymity, which the member was touching upon, and privacy, as well as the fact that parts of the population feel concern regarding a potential collection of certain data. There are reasons to also continue to be restrictive with statistics and data collection linked to ethnicity. The question of how relevant knowledge about people's living conditions and connection to racism and discrimination can be obtained in a purposeful manner also requires continued in-depth analysis.

We do, however, currently have access to a lot of statistics and knowledge on this, and several measures are currently being taken to increase knowledge of how racism and intolerance affect people. Among other things, the Swedish Research Council's mandate, in consultation with the Research Council for Health, Work Life and Welfare, to allocate funds for a national research program on racism provides conditions for the continued development of important knowledge within this area.

Brå's in-depth reports on Afrophobic, antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes, as well as hate crimes against Sámi people, have also contributed important knowledge about the vulnerability that different groups of people in Sweden experience and what consequences it has in people's everyday lives. Brå has now been tasked to carry out corresponding work with a focus on anti-Gypsy hate crimes.

Furthermore, the Equality Ombudsman's annual reports on the occurrence of discrimination in society also highlight in what ways people are subjected to discrimination. These reports also constitute important foundations in the work to prevent and counteract racism, discrimination, and hate crimes.

Regarding the Discrimination Act, the government intends to return, but I cannot say anything more specific about the timeline. However, these are urgent matters. But I can mention that in yesterday's government decision on the implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive, the government proposes in the referral to the Council of Legislation an adjustment of the Discrimination Act regarding the possibility of a claim for determination in court even if the actor has paid out discrimination compensation, which is not possible at the current time. In this area as well, we therefore see the opportunities and are moving forward the positions.

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Ulrika Westerlund (MP)

Madam Speaker! As is usual in these debates, the answers sometimes raise more questions, and we would need to have a new debate immediately after this one to be able to follow up on everything. I become very curious about what the continued, in-depth analysis regarding the introduction of equality data entails. Is there, therefore, something such as that ongoing with the aim of potentially introducing equality data? The Minister is welcome to comment on this.

I will now focus on the process in the work of following up on the recommendations and improving Sweden's work against discrimination and hate crimes. In a number of places in the committee's report, the importance of consultation with civil society in a structured way is mentioned throughout the entire process, including among other things the next report from Sweden and in the work with the recommendations that have been given to Sweden and the follow-up of them. The committee is also pointing out that there is a deficiency in how different action plans are implemented and that civil society is also not consulted sufficiently there. This has also been mentioned by colleagues here.

The Committee therefore urges Sweden to ensure that civil society is included in a meaningful way generally in the work against racism.

Sometimes civil society organizations say that governments call a meeting before an audit and then perhaps again when the recommendations have arrived, but that not much happens in between. It would therefore be necessary to have a structured process so that people work together throughout the entire period until the next audit. This would probably make the work more efficient and ensure that governments pick up everything they would need to address in their own reports.

The answer to my question regarding the Discrimination Act was that you would get back to me. But let me mention again what I did not receive an answer to: the MR review of the Tidö Agreement, measures in the school area and other areas concerning children, as well as the need for more competence among police and prosecutors.

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Dzenan Cisija (S)

Madam Speaker! I note that the Minister did not answer whether the increasing Islamophobia and Afrophobia is a problem for the government.

In conclusion, I must address the elephant in the room. We can talk about everyone's equal value, but at the same time, we know that the government's power rests on SD, which has a completely opposite agenda.

The Sweden Democrats is a party whose Nazi roots are thoroughly documented. The party's own white paper confirms that a large proportion of SD's founders came directly from Nazi and fascist circles. SD's ideological heritage consists of racism and xenophobia, which even today is the common thread in their rhetoric and politics. This is also pointed out by the UN's committee against racial discrimination.

Madam Speaker! I sincerely hope that the Minister and the government realize the gravity of the situation. Islamophobia and Afrophobia must be fought for real. We need more resources to investigate hate crimes, support victims, and educate authorities and schools. We need leaders who clearly speak out when racist myths are spread. We need politicians who stand up for every group of citizens, even when it is difficult. Sweden is everyone's home. Swedish Muslims and Afro-Swedes are our friends, neighbors, and colleagues. They are Swedes just as much as everyone else.

I thank the Speaker and the Minister for this debate.

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Leila Ali Elmi (MP)

Madam Speaker! In this debate, three things have become clear.

Firstly: The Minister fails to answer the questions at all – not about the hate crimes, not about comprehensive statistics to counter discrimination, and not about whether the Tidö Agreement leads to discrimination.

Secondly: In his answer, the minister chose to emphasize that the UN committee's recommendations are not binding. This shows everyone affected by racism and discrimination how low the ambition of the government and the Liberals is when it comes to protecting people's rights.

At the same time, the government chooses to map immigrants' opinions and to introduce visitation zones, despite the fact that referral bodies such as the Equality Ombudsman, the Chancellor of Justice, and the Institute for Human Rights have been clear that it leads to discrimination.

For the third: The government governs with a majority where the largest party, Sverigedemokraterna, wants to weaken the law on hate speech by removing the protection for sexual orientation and religious belief. The same party also wants to abolish the seven grounds for discrimination and thus, in practice, dismantle the Discrimination Act.

If the minister is already indifferent to the discriminatory policy that exists in the Tidö Agreement, one must ask: What will a Tidö Agreement 2.0 entail?

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Jämställdhetsministern Nina Larsson (L)

Madam Speaker! I thank the members and the interpellants for important questions, even though I do not agree that it is the Tidö Agreement that leads to increased hate crimes and increased intolerance. Just as little do I agree with the conclusion that we are not acting.

I have answered the questions. The report arrived a few weeks ago, and the government intends to respond to it. But it is too early to say exactly how this will take place.

Racism, hate crimes and discrimination are completely unacceptable. It is a top priority that we can ensure we have a society that holds together. That people are treated and met equally is absolutely crucial to being able to strengthen resilience and increase trust in our society. In that regard, we are in complete agreement, and it is a priority issue.

The government has provided increased appropriations to the Equality Ombudsman, who now have the opportunity to follow up on cases to a much greater extent than before. Some years ago, we adopted an action plan with a series of measures against racism and hate crimes. We have submitted a referral to the Council of Legislation regarding the adjustment of the discrimination legislation so that a declaratory action can be brought before the court for all grounds of discrimination. We are also moving forward positions within that area.

It is serious that polarization and various forms of forces cause racism and hate crimes to increase. It is the government's absolute mission, responsibility, and ambition to truly counteract this with full force.

(Applause)

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

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