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ÄrendeLED 2016/276
HandläggareBjörn Brodin och Lars Lindgren
StatusSlutligt
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Speech –roundtable on truth commissions October 25 2016
My name is Agneta Broberg and I am the Equality Ombudsman in Sweden. The Equality Ombudsman is an independent government agency, and my office is one of the three organisers of this roundtable.
I am honored to be part of facilitating this roundtable and I am most grateful that such distinguished international experts and Sami’s, with representatives for Sami national organizations and for the parties in the Sami parliament, are assembled here in Umeå today.
First of all, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land upon which we gather today. We are in Sápmi, the traditional land of the Sami people. The Sami have lived here since time immemorial and managed the lands and waters with the utmost respect.
My task, as the Equality Ombudsman, is to combat discrimination and promote equal rights and opportunities on seven different grounds of discrimination. Me and my predecessors have been engaged in the very important work of combating discrimination against Sami in order to make a change, a work that I see as a long-term commitment for the Ombudsman institution.
The UN, Sami organisations and representatives and the Ombudsman haverepeatedlycalled for policies and legislation that seriously takes into account the rights of the Sami as an indigenous people. There is a need fora rights based approach and an anti-discrimination perspective on how Sweden handles the Sami’s situation and I have urged the Government to initiate an indigenous policy that is based on the United NationsDeclaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries. In my opinion it is essential that indigenous rights, unlike today, become the guide for all actions taken concerning the Sami people.
A change, however, also requires that Sweden comes to terms with the historical injustices that the Sami people have sufferedfrom and are continuously affected by. The Swedish government needs to take political responsibility for the history and for the situation today.For me it is obvious that the history is interlinked with the present situation and the discrimination ofSami today.
The Sami have for a long time expressed the need for an independent commission with the task to investigate and reveal past wrongdoings by the state and government agencies. I do support demands in this direction and I would like to emphasize the importance of shedding light on the history of the colonisation of Sápmi.
According to an agreement between the Sami Parliament and the Equality Ombudsman in June last year, the authorities decided to jointly promote the establishment of an independent truth commission regarding historical abuses of Sami in Sweden. This roundtable isone step in this process and I hope it could contribute to create a basis for the Sami people on how to proceed and accordingly make relevant demands on the Swedish state.
All the experience and knowledge about truth commissions in different countriestogether with all the experience and knowledge about the Sami situation and history in Sweden that is gathered around this table guarantee a very interesting and rich dialogue. I am proud if my office, by jointly organising this roundtable, can facilitate and enable the development of knowledge on how a truth initiative could contribute in a Sami-Swedish context.
I would like to end by welcoming and thanking all of you who have responded to our invitation and arehere to participate in this roundtable. I wish youthree illuminating, stimulating and successful days of knowledge-sharing and discussions here in Umeå.
Thank you!
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