Amnesty International strikes Sweden in new report – EURACTIV.com
Sweden’s handling of the pandemic and the Sami minority, as well as the increase in weapons-related violence in its territory, was strongly criticized in a new report published by Amnesty International on Tuesday.
The human rights organization Amnesty International published its annual report Tuesday (March 29)where it criticized how countries handled the covid-19 pandemic.
According to the report, the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna’s profits rose to $ 54 billion in 2021, while various governments failed to fulfill their promises to deal with the effects of the covid-19 crisis.
But the 400-page report also contains sharp criticism of Sweden, as the Swedish program company SVT stated.
In its report, Amnesty International noted that gun violence has increased – especially among immigrants, who were particularly affected by the covid-19 pandemic. The report states social exclusion, which has led to overcrowding and lower vaccination rates among this group, as one of the reasons for the trend.
However, the Swedish government received the most criticism for its treatment of the Sami minority in the country. Mining and wind power projects have been allowed to continue despite opposition from local Sami communities in northern Sweden, where most people live.
The new consultation procedure for Sami that was adopted in the Riksdag this year was also criticized for only giving Sami the right to be heard, not to oppose such projects.
– Sweden has repeatedly received international criticism and we agree with that. That the government does not sufficiently protect the Sami right to influence and that the prevailing forms of consultation are not sufficient, says Anna Johansson, Amnesty Sweden’s Acting Secretary General, to SVT Sápmi.