Human rights in Sweden: rights and free media

In Sweden, the fundamental laws and other laws protect human rights.

What are human rights?

Human rights are universal: they apply to everyone in the world, with the same value and rights.

The rights limit the state's power over people. The state must also protect people from violations by others.

In 1948, after the Second World War, the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Countries did not promise to follow it. So conventions came later: agreements between countries. A country that joins one promises to follow it. The European Convention on Human Rights has been Swedish law since 1995.

Many rights are in the Instrument of Government, one of the four fundamental laws (Democracy and how Sweden is governed). It says, for example, that:

• you may go to meetings and demonstrations and form associations, for example parties;
• no authority may force you to reveal your political or religious opinion;
• the death penalty, corporal punishment and torture are forbidden.

It also gives everyone freedom of religion (Religion, traditions and holidays).

The Parliamentary Ombudsmen (JO) check the authorities. If your rights are violated, you can contact JO or often a court (Law and justice). If you get no help in Sweden, you can complain to the UN or the European Court of Human Rights.

Discrimination and the grounds of discrimination

Discrimination means that someone is treated worse or has their dignity violated. The Discrimination Act names seven grounds of discrimination. The treatment must be linked to one of them: sex, transgender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation and age. Sexual harassment is an exception: it needs no such link.

The law covers some areas, for example working life, education, health care and looking for housing. It does not usually cover what happens between private people, for example neighbours or relatives.

The Equality Ombudsman (DO) checks that the law is followed. You can report discrimination to DO. If it is about your job and you are in a trade union, contact the union first.

Gender equality between women and men

Sweden's gender equality goal is that women and men have the same power to shape society and their own lives.

Today (2026), the goal has seven sub-goals, for example on the economy, education, health and unpaid work at home. Two are about violence. One is, among other things, that men's violence against women and violence in close relationships must end. The other is that honour-related violence and oppression must end.

Violence in a family or a relationship is a crime, not a private matter. Report it to the police on 114 14. Call 112 if something is happening now.

Children's rights

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is called barnkonventionen. The UN adopted it in 1989. It became Swedish law on 1 January 2020. Under the convention, everyone under 18 is a child.

Important ideas:

• all children have the same rights, without discrimination;
• in every action concerning children, the best interests of the child must come first;
• children have the right to survive and develop;
• children have the right to say what they think. Their opinion counts more the older and more mature they are.

The Children and Parents Code says that children have the right to care and security. Children may not be punished with violence, for example hitting, or treated in other humiliating ways.

National minorities and minority languages

Sweden has five national minorities: Jews, Roma, Sami, Sweden Finns (sverigefinnar) and Tornedalers (tornedalingar). It also has five national minority languages: Finnish, Yiddish, Meänkieli, Romani Chib and Sami.

In 2000, Sweden joined two European agreements that protect minorities and their languages. The Sami are also an indigenous people: they lived here before today's state was formed. The Riksdag recognised this in 1977. Since 2011, the Instrument of Government names the Sami as a people.

The Act on National Minorities and Minority Languages says that society has a particular responsibility for the languages. Minorities must be able to keep their culture in Sweden and develop it. Children's language and cultural identity get special support. Some municipalities are in an administrative area for Finnish, Meänkieli or Sami. There you are entitled to use the language in a case with an authority.

Freedom of expression, freedom of the press and public access

Freedom of expression means you may say and write what you think. Two fundamental laws give it special protection in the media. The Freedom of the Press Act (tryckfrihetsförordningen) covers printed text, for example books and newspapers. The Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen) covers radio, TV, film, recordings and more. It also covers some websites, for example news sites.

• No censorship. An authority may not check a newspaper or programme before it is published.
• Limits. For example, it is a crime to defame or threaten someone. Agitation against a population group (hets mot folkgrupp) is also a crime. This means threatening or showing contempt for a group, for example because of skin colour or religion.
• Freedom to communicate information (meddelarfrihet). As a rule, anyone may give information to the media for publication. The source may be anonymous. The media may not reveal the source, with some exceptions. As a rule, authorities may not try to find out who it is.

The principle of public access (offentlighetsprincipen) means that everyone may read official documents. A document is official if an authority holds it and it arrived or was completed there. You usually do not need to say who you are or why you want it. The authority may only ask if it needs to know whether it can hand it out.

Some information is secret (confidentiality, sekretess). It may only apply for certain reasons, for example to protect national security or people's private lives and finances. Such information is not handed out.

Free media and source criticism

Free media are important in a democracy. They give information and examine society, so people can form their own opinions. According to the government, many different high-quality media are needed.

Swedish newspapers, radio and TV channels usually have a responsible editor (ansvarig utgivare). The editor decides what is published. If the content is a crime, for example defamation, the editor alone is legally responsible. Radio and TV that serve the public are called public service. Swedish Radio, Swedish Television and the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company must provide it. A special public service fee pays for it.

Source criticism means you check information before you believe it. The Psychological Defence Agency advises you to ask who is behind the information and what it wants to achieve. Be careful if a news story has only one source. Compare it with other sources.

Be alert to anything that makes you very angry or afraid. Strong feelings can make it harder to tell opinions from facts. Many people also believe more easily what fits their own opinion. This is called confirmation bias (bekräftelsebias).

More about the test: what the citizenship test contains and how to study for the test.

Words to know

Word	Meaning
Mänskliga rättigheter	Human rights
Diskriminering	Discrimination
Jämställdhet	Gender equality
Nationell minoritet	National minority
Urfolk	Indigenous people
Källkritik	Source criticism