Children's Ombudsman's Annual Report highlights children's rights in Sweden

Chlid smiles.

Sweden’s Minister for Gender Equality, Märta Stenevi, has received the Children’s Ombudsman’s annual report, which examines fulfilling children’s rights during COVID-19. This report has a special focus on children who live in communities with high vulnerability to the virus, due to both socioeconomic factors and existing infection rates.

“Children have the right to receive information, to be involved, and to have the opportunity to influence,” said Minister Stenevi. “We must become better at including children in decisions that affect them.”

We must become better at including children in decisions that affect them.

Sweden’s Minister for Gender Equality, Märta Stenevi

The Ombudsman for Children represents the rights and interests of children in Sweden, largely by monitoring how the Convention on the Rights of the Child is implemented within Swedish society. Each year, the Ombudsman proposes changes to laws, regulations and policies that protect children’s rights, doing so through regular dialogue with children and young people.

This type of engagement is a critical piece of the Pathfinding process, and one Sweden has fulfilled since joining the End Violence Partnership as one of the world’s first Pathfinders in 2016.

The Ombudsman’s annual report presents three proposals to the government on how to better uphold children’s rights, including:

  • Ensure children’s participation in Sweden’s crisis preparation strategies and discussions
  • Ensure children have the right to education during crisis
  • Ensure children have the right to health and leisure during crisis

“The children we worked with to create this report want to be part of the solution,” said Elisabeth Dahlin, the Ombudsman for Children.

Along with this report, Minister Stenevi will soon host a digital meeting with children and young people to better understand their experiences during COVID-19. The conversation will revolve around three themes: school, family and leisure.

For more information (in Swedish), please click here.

Photo: UNICEF/UNI330524/Filippov