2023-04-262022/23:KU30 · p.32KUConstitution
Provisions regarding national minorities and minority languages
Constitutional protection for national minorities and minority languages
What's at stake: The decision affects how strongly Sweden Finns, Tornedalians, Roma, Jews and the Sami people, along with their languages - Sami, Finnish, Meänkieli, Romani Chib and Yiddish - are protected under the constitution.
Case texts and AI reasoning are AI-translated from the Swedish originals; the Swedish text is authoritative.
What the vote decides
The question is whether the government should investigate stronger constitutional protection for Sweden's national minorities and their languages, or whether the current constitutional provisions should remain unchanged.
Yes Yes — the committee proposal
The committee has previously considered motions on constitutional provisions concerning Sweden and the Swedish language, national minorities and minority languages, Swedish citizenship and public holidays. The committee maintains its earlier position and rejects the motion.
No No — the reservations
Reservation 38 (V)
The reservation (V) calls for the government to investigate stronger constitutional protection for the national minorities - Sweden Finns, Tornedalians, Roma and Jews - and for the Sami people and the minority languages Sami, Finnish, Meänkieli, Romani Chib and Yiddish, and then to prepare and put constitutional amendments to parliament.
Summarised from the committee report. Party labels in the summary come from the report, not from the vote.
What do the votes mean here?
Yes The committee proposal: rejecting the motions (keeping things as they are).
No Backing the counter-proposal: reservation 38 by V.
Abstain The party marks a position of its own that is not one of the two final alternatives.
What each plan points to — and how the party voted
For each party: the vote its own election manifesto and party programme point to in this case, next to how the party actually voted. A plan can only point to Yes or No; a party can also abstain.
| Plan | Vote | Confidence | Evidence | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | No | No 0/21/0/3 | follows the plan | confidence: high | not addressed |
| S | No | Yes 92/0/0/15 | departs from the plan | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| MP | No | Yes 14/0/0/4 | departs from the plan | confidence: high | not addressed |
| C | No | Abstain 0/0/21/3 | departs from the plan | confidence: medium | explicit |
| L | No | Yes 14/0/0/2 | departs from the plan | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| KD | No | Yes 15/0/0/4 | departs from the plan | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| M | Yes | Yes 58/0/0/10 | follows the plan | confidence: low | not addressed |
| SD | No | Abstain 0/0/64/9 | departs from the plan | confidence: low | not addressed |
Committee proposal
Parliament rejects the motions 2022/23:1001 by Matheus Enholm et al. (SD) demand 5, 2022/23:1214 by Nooshi Dadgostar et al. (V) demand 1 and 2022/23:1881 by Malin Björk et al. (C) demand 4.
Original (Swedish)
Riksdagen avslår motionerna 2022/23:1001 av Matheus Enholm m.fl. (SD) yrkande 5, 2022/23:1214 av Nooshi Dadgostar m.fl. (V) yrkande 1 och 2022/23:1881 av Malin Björk m.fl. (C) yrkande 4.
Riksdag decision: Parliament has addressed approximately 80 proposals in motions submitted during the general motion period in 2022. The proposals concern party financing, regulation of lobbyists, procedures for constitutional changes, and the independence of the courts. Parliament rejected all proposals, among other reasons citing that the government is already working on the issue.
Counter-proposals
- The counter-proposal wants to abolish the monarchy and introduce a republic. (V) — Reservation 38
Plan vs actual vote
Every party, in chamber order: what its own plan pointed to, how it voted, and the reasoning behind both. Highlighted rows are where the two differ — but a vote that follows the plan is a result too, so the reasoning is there for every party.
The plan establishes that Sweden has committed to protecting and strengthening the rights of national minorities, that much remains to be done, and that the Sámi people's self-determination through the Sámi Parliament should be strengthened.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan establishes that Sweden has committed to protecting and strengthening the rights of national minorities, that much remains to be done, and that the Sámi people's self-determination through the Sámi Parliament should be strengthened. Since the basic laws according to the plan should protect democracy and human rights, an inquiry into stronger constitutional protection is in the plan's direction. The constitutional question is not explicitly addressed, however, so the conclusion is derived.
Original (Swedish)
Planen slår fast att Sverige förbundit sig att skydda och stärka de nationella minoriteternas rättigheter, att mycket återstår att göra och att samernas självbestämmande genom Sametinget bör förstärkas. Eftersom grundlagarna enligt planen ska värna demokratin och människors rättigheter ligger en utredning om starkare grundlagsskydd i planens riktning. Grundlagsfrågan behandlas dock inte uttryckligen, så slutsatsen är härledd.
- protect minorities' rightsdecisive»Genom internationella avtal har Sverige nu förbundit sig att skydda« (party programme ↗)“Through international agreements, Sweden has now committed to protecting”
- strengthen the Sámi Parliament's self-determination»oförrätter av den svenska staten. Sametingets självbestämmande bör« (party programme ↗)“injustices by the Swedish state. The Sámi Parliament's self-determination should”
- the basic law protects rights»Grundlagarna ska värna demokratin och människors rättigheter,« (party programme ↗)“The basic laws should protect democracy and human rights,”
- minorities' participation»Ett demokratikrav är att alla som tillhör en nationell minoritet ska ha möjlighet« (party programme ↗)“A democratic requirement is that everyone who belongs to a national minority should have the opportunity”
The plan commits to upholding and supporting national minorities' language and culture and wants a society without power structures based on ethnic subordination.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The plan commits to upholding and supporting national minorities' language and culture and wants a society without power structures based on ethnic subordination. To investigate stronger constitutional protection for minorities, the Sami and minority languages is a tool for that. The plan also shows readiness to use the constitution to protect central social values, such as public service.
Original (Swedish)
Planen åtar sig att hävda och stödja de nationella minoriteternas språk och kultur och vill ett samhälle utan de maktordningar som bygger på etnisk underordning. Att utreda ett starkare grundlagsskydd för minoriteterna, samerna och minoritetsspråken är ett verktyg för det. Planen visar också beredskap att använda grundlagen för att skydda centrala samhällsvärden, som public service.
- support for minorities' languagedecisive»I detta ska också ingå att hävda och stödja nationella minoriteters möjligheter att behålla och utveckla det egna språket och kulturen.« (party programme ↗)“This should also include upholding and supporting national minorities' opportunities to maintain and develop their own language and culture.”
- society without subordination»Vårt mål är ett samhälle utan över- och underordning, utan klasskillnader, patriarkat, rasism eller homo- och transfobi, ett samhälle utan fördomar och diskriminering.« (party programme ↗)“Our goal is a society without hierarchy and subordination, without class differences, patriarchy, racism or homophobia and transphobia, a society without prejudice and discrimination.”
- constitutional protection as a tool»Vi vill grundlagsskydda public service. Mediestödet ska ge förutsättningar för oberoende och lokalt förankrad nyhetsförmedling i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to constitutionally protect public service. Media support shall provide conditions for independent and locally-grounded news dissemination throughout the country.”
- democracy as a value system»Demokrati är ett värdesystem, som måste genomsyra hela samhällslivet.« (party programme ↗)“Democracy is a value system that must permeate all of society.”
The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.
The plan wants to strengthen national minorities' and the Sámi people's rights and that Sweden adheres to ILO 169, and it explicitly uses the constitution as an instrument to protect central values such as independent public broadcasting.
Plan documents: 2022 manifesto · party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan wants to strengthen national minorities' and the Sámi people's rights and that Sweden adheres to ILO 169, and it explicitly uses the constitution as an instrument to protect central values such as independent public broadcasting. The party programme states that minorities' special position and language must be respected and strengthened. Investigating stronger constitutional protection is therefore supported in substance.
Original (Swedish)
Planen vill stärka de nationella minoriteternas och urfolket samernas rättigheter och att Sverige ansluter sig till ILO 169, och den använder uttryckligen grundlagen som skyddsinstrument för centrala värden som ett oberoende public service. Partiprogrammet slår fast att minoriteternas särskilda ställning och språk måste respekteras och stärkas. Att utreda ett starkare grundlagsskydd stöds därför i sak.
- strengthened minority and indigenous rightsdecisive»stärka nationella minoriteters och urfolket samernas rättigheter och att Sverige ska förbinda sig att följa den internationella konventionen om urfolks rättigheter (ILO 169).« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen national minorities' and the Sámi people's rights and that Sweden must commit to follow the international convention on indigenous peoples' rights (ILO 169).”
- minorities' position strengthened»språk, måste respekteras och stärkas. Samerna« (party programme ↗)“language, must be respected and strengthened. The Sámi”
- constitution as shield»skydda ett oberoende public service i grundlagen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“protect independent public broadcasting in the constitution.”
- ratify indigenous convention»bör snarast ratificera FN:s konvention om urfolks« (party programme ↗)“should as soon as possible ratify the UN convention on indigenous peoples'”
The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.
The election manifesto explicitly wants to strengthen protection of minorities and the status of minority languages and provide constitutional protection for additional rights, while making it harder to amend the constitution.
Plan documents: 2022 manifesto · party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The election manifesto explicitly wants to strengthen protection of minorities and the status of minority languages and provide constitutional protection for additional rights, while making it harder to amend the constitution. An investigation of stronger constitutional protection for national minorities, the Sámi, and minority languages is precisely this. The party programme's requirement to combat structures that discriminate points in the same direction.
Original (Swedish)
Valmanifestet vill uttryckligen stärka minoritetsskyddet och minoritetsspråkens ställning och grundlagsskydda ytterligare rättigheter, samtidigt som grundlagen ska bli svårare att ändra. En utredning om ett starkare grundlagsskydd för de nationella minoriteterna, samerna och minoritetsspråken är just detta. Partiprogrammets krav på att bekämpa strukturer som diskriminerar pekar i samma riktning.
- constitutionally protected rights strengtheneddecisive»Vi vill stärka bland annat äganderätten, diskrimineringsförbudet, minoritetsskyddet och minoritetsspråkens ställning, och grundlagsskydda rätten till abort och reproduktiv hälsa.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen, among other things, property rights, the prohibition on discrimination, protection of minorities and the status of minority languages, and provide constitutional protection for the right to abortion and reproductive health.”
- stronger constitutional protection»Våra demokratiska institutioner behöver skydd. Vi vill göra det svårare att ändra grundlagen, skydda oppositionens ställning i riksdagen och stärka domstolarnas oberoende.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our democratic institutions need protection. We want to make it harder to amend the constitution, protect the position of the opposition in the Riksdag, and strengthen the independence of the courts.”
- equal rights for minorities»Vi bekämpar alla strukturer, formella och informella, som förtrycker eller diskriminerar människor.« (party programme ↗)“We combat all structures, formal and informal, that oppress or discriminate against people.”
- guaranteed rights and freedoms»För oss är de grundlagsskyddade fri- och rättigheterna, som exempelvis yttrande-, tryck- och meddelarfrihet, självklara och ska garanteras.« (party programme ↗)“For us, the constitutionally protected rights and freedoms, such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom to communicate, are self-evident and shall be guaranteed.”
The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.
The party programme demands strong constitutional protection for democracy and individual liberties and rights and that the status of national minorities and the Sámi as an indigenous people be maintained, while the election manifesto wants to see strengthened constitutional protection.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The party programme demands strong constitutional protection for democracy and individual liberties and rights and that the status of national minorities and the Sámi as an indigenous people be maintained, while the election manifesto wants to see strengthened constitutional protection. An inquiry about stronger constitutional protection for minorities and minority languages follows from these commitments. The plan goes further than current arrangements also in international law through the demand that ILO Convention 169 be ratified.
Original (Swedish)
Partiprogrammet kräver ett starkt grundlagsskydd för demokratin och de individuella fri- och rättigheterna och att de nationella minoriteternas och samernas ställning som urfolk upprätthålls, medan valmanifestet vill se ett förstärkt grundlagsskydd. En utredning om starkare grundlagsskydd för minoriteterna och minoritetsspråken följer av dessa åtaganden. Planen går längre än dagens ordning även folkrättsligt genom kravet att ILO-konvention 169 ratificeras.
- strong constitutional protectiondecisive»Grundlagsskyddet för demokratin och de individuella fri- och rättigheterna ska vara starkt.« (party programme ↗)“Constitutional protection for democracy and individual liberties and rights shall be strong.”
- minorities' status»Samernas, sverigefinnarnas, tornedalingarnas, judarnas och romernas ställning som nationella minoriteter« (party programme ↗)“The status of the Sámi, Swedish Finns, Tornedalians, Jews and Roma as national minorities”
- strengthened constitutional protection»Vi vill se ett förstärkt grundlagsskydd för vårt demokratiska statsskick« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to see strengthened constitutional protection for our democratic system of government”
- indigenous people's rights»ILO-konvention 169 ska ratificeras« (party programme ↗)“ILO Convention 169 shall be ratified”
The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.
The plan states that the constitution shall secure the rights that must always exist for the individual and explicitly wants to constitutionally protect the status of the Swedish language.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan states that the constitution shall secure the rights that must always exist for the individual and explicitly wants to constitutionally protect the status of the Swedish language. That corresponding investigation of stronger constitutional protection for national minorities, the Sámi and minority languages follows from the plan wanting to ensure minority languages a strong position through legislation. The plan does not state anything about constitutional protection for minorities, so the conclusion is inferred.
Original (Swedish)
Planen menar att grundlagen ska säkerställa de rättigheter som alltid ska finnas för den enskilda och vill uttryckligen grundlagsskydda det svenska språkets ställning. Att på motsvarande sätt utreda ett starkare grundlagsskydd för de nationella minoriteterna, samerna och minoritetsspråken följer av att planen vill tillförsäkra minoritetsspråken en stark ställning genom lagstiftning. Planen uttalar sig inte om just grundlagsskydd för minoriteterna, varför slutsatsen är härledd.
- language's status in the constitutiondecisive»det svenska språket, vars ställning som majoritetsspråk bör vara grundlagsskyddat.« (party programme ↗)“the Swedish language, whose status as a majority language should be constitutionally protected.”
- status of minority languages in law»att göra detta är att tillförsäkra minoritetsspråken en« (party programme ↗)“to do this is to ensure that minority languages are accorded a”
- constitution secures rights»Grundlagen ska säkerställa de rättigheter som alltid« (party programme ↗)“The constitution shall secure the rights that must always”
- support for minorities»människor med annan kulturell bakgrund än den svenska. Det är en central offentlig uppgift att stödja minoriteters egna insatser för att behålla och vidareutveckla« (party programme ↗)“people with a different cultural background than the Swedish. It is a central public task to support minorities' own efforts to maintain and further develop”
The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.
The programme states that freedoms and rights belong to individuals and never to collectives, and explicitly rejects the collectivism of identity politics.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The programme states that freedoms and rights belong to individuals and never to collectives, and explicitly rejects the collectivism of identity politics. A constitutional protection borne by national minorities as groups thus goes against the plan's rights perspective. The plan wants instead a clear catalogue of freedoms and rights in the constitution, but as protection for individual people.
Original (Swedish)
Programmet slår fast att fri- och rättigheter tillhör individer och aldrig kollektiv, och vänder sig uttryckligen mot identitetspolitikens kollektivism. Ett grundlagsskydd som bärs av nationella minoriteter som grupper går därför emot planens rättighetssyn. Planen vill däremot ha en tydlig katalog av fri- och rättigheter i grundlagen, men som skydd för enskilda människor.
- rights belong to individualsdecisive»Fri- och rättigheter tillhör individer och aldrig« (party programme ↗)“Freedoms and rights belong to individuals and never”
- no to identity politics»Denna identitetspolitikens kollektivism strider mot« (party programme ↗)“This collectivism of identity politics contradicts”
- strengthened individual constitutional protection»Vår svenska grundlag ska ha en tydlig katalog av fri- och rättigheter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our Swedish constitution shall have a clear catalogue of freedoms and rights.”
The party programme exempts national minorities from general assimilation efforts and grants them far-reaching cultural autonomy, as well as support to peoples with indisputable historical rights to their territory who strive for increased autonomy.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The party programme exempts national minorities from general assimilation efforts and grants them far-reaching cultural autonomy, as well as support to peoples with indisputable historical rights to their territory who strive for increased autonomy. Investigating stronger constitutional protection for minorities, the Sámi and minority languages is in line with this, and the plan otherwise wants to strengthen the Constitution's rights protection. The constitutional question is not addressed directly. The committee's reasons that the question has been previously examined are not discussed.
Original (Swedish)
Principprogrammet undantar de nationella minoriteterna från allmänna assimileringssträvanden och tillerkänner dem långtgående kulturell autonomi, liksom stöd till folk med historisk rätt till sitt territorium som strävar efter ökad autonomi. Att utreda ett starkare grundlagsskydd för minoriteterna, samerna och minoritetsspråken ligger i linje med det, och planen vill i övrigt förstärka grundlagens rättighetsskydd. Grundlagsfrågan behandlas inte direkt. Utskottets skäl att frågan prövats tidigare berörs inte.
- autonomy for national minoritiesdecisive»ska de som grupper undantas från allmänna assimileringssträvanden och ges långtgående« (party programme ↗)“should be exempted as groups from general assimilation efforts and given far-reaching”
- support for indigenous autonomy»folk som med obestridlig historisk rätt till sitt territorium och stöd i folkrätten strävar efter ökad autonomi« (party programme ↗)“peoples with indisputable historical right to their territory and support in international law strive for increased autonomy”
- strengthened constitutional protection»Förstärka grundlagens rättighetsskydd vad gäller yttrandefrihet, äganderätt och frihet från religion« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen the Constitution's rights protection regarding freedom of expression, property rights and freedom from religion”
- protected indigenous position»Urfolkens ställning och kulturella värden ska värnas i den utrikespolitiska inriktningen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Indigenous peoples' position and cultural values should be protected in foreign policy direction.”
The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.
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Sources and documents
- The committee report on riksdagen.se (2022/23:KU30)
- Committee report full text (HA01KU30)
- Per-MP voting data (API)
- Case status (API)
Documents under consideration
- Motion 2022/23:1000 — Några parlamentariska frågor av Matheus Enholm m.fl. (SD)
- Motion 2022/23:1001 — Grundlag av Matheus Enholm m.fl. (SD)
- Motion 2022/23:1002 — Granskning av Matheus Enholm m.fl. (SD)
- Motion 2022/23:1074 — En trygg demokrati av Ann-Sofie Alm (M)
- Motion 2022/23:1126 — Lobbyistlagstiftning av Mattias Vepsä och Lawen Redar (båda S)
- Motion 2022/23:1194 — Ett demokratiskt statsskick av Teresa Carvalho m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:1214 — Åtgärder för de nationella minoriteterna och minoritetsspråken av Nooshi Dadgostar m.fl. (V)
- Motion 2022/23:1216 — Ett modernt och demokratiskt statsskick av Jessica Wetterling m.fl. (V)
- Motion 2022/23:1232 — En funktionsrättspolitik för trygghet och delaktighet av Maj Karlsson m.fl. (V)
- Motion 2022/23:1265 — Löpande och transparent redovisning av korruptionsärenden vid svenska utrikesmyndigheter av Markus Wiechel och Alexander Christiansson (båda SD)
- Motion 2022/23:1266 — Förtroendevaldas närvaro och arvodessystemet av Markus Wiechel och Alexander Christiansson (båda SD)
- Motion 2022/23:1345 — PR-byråer och konsulter i riksdagen av Peter Hultqvist m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:1380 — Skydd för gemensam egendom av Niklas Karlsson och Joakim Sandell (båda S)
- Motion 2022/23:1503 — Grundlagsfäst public service av Hanna Westerén (S)
- Motion 2022/23:1552 — Skärpt kontroll av lobbyister som verkar gentemot riksdagsledamöter av Gustaf Lantz och Petter Löberg (båda S)
- Motion 2022/23:1556 — Nya konstitutionella spelregler av Aida Birinxhiku m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:1661 — Öppenhet kring lokala partiers finansiering av Rickard Nordin (C)
- Motion 2022/23:1727 — Grundlagsskydd för public service av Eva Lindh m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:181 — Stärk demokratin och de mänskliga rättigheterna av Märta Stenevi m.fl. (MP)
- Motion 2022/23:1840 — Politiska vildar av Maria Stockhaus (M)
Source: The Swedish Parliament