2026-02-252025/26:KrU4 · p.11KrUCulture
Repatriation
Repatriating human remains and objects belonging to Tornedalians, Kvens and Lantalaiset
What's at stake: The outcome matters to Tornedalians, Kvens and Lantalaiset seeking the dignified return and reburial of ancestors' remains and objects held in museums and collections, and to the agencies and institutions responsible for carrying out repatriation.
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 heritage agency should be given an explicit mandate to investigate the legal, economic and practical conditions for repatriating human remains and objects belonging to Tornedalians, Kvens and Lantalaiset - mirroring the process already carried out for Sami remains - or whether the current, less formalised work should continue without a new mandate.
Yes Yes — the committee proposal
The committee notes that the heritage agency (RAÄ) already distributes grants to help fund the costs of returning human remains and objects, welcomes the county administrative board in Norrbotten's mandate to support the reconciliation process with Tornedalians, Kvens and Lantalaiset, and welcomes the Sami parliament's collaboration with the heritage agency aimed at making the handling of return requests faster and more effective. The committee intends to keep monitoring the issue but rejects the motions with reference to this ongoing work.
No No — the reservations
Reservation 15 (MP)
The reservation (MP) calls for the heritage agency to be given a specific mandate to analyse and describe the legal, economic and practical conditions for identifying and repatriating remains and objects belonging to Tornedalians, Kvens and Lantalaiset, following the same approach already used for Sami remains. The reasoning is that a first repatriation and reburial of remains linked to the Meänkieli-speaking population has already taken place, and that the process - though complicated and costly - is urgent to speed up for these groups as well.
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 15 by MP.
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 | Yes 18/0/0/4 | departs from the plan | confidence: high | not addressed |
| S | No | Abstain 0/0/93/13 | departs from the plan | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| MP | No | No 0/16/0/2 | follows the plan | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| C | No | Yes 21/0/0/3 | departs from the plan | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| L | No | Yes 13/0/0/3 | departs from the plan | confidence: low | not addressed |
| KD | No | Yes 17/0/0/2 | departs from the plan | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| M | No | Yes 60/0/0/8 | departs from the plan | confidence: low | not addressed |
| SD | No | Yes 62/0/0/9 | departs from the plan | confidence: low | not addressed |
Committee proposal
Parliament rejects the motions 2025/26:3437 by Jan Riise et al. (MP) demand 4, 2025/26:3459 by Björn Wiechel et al. (S) demand 55, 2025/26:3721 by Jennie Nilsson et al. (S) demand 26, and 2025/26:3775 by Amanda Lind et al. (MP) demands 51 and 52.
Original (Swedish)
Riksdagen avslår motionerna 2025/26:3437 av Jan Riise m.fl. (MP) yrkande 4, 2025/26:3459 av Björn Wiechel m.fl. (S) yrkande 55, 2025/26:3721 av Jennie Nilsson m.fl. (S) yrkande 26 och 2025/26:3775 av Amanda Lind m.fl. (MP) yrkandena 51 och 52.
Riksdag decision: Parliament rejected 103 proposals concerning cultural heritage and cultural environment. The proposals were submitted during the general motion period 2025 and concern, among other things, museum matters, cultural heritage conservation, preparedness within the cultural heritage sector, and national minorities. Parliament refers primarily to the fact that work is already underway in the areas covered by the proposals.
Counter-proposals
- The counter-proposal wants to ensure long-term state financing of rent costs for cultural institutions, establish county museums in every county, and preserve state contributions to cultural heritage preservation. (MP) — Reservation 15
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 the Swedish state has historically subjected indigenous peoples and national minorities to serious injustices and that Sweden has a special task to strengthen their rights to identity, language and cultural heritage in light of that history.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan establishes that the Swedish state has historically subjected indigenous peoples and national minorities to serious injustices and that Sweden has a special task to strengthen their rights to identity, language and cultural heritage in light of that history. A commission to investigate the conditions for returning remains and objects from the Tornedalians, the Kvens and the Lantalaiset is a concrete application of that, and the plan also wants knowledge of these structures to be built up and disseminated.
Original (Swedish)
Planen slår fast att svenska staten historiskt utsatt urfolk och nationella minoriteter för allvarliga oförrätter och att Sverige har en särskild uppgift att stärka deras rättigheter till identitet, språk och kulturarv i ljuset av den historien. Ett uppdrag att utreda förutsättningarna för att återbörda kvarlevor och föremål från tornedalingar, kväner och lantalaiset är en konkret tillämpning av det, och planen vill också att kunskapen om dessa strukturer byggs upp och sprids.
- historical injusticesdecisive»Den svenska staten har genom historien utsatt urfolk och nationella« (party programme ↗)“The Swedish state has throughout history subjected indigenous peoples and national”
- special task for minorities»Sverige har en särskild uppgift att stärka urfolks och« (party programme ↗)“Sweden has a special task to strengthen indigenous peoples' and”
- right to cultural heritage»de nationella minoriteternas rättigheter till identitet, språk, kulturarv« (party programme ↗)“national minorities' rights to identity, language, cultural heritage”
- disseminate knowledge of the history»Sverige behöver överhuvudtaget bygga upp och sprida kunskap om« (party programme ↗)“Sweden needs in fact to build up and disseminate knowledge about”
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 party programme highlights rights for national minorities and combating racism and discrimination as separate goals, and wants cultural heritage to be brought to life.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The party programme highlights rights for national minorities and combating racism and discrimination as separate goals, and wants cultural heritage to be brought to life. That the cultural heritage authority is able to analyse the conditions for returning remains and objects from Tornedalians, Kvens and Lantalaiset in the same way as already done for Sámi remains follows from equal treatment in these commitments. The plan therefore supports the requirement.
Original (Swedish)
Partiprogrammet lyfter rättigheter för nationella minoriteter och bekämpande av rasism och diskriminering som egna mål, och vill att kulturarvet levandegörs. Att kulturarvsmyndigheten får analysera förutsättningarna för att återbörda kvarlevor och föremål från tornedalingar, kväner och lantalaiset på samma sätt som redan skett för samiska kvarlevor följer av likabehandlingen i dessa åtaganden. Planen stöder därför kravet.
- rights of minoritiesdecisive»Rättigheter för nationella minoriteter.« (party programme ↗)“Rights for national minorities.”
- living cultural heritage»Levandegörande av det svenska kultur- och världsarvet.« (party programme ↗)“Bringing to life the Swedish cultural and world heritage.”
- against discrimination of minorities»Bekämpande av rasism och diskriminering.« (party programme ↗)“Combating racism and discrimination.”
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 national minorities have been subjected to abuse and discrimination and that there is a great responsibility to learn from history and protect their culture and heritage.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan states that national minorities have been subjected to abuse and discrimination and that there is a great responsibility to learn from history and protect their culture and heritage. A commission to clarify the conditions for returning human remains and objects from Tornedalians, Kvens and Lantalaiset is a concrete expression of that responsibility. The plan also sees cultural heritage as common and the state's responsibility to manage it.
Original (Swedish)
Planen konstaterar att de nationella minoriteterna utsatts för övergrepp och diskriminering och att det finns ett stort ansvar att lära av historien och skydda deras kultur och historia. Ett uppdrag att klarlägga förutsättningarna för att återbörda kvarlevor och föremål från tornedalingar, kväner och lantalaiset är ett konkret uttryck för det ansvaret. Planen ser också kulturarvet som gemensamt och statens ansvar att förvalta det.
- acknowledge historical abusedecisive»Än idag och genom historien har de nationella minoriteterna utsatts för övergrepp« (party programme ↗)“To this day and through history, national minorities have been subjected to abuse”
- responsibility to learn from history»Vi har ett stort ansvar att lära oss av historien« (party programme ↗)“We have a great responsibility to learn from history”
- protection of minorities' culture»rättigheter, sin kultur och sin historia respekterade och skyddade.« (party programme ↗)“rights, their culture and their history respected and protected.”
- common cultural heritage»Kulturarvet är vårt gemensamma arv.« (party programme ↗)“Cultural heritage is our common heritage.”
The election manifesto commits to strengthening minority protection and that those who have been harmed shall receive redress, which bears the counter-proposal's requirement that conditions for repatriation of remains and objects are investigated also for Torne Vallians, Kvens and Lantalaiset.
Plan documents: 2022 manifesto · party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The election manifesto commits to strengthening minority protection and that those who have been harmed shall receive redress, which bears the counter-proposal's requirement that conditions for repatriation of remains and objects are investigated also for Torne Vallians, Kvens and Lantalaiset. The party programme makes it a public task to care for and develop cultural heritage and establishes that structural racism in all its forms shall be countered. That the group is not named in the plan makes the conclusion derived.
Original (Swedish)
Valmanifestet åtar sig att stärka minoritetsskyddet och att den som utsatts ska få upprättelse, vilket bär motförslagets krav på att förutsättningarna för repatriering av kvarlevor och föremål utreds även för tornedalingar, kväner och lantalaiset. Partiprogrammet gör det till en offentlig uppgift att vårda och utveckla kulturarvet och slår fast att strukturell rasism i alla dess former ska motverkas. Att gruppen inte nämns vid namn i planen gör slutsatsen härledd.
- strengthened minority protectiondecisive»Vi vill stärka bland annat äganderätten, diskrimineringsförbudet, minoritetsskyddet och minoritetsspråkens ställning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen among other things property rights, the prohibition on discrimination, minority protection and the status of minority languages”
- care for cultural heritage»till att vårda och utveckla ett kulturarv« (party programme ↗)“to care for and develop a cultural heritage”
- redress for those harmed»Mer måste göras mot diskriminering. Vi vill stärka myndigheternas arbete mot diskriminering och höja ersättningen till dem som utsatts, samt lägga till kön och funktionsnedsättning som hatbrottsgrunder.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More must be done against discrimination. We want to strengthen the authorities' work against discrimination and raise compensation for those harmed, as well as add gender and disability as hate crime grounds.”
- counter structural racism»Diskriminering, strukturell rasism och intolerans, i alla dess former, ska motverkas.« (party programme ↗)“Discrimination, structural racism and intolerance, in all its forms, shall be countered.”
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 lacks writings on repatriation, but establishes that the Torne Valley people's position as a national minority shall be maintained and that cultural heritage in Sweden shall be kept accessible for future generations.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan lacks writings on repatriation, but establishes that the Torne Valley people's position as a national minority shall be maintained and that cultural heritage in Sweden shall be kept accessible for future generations. Giving the cultural-heritage authority the task of analysing the conditions for returning remains to Torne Valley people, Kven and Lantalaiset aligns with these commitments and with museums' strengthened research role. The stance is derived, and uncertainty therefore large.
Original (Swedish)
Planen saknar skrivningar om repatriering, men slår fast att tornedalingarnas ställning som nationell minoritet ska upprätthållas och att kulturarvet i Sverige ska hållas tillgängligt för kommande generationer. Att ge kulturarvsmyndigheten i uppdrag att analysera förutsättningarna för återlämnande av kvarlevor till tornedalingar, kväner och lantalaiset ligger i linje med dessa åtaganden och med museernas stärkta forskningsuppdrag. Ställningstagandet är härlett, och osäkerheten därför stor.
- national minorities' positiondecisive»Samernas, sverigefinnarnas, tornedalingarnas, judarnas och romernas ställning som nationella minoriteter och samernas ställning som urfolk ska upprätthållas.« (party programme ↗)“The Sámi people's, Swedish Finns', Torne Valley people's, Jewish people's and Romani people's position as national minorities and the Sámi people's position as indigenous people shall be maintained.”
- cultural heritage made accessible»Det kulturarv som finns i Sverige är en del av mänsklighetens gemensamma kulturarv och ska hållas tillgängligt för kommande generationer.« (party programme ↗)“The cultural heritage that exists in Sweden is part of humanity's shared cultural heritage and shall be kept accessible for future generations.”
- museums' research role»Museernas roll som bildningsinstitutioner och deras forskningsanknytning ska stärkas.« (party programme ↗)“Museums' role as educational institutions and their research affiliation shall be strengthened.”
- public support for minority culture»Det offentliga ska understödja ett språk-, kultur- och medieutbud med minoritetsspråksprofil.« (party programme ↗)“The public shall support linguistic, cultural and media provision with a minority-language profile.”
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 requires that the needs and interests of national minorities be considered in all parts of the country and at all levels of the public sector, and explicitly mentions Tornedal Swedes among the groups whose rights shall be recognized.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan requires that the needs and interests of national minorities be considered in all parts of the country and at all levels of the public sector, and explicitly mentions Tornedal Swedes among the groups whose rights shall be recognized. Supporting minorities' own efforts is described as a central public task, and stewardship encompasses material cultural heritage. A mandate to investigate the conditions for repatriation of remains and objects follows from these commitments.
Original (Swedish)
Planen kräver att de nationella minoriteternas behov och intressen beaktas i alla delar av landet och på alla nivåer i den offentliga sektorn, och nämner uttryckligen tornedalingar bland de grupper vars rättigheter ska tillerkännas. Att stödja minoriteters egna insatser beskrivs som en central offentlig uppgift, och förvaltarskapet omfattar det materiella kulturarvet. Ett uppdrag att utreda förutsättningarna för repatriering av kvarlevor och föremål följer av dessa åtaganden.
- minorities' interests are considereddecisive»intressen beaktas i alla delar av landet och på alla nivåer i den offentliga sektorn.« (party programme ↗)“interests are considered in all parts of the country and at all levels of the public sector.”
- recognized rights for Tornedal Swedes»samer, sverigefinländare, tornedalingar, romer och judar språkliga och etniska rättigheter« (party programme ↗)“Sámi, Swedish Finns, Tornedal Swedes, Roma and Jews linguistic and ethnic rights”
- public support for minority culture»Det är en central offentlig uppgift att stödja minoriteters egna insatser« (party programme ↗)“It is a central public task to support minorities' own efforts”
- stewardship of cultural heritage»Detta förvaltarskap omfattar det materiella kulturarv som vi ser i form av till« (party programme ↗)“This stewardship encompasses the material cultural heritage that we see in the form of to”
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 says nothing about repatriation of human remains.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan says nothing about repatriation of human remains. The closest principles are that every person deserves basic respect and that the party values the historical continuity that Sweden represents while also wanting to learn from history. To analyse the conditions for return in the same way as already done for Sámi remains follows from this, but the support in the plan is weak.
Original (Swedish)
Planen säger inget om repatriering av mänskliga kvarlevor. Närmast liggande principer är att varje människa förtjänar grundläggande respekt och att partiet värdesätter den historiska kontinuitet som Sverige representerar samtidigt som man vill lära av historien. Att analysera förutsättningarna för återlämnande på samma sätt som redan gjorts för samiska kvarlevor följer av detta, men stödet i planen är svagt.
- respect for every persondecisive»människa förtjänar grundläggande respekt« (party programme ↗)“every person deserves basic respect”
- learn from history»av historien, utan att fastna i nostalgi« (party programme ↗)“of history, without getting caught in nostalgia”
- historical continuity»Moderaterna värdesätter den kontinuitet som Sverige« (party programme ↗)“The Moderate Party values the continuity that Sweden”
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 recognises the Torne Valley Finnish nation and establishes that national minorities as groups shall be exempt from general assimilation efforts and granted far-reaching cultural autonomy.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The plan recognises the Torne Valley Finnish nation and establishes that national minorities as groups shall be exempt from general assimilation efforts and granted far-reaching cultural autonomy. It also wants to protect, nurture and showcase cultural heritage and minorities' cultural values. A commission to investigate the conditions for returning remains and objects to these groups aligns with this, even though the plan does not address repatriation specifically.
Original (Swedish)
Planen erkänner den tornedalsfinska nationen och slår fast att nationella minoriteter som grupper ska undantas från allmänna assimileringssträvanden och ges långtgående kulturell autonomi. Den vill också värna, vårda och visa kulturarvet och minoriteters kulturella värden. Ett uppdrag att utreda förutsättningarna för att återbörda kvarlevor och föremål till dessa grupper ligger i linje med det, även om planen inte behandlar repatriering särskilt.
- cultural autonomy for minoritiesdecisive»assimileringssträvanden och ges långtgående kulturell autonomi« (party programme ↗)“assimilation efforts and granted far-reaching cultural autonomy”
- recognised Torne Valley Finnish nation»relation till de samiska och tornedalsfinska nationerna« (party programme ↗)“relation to the Sámi and Torne Valley Finnish nations”
- protect cultural heritage»Sverigedemokraterna vill värna, vårda och visa svensk kultur.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to protect, nurture and showcase Swedish culture.”
- protect minorities' cultural values»Urfolkens ställning och kulturella värden ska värnas i den utrikespolitiska inriktningen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The position of indigenous peoples and their cultural values shall 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 (2025/26:KrU4)
- Committee report full text (HD01KrU4)
- Per-MP voting data (API)
- Case status (API)
Documents under consideration
- Motion 2025/26:1009 — Världsarvet Hälsingegårdar av Daniel Persson (SD)
- Motion 2025/26:101 — Museum för varvs- och industrihistoria i Göteborg av Björn Tidland (SD)
- Motion 2025/26:104 — Avveckling av Världskulturmuseet och inrättande av ett museum för runstenar av Björn Tidland (SD)
- Motion 2025/26:106 — Bevarandeprogram för runstenar av Björn Tidland (SD)
- Motion 2025/26:1181 — Höjning av den kyrkoantikvariska ersättningen av Kerstin Lundgren (C)
- Motion 2025/26:1255 — Arkivens betydelse för demokratin av Denis Begic m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2025/26:1258 — Modernisering av kulturmiljölagen av Inga-Lill Sjöblom och Ardalan Shekarabi (båda S)
- Motion 2025/26:129 — Skärpta straff för plundring, skadegörelse och illegal handel med svenska fornminnen och kulturarv av Rashid Farivar (SD)
- Motion 2025/26:1475 — Kyrkoantikvarisk ersättning av Mirja Räihä m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2025/26:1483 — Bevarande av minnet av varvsindustrin av Niklas Karlsson (S)
- Motion 2025/26:167 — Skydd av kristna palestinier samt bevarande av kyrkor och kristna institutioner i Palestina och Israel av Jamal El-Haj (-)
- Motion 2025/26:168 — al-Aqsamoskéns betydelse och behovet av svensk markering av Jamal El-Haj (-)
- Motion 2025/26:1704 — Möjlighet att förvara och visa vissa kulturarvsföremål i deras hemort av Staffan Eklöf (SD)
- Motion 2025/26:1740 — Kulturarvet Uppåkra av Boriana Åberg m.fl. (M)
- Motion 2025/26:1800 — Krafttag mot antisemitism av Magnus Jacobsson (KD)
- Motion 2025/26:1864 — Likvärdiga ekonomiska förutsättningar för museer av Sanne Lennström (S)
- Motion 2025/26:1880 — Minnesmonument över folkmordet i Srebrenica av Laila Naraghi m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2025/26:1968 — Höga kostnader för arkeologiska undersökningar av Sten Bergheden (M)
- Motion 2025/26:2000 — Etablering av ett nationellt seyfocenter i Sverige av Yusuf Aydin (KD)
- Motion 2025/26:2001 — Stöd till det kristna kulturarvet i Turkiet av Yusuf Aydin (KD)
Source: The Swedish Parliament