Equal treatment, freedom from discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual preference, age, disability or ethnic background and the ability to affect your own life as well as the society in which you live are basic human and democratic rights that are hugely important in combating poverty.
These rights are not a foregone conclusion for millions of people. Democracy, human rights and equality are therefore overall targets for Sweden’s development co-operation, and an area where Sweden is investing most.
Democracy – a controversial issue
Providing support in these areas is met with some controversy, mainly due to the fact that it involves sharing power in society so that poor people and women have a greater say. Sida is therefore working with these issues in many different ways and together with several players – governments in partner countries, international organizations such as the UN and the World Bank and with popular movements and other civilian organizations in Sweden and partner countries. Current examples of efforts that Sweden is supporting are:
- The creation of a new and democratic police organization in Rwanda.
- Promoting free media in Sri Lanka through the Sri Lanka Press Institute.
- Social protection for adults and children in Tajikistan.
- Setting up an ombudsman for the indigenous population in Guatemala, as part of an overall effort to improve the rights of women and indigenous populations.
- Supporting Roma’s rights in Kosovo, which includes breaking the double discrimination of female Roma.
- Counteracting circumcision in Kenya by developing alternative rituals for girls and young women.
- Promoting children’s rights within the legal sector in Laos.
Gender equality important in all development assistance efforts
Women and girls suffer much more due to poverty and the absence of legal protection than men and boys. The reason for this is that equal opportunities for women do not exist in every area, especially in terms of employment, owning and earning money.
There should be an equality perspective in all of Sida’s efforts. An analysis is always done on how a contribution affects women and men. At present, Sida is also making special contributions to build women’s economic influence and to combat sexually-related violence.
Sweden’s support for democracy, equality and human rights
- Democracy and human rights are the largest areas for our development assistance.
- In 2008, more than SEK 3 billion of the development assistance grant went to direct efforts for democracy and human rights, which make up 21 per cent of Sida’s total development assistance grant.
- In 2009, a grant of SEK 100 million was also introduced for organizations and groups working for democracy under particularly difficult or risky conditions, with a special focus on human rights defenders and freedom of expression.
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