The Swedish government, with its proclaimed "feminist foreign policy", has been under pressure to reveal how Sweden voted when the UN elected Saudi Arabia to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in April. In a comment, Foreign Minister Margot Wallström has said that they will not reveal this, as it was a secret ballot. Her press secretary did however note that the normal practice is to accept the nominations made by different regions, and that Sweden generally follows this practice.
On Tuesday, the daily Svenska Dagbladet published a story based on written answers from the Foreign Ministry on how many voted in favour and against Saudi Arabia's nomination, and how many countries abstained.
Out of the 54 member states in the Ecosoc council, where the vote was carried out, 47 countries voted in favour and 7 abstained. The Ministry later clarified that voting no was not a possible option, but would not reveal whether Sweden voted yes or abstained.
Considering the status of women in Saudi Arabia, there has been strong criticism, not only in Sweden, against the decision to elect it as a representative on the Commission on the status of Women. The human rights organisation UN Watch has called it "absurd", and in Sweden, the leader of the Liberal party said that it would mean a "collapse for the feminist foreign policy" if it turns out that Sweden voted in favour of Saudi Arabia joining the commission. After the vote, Belgium's prime minister has said that he "regrets" that his country voted in favour, blaming it on "a regrettable diplomatic mix-up".
In its reply to Svenska Dagbladet, the Swedish Foreign Ministry writes that the region of Asia nominated five countries for the five seats allocated to Asia in the women's commission: Irak, South Korea, Japan, Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia. And with that the outcome was pretty much decided.
Seven countries abstained in UN vote on Saudi Arabia - Radio Sweden | Sveriges Radio
On Tuesday, the daily Svenska Dagbladet published a story based on written answers from the Foreign Ministry on how many voted in favour and against Saudi Arabia's nomination, and how many countries abstained.
Out of the 54 member states in the Ecosoc council, where the vote was carried out, 47 countries voted in favour and 7 abstained. The Ministry later clarified that voting no was not a possible option, but would not reveal whether Sweden voted yes or abstained.
Considering the status of women in Saudi Arabia, there has been strong criticism, not only in Sweden, against the decision to elect it as a representative on the Commission on the status of Women. The human rights organisation UN Watch has called it "absurd", and in Sweden, the leader of the Liberal party said that it would mean a "collapse for the feminist foreign policy" if it turns out that Sweden voted in favour of Saudi Arabia joining the commission. After the vote, Belgium's prime minister has said that he "regrets" that his country voted in favour, blaming it on "a regrettable diplomatic mix-up".
In its reply to Svenska Dagbladet, the Swedish Foreign Ministry writes that the region of Asia nominated five countries for the five seats allocated to Asia in the women's commission: Irak, South Korea, Japan, Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia. And with that the outcome was pretty much decided.
Seven countries abstained in UN vote on Saudi Arabia - Radio Sweden | Sveriges Radio
