The Swedish Human Rights Council has now a representative from the independent living movement. A few days before Midsummer, our lawyer, Mari Siilsalu, was elected as a member of this council. With the appointment of Mari, the Council has its first representative of the independent living movement.
The Council is an advisory body to the Institute for Human Rights in Lund and consists of twenty members with a broad background. The purpose of the council is to provide the institute with knowledge and experience from civil society and other actors. There must be representatives of organisations representing people with disabilities.
Although both disability and migration have previously been represented in the council, Mari believes that ILI adds something. She exemplifies with ILI's projects Disabled refugees welcome, Disabled refugees support center and Disabled refugees stories:
"Now ILI has the opportunity to contribute to the Council's knowledge based on the Independent Living philosophy and principles. Based on what we have learned from projects for people with disabilities and migrant backgrounds, we will share our experiences of the intersection between migration experience and disability," says Mari Siilsalu.
Both organisations and private individuals can nominate members. The Board of Directors of the Institute for Human Rights then appoints the members of the Council. The council will sit until spring 2028. They have their first meeting in September in Lund.
/Sara Shamloo Ekblad
