Human Rights Complicity in Contemporary Manifestations of Racism

In the article, I examine how the ideologization of human rights contributes to their complicity in contemporary forms of racism by rendering racism invisible and overlooking the risks of indirect discrimination. The analysis is contextualized by an examination of the political discourse surrounding Sweden’s efforts to combat honor-based violence, where human rights and gender equality are invoked. I argue that their invocation can be interpreted as an example of the ideologization of human rights through nationalistic rhetoric and politics, with human rights being framed as “Swedish values.” This interpretation of human rights risks limiting their critical potential, turning human rights into a tool for self-justification and domination rather than a genuine framework for addressing social injustices.