The Institute for Information on the Crimes of Communism (IICC) ( sv, Upplysning om kommunismen, ''UOK'') is a

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

-based

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

and

non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

organization, founded in 2008, with the stated purpose of "spreading essential information on the crimes of communism and to promote vigilance against all

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

ideologies and antidemocratic movements". The institute is a member organization of the

Platform of European Memory and Conscience Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

, an educational project of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

bringing together government institutions and NGOs active in research, documentation, awareness raising and education about the crimes of totalitarian regimes. The IICC publishes information materials and media, surveys, reports, and teaching materials, participates in the public debate, and organizes film screenings, seminars, hearings, media events and exhibitions related to the subject. The IICC cooperates with national institutions, embassies, institutes, NGO:s and organizations in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The board of directors consists of Camilla Andersson (chair), Anders Hjemdahl, Professor Kristian Gerner, Walburga Habsburg Douglas MP, and Mae Liz Orrego Wennick. The institute is largely funded by the

Confederation of Swedish Enterprise The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise or Swedish Enterprise ( sv, Svenskt Näringsliv) is a major employers' organization for private sector and business sector companies in Sweden. It has 49 member associations representing 60,000 member comp ...

. The institute received the Templeton Freedom Award in 2009. Notable honorable members of the IICC and contributors in its publications and activities are current Minister for Foreign Affairs and former Prime Minister of Sweden

Carl Bildt Nils Daniel Carl Bildt (born 15 July 1949) is a Swedish politician and diplomat who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He was the leader of the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999. Bildt served as Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs ...

, former Prime Minister of Estonia

Mart Laar Mart Laar (born 22 April 1960) is an Estonian politician and historian. He served as the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1992 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2002. Laar is credited with having helped bring about Estonia's rapid economic development dur ...

, former Ambassador and EU Commissioner of Latvia

Sandra Kalniete Sandra Kalniete (born 22 December 1952) is a Latvian politician, author, diplomat and independence movement leader. She served as Foreign Minister of Latvia 2002–2004 and as European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheri ...

, Member of the European Parliament Gunnar Hökmark, professor

Robert Conquest George Robert Acworth Conquest (15 July 1917 – 3 August 2015) was a British historian and poet. A long-time research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, Conquest was most notable for his work on the Soviet Union. His books ...

, professor of history Kristian Gerner, professor of East European studies Stefan Hedlund, professor of history

Klas-Göran Karlsson Klas-Göran Karlsson (born 1955) is a professor of history at Lund University. Karlsson is an author of books on conflictology and Holocaust studies such as "The Holocaust as a Problem of Historical Culture". One of the focus areas of Karlsson' ...

, author and journalist

Staffan Skott Sten Staffan Skott (16 August 1943 – 24 September 2021) was a Swedish journalist, author and translator. He wrote extensively on the history of Russia and the Soviet Union. LIBRIS record foStaffan Skott/ref> He was also a writer for the newspa ...

, author and journalist , and many others. In cooperation with the

government of Sweden The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Ministerappointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the ...

, the organization has carried out remembrance ceremonies on the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism. Prime Minister

Fredrik Reinfeldt John Fredrik Reinfeldt (pronounced ; born 4 August 1965) is a Swedish economist, lecturer, and former politician who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 2006 to 2014, and chairman of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 2003 to 2015. He ...

, Minister of Education

Jan Björklund Jan Arne Björklund (born 18 April 1962) is a Swedish Liberal politician. He was member of the Riksdag from 2006 to 2019, representing Stockholm County, and served as leader of the Liberals from 2007 to 2019. Björklund served as Minister for ...

and EU Ministers Cecilia Malmström and

Birgitta Ohlsson Eva Birgitta Ohlsson Klamberg (born 20 July 1975) is a Swedish politician who was Minister for European Union Affairs in the Swedish government from 2010 to 2014. She is a member of the Liberals, formerly the Liberal People's Party. Birgitta Oh ...

have taken part in events hosted by the institute. The IICC has been involved in raising awareness about the

Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism The Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism was a declaration which was initiated by the Czech government and signed on 3 June 2008 by prominent European politicians, former political prisoners and historians, among them former ...

both in Sweden and internationally.

References

External links

*
Om kommunismen
("About communism"), private website {{Decommunization in Europe Organizations established in 2008 Political organizations based in Sweden Human rights organizations based in Sweden Commemoration of communist crimes Anti-communist organizations Platform of European Memory and Conscience 2008 establishments in Sweden