Response to interpellation 2023/24:122 on IS returnees working near children and young people
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
1 KD argues that children and young people should grow up in a safe environment and that it is unacceptable for adults who risk exploiting their position for criminal purposes to have access to children 1. KD emphasizes that employers have a responsibility to carry out thorough recruitment processes and that the legislation regarding which crimes should be included in criminal record extracts for school staff may need to be reviewed 1 2. KD prioritizes combating violent extremism and crime to prevent children from being recruited 3. KD considers that the government is working on reviewing secrecy to enable cooperation between authorities 3. KD considers that the regulatory framework for granting subsidies should be reviewed 4.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Mr. Speaker! Tobias Andersson has asked me how I intend to work forward with questions regarding IS returnees who work close to children and young people. Tobias Andersson has also asked me if I and the government intend to take any measures to guarantee that children and young people receive an upbringing free from IS returnees.
Let me first be clear that we must ensure that those who work with children and young people do not have a background that risks jeopardizing the safety of children and young people or entails a risk that children and young people are socialized and recruited into crime. The information in the article that Tobias Andersson refers to in the interpellation is extremely concerning and should be taken most seriously.
In my role as Minister for Social Affairs with responsibility for youth issues, it is a self-evident matter that children and young people should grow up in a safe environment. It is not acceptable under any circumstances that adults who risk exploiting their position in encounters with children and young people for malicious and criminal purposes are given access to contexts where children and young people are present.
It is important that employers responsible for staff working with children carry out thorough recruitment processes and acquire good knowledge about the person to be employed. Part of this process is checking whether the person in question has previously been convicted of a crime. Employers in municipalities and regions as well as companies and organizations currently have the possibility, according to the Act (2013:852) on register checks of persons who shall work with children, to request a criminal record extract of a person to be employed if the work involves direct and regular contact with children. According to that Act, there is no requirement to request such a criminal record extract upon employment, and it is ultimately the employer's responsibility to ensure that only those who are suitable for a specific position are employed.
In addition, there are other activity-specific regulations that govern the use of register extracts, for example, the Act (2007:171) on register checks at certain residential facilities that receive children. According to this, homes for care or residential care, HVB, and supported housing that receive children may not employ anyone who has not been checked against the criminal record register or the suspicion register. It also states there that the Health and Social Care Inspectorate has the possibility to decide to revoke permits for residential facilities operated in private ownership that do not check register extracts. To further ensure the safety of children and young people, the government proposes in the referral to the Council of Legislation, A window of opportunities - strengthened rights for children and adults in protected housing, that corresponding provisions shall also apply to protected housing that receives children.
In the Education Act (2010:800), specific regulations for register extracts within the school's area are also stated. When new staff are to be employed in preschool and school or within other pedagogical activities, a register check shall be performed. The provisions on register extracts in the Education Act were, however, established over 20 years ago, and in such an extract, there are only details regarding certain specific crimes. Since then, among other things, the crimes of participation in a terrorist organization and involving a minor in criminality have been introduced. The school shall be a safe and secure place where our children and young people can build their future, and there may therefore be reason to review the legislation in this area.
It is at the same time important to remember that the background check register is a complement to other information that a job seeker provides during the recruitment process.
The Government's work in these matters spans several areas where a large number of authorities are involved. For example, the Swedish Security Service (Säkerhetspolisen) conducts continuous monitoring regarding individuals suspected of being part of the violent extremist environment at large, including individuals who have traveled to and returned from conflict zones. The Swedish Security Service makes ongoing assessments of whether this type of individual poses a security threat or not and takes measures based on that. In addition, the Center against violent extremism at the Crime Prevention Council, in turn, has a good state of readiness to provide continuous support to municipalities and professionals at the local level.
Let me conclude by repeating that it is a self-evident matter that children and young people should grow up in a safe environment and that the government is working intensively to ensure that is the case.
Tobias Andersson (SD)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer. As the Minister mentioned, Expressen recently was able to reveal that a large proportion of the mapped IS-returnees have chosen to seek employment in professions where they work close to children and young people - a fact that must be irritating and worrying for most.
Mr. Speaker! Without saying "what was it we said," one can still state that with the Sweden Democrats' policy we would never have ended up in the situation that has now arisen. It is probably familiar to most. The Sweden Democrats would not have welcomed the foreign IS terrorists to Sweden either before or after they chose to join IS. Without immigration of Islamists, there will also be no return of Islamists who have managed to spend time with IS.
We are nevertheless in a situation where it is important that we try to convince both the entire political establishment and the public so that we ensure that all important actors end up not being naive in cases where they have continued to be so.
Certainly, Mr. Speaker, could it be purely hypothetically that those who very deliberately chose to travel all the way to Syria to join a terrorist sect today deeply regret it and have chosen to devote the rest of their lives to helping children and young people in Sweden since they returned here. It would even be a fine thought.
A considerably more probable explanation, however, is that the IS returnees, for strategic reasons, have chosen to seek out a target group where they assess they have the greatest probability of being able to influence and impact the next generation residing in Sweden. It is to mislead children in Sweden and to be able to create a breeding ground for more Islamist extremism in Sweden.
I believe I speak for all Swedes when I say that children and young people should not have to have an IS returnee, such as a social worker, teacher, or youth leader. Today, however, it is a fact that parents repeatedly allow individuals who joined a terror sect to spend time with their children.
It is something that is also occurring without the parents having knowledge of the individual's background, potential sympathies for terrorism, and potential terrorist crimes. It is therefore necessary to have more tools, new legislation, better controls by employers, and so on. This government has initiated some work in the area that concerns more ministers than Jakob Forssmed and also several departments.
In his response, Jakob Forssmed also mentions that even today it is important to have good recruitment processes and that, in some cases, a register extract should be carried out before employment. That is good. I believe that one could broaden when it is relevant to have mandatory register checks, but we can return to that.
Furthermore, the Minister also informs that there are specific regulations for register extracts in the Education Act and that the crimes of participating in a terrorist organization and involving a minor in crime are not included as a standard part of it, which is why there may be reason to review the legislation.
Mr. Speaker! Against that background, I would like to ask the Minister if, in addition to his answer, he also intends to work towards ensuring that the existing legislation is reviewed. Even if it will likely not fall on Jakob Forssmed's department, we nevertheless have a value in protecting young people so that they avoid having IS returnees near them during their upbringing. This could be such a tool.
I would also like to ask Jakob Forssmed to reflect, in a broader sense, on what other measures could be relevant in this area to protect children and young people from IS terrorists.
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Tobias Andersson, for the interpellation and for the discussion! I believe that we are fundamentally in complete agreement that IS returnees who risk drawing children and young people into terrorist activities or into criminal activities at all should not be present.
It is very good if one has returned from IS. If one has committed crimes in connection with having been there, there are good possibilities of bringing a prosecution in court. If one has served time for one's crimes, one should naturally be given a way back. But it is not necessarily the case that it should be in environments among children and young people. In that case, there are other possibilities.
A fundamental problem when IS was at its worst was that we did not have legislation in place that made it illegal to travel and join. Now we have it, which is very good.
As Tobias Andersson also notes, the crimes of participation in a terrorist organization and also involvement of a minor in criminality are relatively new crimes. They are not included in the check that is to be performed in criminal records when hiring persons.
That is also why I say that there may be reason to review this. It is not my preparatory area, but it is other ministers who have to prepare those types of issues. But we agree that there may be reason to do this. That is what I can say today on that question.
Then there are a number of things that need to be done. In addition to this, school leaders and others who employ people need to be careful in the recruitment processes. It is important that they are. Register checks are a component of this. But it is also a matter of them being vigilant in general regarding these types of matters so that we ensure that children and young people are safe in school, in healthcare, at youth centers, and at home. Professionals have a very important role in children's upbringing. It is a matter of them conveying good values to the children so that they can grow up in safety.
I am glad that we have better legislation today. We are prepared to look at many different measures to ensure that those who sympathize with and try to draw young people into terrorist activities will be as far away from our children and young people as is possible at all.
Tobias Andersson (SD)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you again, Jakob Forssmed, for the answer!
I also want to thank the minister for allowing himself to reason a bit more broadly than the area of preparation that I know he has in the matter. If new sharp legislation is to be put forward, changes to the Education Act or so, that work will mainly fall to other ministers in the government that the Sweden Democrats support. This interpellation concerns children and young people, which is something the minister has as part of his area of responsibility. It is about how they risk being affected by the situation we now find ourselves in.
Mr. Speaker! I would unfortunately believe that the 83 of the Express identified IS returnees constitute the tip of an iceberg. We are not just talking about contexts where they act against children and young people. There is a dark figure for how many who have joined IS and how many who have come back. Not everyone has done so in an orderly manner.
There is also a 2018 report from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency where 800 violent Islamists in Sweden have been identified as part of a violent environment with religious or ideological influence.
It is likely that even there it is about the tip of an iceberg and that there are large dark figures for how many in Sweden harbor anti-democratic values and who are ready to, for example, at the request of a terrorist organization, act destructively in Sweden.
It can either occur actively through acts of terrorism or more passively through long-term influence work. In this case, it risks affecting children and young people in environments where they should be escaping that type of indoctrination from youth leaders, school staff, and other adults whom one has every right to feel trust in and feel that one has the possibility to rely on in their professional role.
My fear is that far too many have chosen to seek out these professions in order to be able to spread their violence-promoting ideologies. We also know how, for example, youth centers have been a foothold for recruitment and then perhaps more in gang environments or the like.
Large parts of the public sector risk being infiltrated by both violence-seeking ideological extremists and gang criminals. It is now a fact that we in the government base need to handle. Against this background, I believe that we will need mandatory register checks for all public personnel. The minister may not be able to comment on all cases. But at least parts of it concern subjects that touch upon the minister's portfolio.
It is also the case that register extracts will likely not suffice. Those who have been down and fought for IS and have come back do not all have an entry in the register. More than that may be needed. Access to suspicion registers and to Säpo's registers may be needed. A screening of social media or what associations the individuals in question have may be needed.
I understand that it is a major task that will affect many ministers. The United Kingdom has a system for how it works today. There, they perform a significantly deeper background check that extends further than just the actual extract from the register.
We will have to see to what extent the minister feels motivated to answer the question of whether there are any initiatives in this area. This concerns more cases of mandatory register checks but also that they are broadened to be able to scrutinize other things as well.
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Mr. Speaker! I shall probably stick to what I have said so far regarding this, as it lies somewhat outside my areas of responsibility. I have noted that there is a possibility to perform register checks and that there may be reasons to review which types of crimes one requests extracts for, especially when it concerns work in schools. But in other respects, the government may respond in another way to those types of issues.
Combating violence-oriented extremism and crime is a priority for the government. This includes, of course, combating the recruitment of or socialization of children and young people into extremist or criminal environments.
I also want to mention that the Center against violent extremism has good preparedness to provide continuous support to municipalities and professionals in the actions that need to be taken at the local level. It is important that municipalities and professionals turn to the Center against violent extremism. It is also generally important - the government is working with a general approach here - that we in many areas review confidentiality and ensure that there is an opportunity to break confidentiality to protect children and young people in various ways.
This is what the government does in various contexts. Sometimes it has been built up without being purposeful - it is in any case not purposeful today. An important thing that the government is now doing in area after area is to ensure that authorities can actually cooperate better than they do today. I believe that is a key if one is to be able to handle this problem, where young people risk being influenced by or drawn into various deeply inappropriate environments.
Tobias Andersson (SD)
Madam Speaker! As I began by saying, there are many ministers, politicians, and authorities who collectively need to join forces to succeed in pushing out gang criminals and other types of extremists from public Sweden and from the positions where they have strategically chosen to place themselves at the moment.
A couple of areas that very clearly affect the Minister are, in addition to the youth aspect of the whole, precisely religious communities and sports associations, which belong to the Minister's portfolio. There are examples of how such have been utilized as points for radicalization or as meeting places for extremists. Both religious extremists and gang criminals have seen conditions to find meeting points through a sports movement or through a religious community and its premises where they can meet young people. There, they have been able to work to involve them in different types of crime or extremism.
My final question is whether, within the framework of the Minister's portfolio, there are any thoughts regarding measures to minimize the contact surfaces between such as the interpellation concerns, i.e., IS-returnees or other Islamist extremists, and children, young people, and others who may be moving in religious community contexts or within the framework of sports activities.
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Madam Speaker! It is important to work in different ways to ensure that young people are not drawn into extremist or criminal environments. This applies to both the public sector and the voluntary sector. We are, for example, working on reviewing the regulatory framework for grant funding so that it becomes clearer and simpler to apply, and so that the grants actually go to organizations that in all respects contribute to safeguarding our fundamental values in society, not to organizations that want to counteract them. It is important.
We will also establish a support function for authorities so that they will become better at specifically capturing such things in different types of organizations. I believe that will be a quite important function.
Furthermore, I would also like to say that in September 2021, the government tasked the Swedish Police Authority, the Prison and Probation Service, Sis, and the National Board of Health and Welfare to develop the work regarding support for defectors from criminal, violent, extremist, and honor violence-related environments across the entire country. It is important that this work can be strengthened in various ways.
We shall, as the interpellor says, ensure that no one is drawn into these environments, but for those who have already been drawn into them, there must be ways out. This applies to extremist environments, but it also applies in particular to the criminal environments – sometimes it tends to be the same environments. It is therefore very important that there is a good defector program. There we can perhaps reflect further on what can be done so that more people feel that there is a way out from this type of environment.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.