Response to interpellation 2023/24:338 on Palestinians' right to protection in Sweden

Statsrådet Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)

Mr. Speaker! Tony Haddou has asked me what general initiatives I intend to take so that asylum seekers from Gaza are granted protection in Sweden in accordance with asylum law, as well as what general initiatives I intend to take to ensure that the Swedish Migration Agency fulfills Sweden's international convention obligations.

The Swedish Migration Agency is closely monitoring the developments in Gaza. The agency's current assessment is that the prevailing situation is very concerning and entails great uncertainty and instability. The Swedish Migration Agency has therefore decided on a suspension of enforcement to Gaza, which means that the Swedish Migration Agency will not enforce legally binding deportation or expulsion decisions to Gaza as long as the suspension remains in effect. A decision on a suspension of enforcement does not, however, prevent the agency from deciding on applications for asylum.

As a Minister, I cannot comment on the Swedish Migration Agency's assessments in individual cases. The need for protection in asylum cases is assessed individually by the Swedish Migration Agency, and the person who is judged to have a need for international protection is granted a residence permit in accordance with the Aliens Act. A decision that goes against the individual can be appealed to the migration court.

The Swedish Migration Agency must take into account Sweden's commitments under international conventions in its assessments. The Government considers it important that the asylum process is legally secure and has high legitimacy, and I follow the Migration Agency's work in this area. In order to strengthen quality, uniformity, and legal certainty, the Government, in December 2023, in accordance with an agreement in the Tidö Agreement, gave a mandate to the National Audit Office to conduct a review of the asylum process. The mandate includes reviewing the need for an external oversight function or inspection in the migration area. The mandate shall be reported by October 7, 2024, at the latest.

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Tony Haddou (V)

Mr. Speaker! For over 100 days, Gaza has been fully attacked by the Israeli military. It is the world's most intense bombing of civilian Palestinians, their homes, hospitals, refugee camps, and schools. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is inconceivable. Israel has choked off access to water, food, and electricity, and the Palestinians are suffering from acute famine. So far, 25,000 Palestinians have been killed by the occupying power. The majority of them are women and children. Almost the entire population of 2 million people has been driven into flight within Gaza because they are locked in. The places they are designated to flee to are the places that Israel bombs.

Gaza is the world's most dangerous place - a human catastrophe. And it is not possible to see this development as anything other than having the goal of exterminating Palestinians.

It is against this background that I have posed my questions to the Minister for Migration, because the Swedish Migration Agency has introduced a temporary stay of execution of deportation and expulsion decisions to Gaza according to a legal assessment that is now over three months old and regarding a situation that has only escalated and worsened since then.

Does the Minister intend to take some general initiatives so that asylum seekers from Gaza are granted protection in Sweden in accordance with asylum law? And does the Minister intend to take some general measures to ensure that the Swedish Migration Agency fulfills Sweden's international convention obligations? The assessment that currently exists is unacceptable given the situation in Gaza. And I assert that it violates asylum law not to grant them protection in Sweden. That Palestinians are refugees and must be given protection cannot be made any clearer.

Asylum seekers from there should not risk being deported to extensive and indiscriminate violence where everyone in Gaza risks their lives. Judging by the situation, this also appears to be going to be long-lasting. Furthermore, the cornerstone of the Refugee Convention is that one may not deport a refugee if they risk their life. But a stop is not enough. And if one does not even live up to the most important principle in the asylum process, it is difficult to see how this aligns with asylum law.

The Minister for Migration says in her response that she does not wish to comment on the assessments in individual cases. But I am not asking my questions about the individual reasons or about the individual assessments, rather this is about the general security situation and whether it can be considered so serious that Palestinians should be granted protection.

Does the Minister for Migration consider that there is such a conflict in Gaza now that everyone and everyone else risks protection-grounding treatment? If the Minister for Migration does not see the problem that shines through in the answer, then the question is how long she considers one can pause before it becomes a problem. Or let me rephrase the question: How many more bombs must fall over the Palestinians in Gaza before the Minister for Migration understands that they have a right to protection according to asylum law?

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Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)

Mr. Speaker! The interpellator Tony Haddou writes in his interpellation that the asylum seekers from Gaza must be granted protection in Sweden. He writes this after pro-Palestinian sympathizers in Sweden publicly celebrated the attack against Israel on October 7. It is important to mention that this was an attack where it was obvious that Israeli civilians had been subjected to abuses. Nevertheless, pro-Palestinian sympathizers in Sweden celebrated this attack.

Member of Parliament Tony Haddou wants more Palestinians to be granted residence permits in Sweden while the imported antisemitism from the Middle East is already making life more insecure for Jews in Europe, with the Israel-Palestine conflict acting as a catalyst.

Does Member Haddou not understand that such immigration will make the Jews' vulnerable situation in Sweden even more vulnerable? Or does he understand it but does not care?

There is a considerable amount of evidence showing that immigration from the Middle East to Sweden and the accompanying antisemitism, which is part of certain countries' and organizations' strategy in the Middle East to demonize Israel, has resulted in many Jews either having left Sweden or considering doing so.

Against this background, Member Haddou wants even more Palestinians to come to Sweden. Here we see that the Left Party deliberately wants to make life less safe for Jews in Sweden.

Vänsterpartiet is also the party that for decades has denied that it is precisely the immigration from the Middle East that has resulted in the Jews' vulnerable situation in Sweden's major cities. Despite the evidence that exists, they have simply denied it. At the same time, they have labeled claims of an imported antisemitism as racist. Consequently, Member Haddou cannot understand the consequences of his proposal. But let me still try to explain.

If Sweden begins to accept Palestinians from the war-torn Gaza, it is quite likely that many of these Palestinians will arrive in Sweden filled with the rage of war. And the group they will target then is Sweden's Jews. They will simply bring the war here and continue their war here in Sweden with Sweden's Jews as targets.

Tony Haddou does not need to listen to me. He can go to Rosengård in Malmö and stand in a public place and just ask people what they think about Jews. If the member listens to the answers, he will understand how antisemitism has been imported from the Middle East and created a very dangerous situation for Jews in Sweden.

Through this proposal, where Member Haddou wants more Palestinians to be granted residence permits in Sweden, the imported antisemitism in Sweden will be strengthened, it is obvious.

Mr. Speaker! Does Member Haddou not see the consequences of his proposal? Does Member Haddou not consider that the imported antisemitism has harmed Sweden enough? How is it that Member Haddou prioritizes the protection needs of Gazans over the needs of Swedish Jews for safety?

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Statsrådet Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)

Mr. Speaker! I will first say a few words generally about the dreadful situation in Gaza.

Since the terrorist attack on October 7, the Swedish government has stood up for several central and common European positions. We condemn Hamas's barbaric terrorist attack unreservedly, and we stand behind Israel's self-evident right to defend its country and its people. Israel's right to defend itself must be exercised in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law. Civilians must always be protected. And because Gaza is extremely densely populated, this task becomes more difficult and more important.

Humanitarian access is fundamental. All parties to the conflict have, according to international humanitarian law, a responsibility to ensure that the humanitarian needs of the civilian population are met. It is of the utmost importance that swift, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access is ensured and that humanitarian aid reaches people in need of it.

When it comes to the actual examination of asylum and protection, I, as I previously said, cannot influence or intervene in the Swedish Migration Agency's assessments in individual cases. But I want to be very clear to Tony Haddou that I also do not have the right to direct their legal positions generally, which I think is implied that I have an opportunity to do. If I did that, I think some other colleague would report me to the KU.

An assessment of asylum and protection is individual. The Aliens Act and the practice developed by the Migration Court of Appeal emphasize the importance of an individual assessment, and in accordance with the order of assessment, a person seeking protection in Sweden is first assessed as a refugee. According to the Refugee Convention, Swedish law, and EU rules, a person is assessed as a refugee if they have a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, nationality, religious or political opinion, gender, sexual orientation, or membership in a particular social group.

A person seeking protection in Sweden may be assessed as needing alternative protection if the person is at risk of being sentenced to death or subjected to corporal punishment, torture, or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as if one as a civilian runs a serious risk of being harmed due to an armed conflict.

The assessment of when a person risks being seriously harmed due to violence in the context of an external or internal armed conflict is individual, but in some situations, it may instead involve an assessment of when the violence risks affecting everyone. As I said, the assessment of when this requirement is met is made by Migrationsverket, and I therefore do not have the right to influence that assessment.

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Tony Haddou (V)

Mr. Speaker! I noted that the Sweden Democrats also entered the debate. I have only one thing to say to the representative for the Sweden Democrats, who for four minutes spoke about Jews: Please remind us in the next contribution why the party Sweden Democrats was formed! It would be good if the member did that, I think.

Mr. Speaker! Let me remind you that the government, the Riksdag, and the Minister for Migration himself have established that the goal of Sweden's migration and asylum policy means that the right to asylum shall be protected. Given the course of events in Gaza, one must live up to one's obligations towards refugees, and that is not what is happening now. That is what I mean.

This is incomprehensible, for what is it that is unclear? What does the Swedish Migration Agency or the Minister for Migration consider to be unclear regarding the risk of general violence in Gaza right now? It is also very obvious that the violence will continue for a long time. Palestinians are still not granted protection in Sweden despite the fact that everyone is at risk of being subjected to indiscriminate violence through Israel's armed attacks.

Despite the fact that the violence has continued to escalate, the Swedish Migration Agency maintains the assessment to only introduce a suspension of enforcement. One takes the liberty of a pause in a situation where a full-scale war is obvious and where the whole world can see this. The Minister's answer is that the Swedish Migration Agency is monitoring the developments. Yes, but how much more information is needed to grant protection rather than taking a pause? That one does not act after three months of bombings - which become more intense every day and which kill Palestinian civilians and destroy their homes, hospitals, refugee camps, and schools - is astonishing. It is beyond all criticism that one does not update this.

The Migration Agency's hesitant attitude is even more remarkable considering that the asylum rules now, as a rule, only grant asylum seekers short, temporary residence permits that are reassessed after the time limit expires. That is well the whole purpose of the temporary residence permits – that they are granted and reassessed – but now they are not even granted, even though Gaza is being obliterated step by step, day by day. It is a death zone and a mass grave.

The usual course, according to convention obligations and based on the situation in Gaza, would have been to grant residence permits, but that is not what is being done. One imposes an enforcement stay and simply waits, and after a hundred days, one has not even updated its position—despite the developments in Gaza and despite that during this period we have heard statement after statement from the occupying power, which has called for the displacement of Palestinians and for the establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza. There have also been statements that are being examined for incitement to genocide in the International Court of Justice.

The Swedish Migration Agency acts in contradiction to Sweden's international commitments by not granting protection to all Palestinians in Sweden. That Palestinians are refugees cannot be made any clearer than through what is happening in Gaza right now. But despite the fact that the violence is increasing, the Swedish Migration Agency maintains this assessment, and every minute the situation worsens. Just during our debate right now, several children and mothers are dying, and several are injured. The hospitals have neither medicine, water, nor anesthesia to operate with.

What is it that the Migration Agency or the Minister for Migration considers to be unclear regarding the risk of general violence in Gaza right now? Furthermore, it is very obvious that the violence will continue for a long time. How much more information about the war is needed? The whole world sees this – but obviously not the Minister for Migration or the Migration Agency. The Minister for Migration steps back and says that she cannot do much, but it is obviously possible as a minister to take general initiatives regarding this situation and the grounds for protection.

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Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)

Mr. Speaker! If Member Haddou looked at a map, he would see that there are quite a few countries between Gaza and Sweden. It is interesting that Egypt, which borders Gaza, does not want to accept any migrants from Gaza. Nor do the Arab countries that for decades have used the Palestinian people as a pawn in their rivalry with Israel want to accept migrants from Gaza.

In that situation, the interpellator and Member of Parliament Tony Haddou mean that Sweden - which is located in northern Europe, far away from Israel and Gaza - should receive these people. Member of Parliament Haddou simply means that Sweden should take the responsibility that actually lies with the Arab countries, that is, the countries that for decades have whipped up hatred among the Palestinian people in order to use Palestinians as a weapon against Israelis. According to Member of Parliament Haddou, Sweden should take these Arab countries' responsibility and grant Palestinians residence permits in Sweden.

Many of these Arab countries are in many ways wealthier than Sweden and could easily take in migrants from Gaza. They choose not to do so and wait for those in power in some European country to be reckless enough to take these Arab countries' responsibility. Sweden used to be the country that was duped and took in migrants who were actually the responsibility of other countries, but that time is over. Sweden is no longer the world's social agency.

Refugees from a war ongoing far from here have no business in Sweden. They must turn to the first safe country. Countries such as Qatar, Turkey, and Iran, which are allied with Hamas, who started this war, have a great responsibility. Sweden shall not bear this burden. The wars in the Middle East shall not burden the Swedish people.

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Statsrådet Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)

Mr. Speaker! As I said earlier, the Swedish Migration Agency follows the developments in Gaza closely and continuously updates its operations with new country information. The Swedish Migration Agency also updates the legal positions that form the basis for the assessment of applications for protection, and this is naturally done continuously as needed.

The Swedish Migration Agency, as is known, made a decision regarding a stay of execution concerning Gaza on October 10. This means that the execution of legally binding deportation and expulsion decisions to Gaza is temporarily stopped, that is, stayed. However, the Swedish Migration Agency continues to examine and decide on asylum cases from Gaza. The stay of execution therefore does not prevent the Swedish Migration Agency from examining applications for protection.

Naturally, the Swedish Migration Agency must take into account Sweden's commitments under international conventions in its assessments, just as Tony Haddou mentioned here. If one is not satisfied with the Migration Agency's assessment based on these, one also has the opportunity to obtain a further review in court.

I also want to emphasize that it continues to be not particularly many Palestinians who come to Sweden. The number of Palestinians and stateless persons seeking asylum in Sweden decreased during 2023, and no increase has been seen during the autumn and winter 2023/24. There is no statistics on how many of those who apply have their residence in Gaza, but in total 83 Palestinians sought asylum in Sweden during 2023, which is a halving compared to the year before. Most Palestinians seeking asylum in the EU are currently seeking asylum in Greece and Belgium instead.

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Tony Haddou (V)

Mr. Speaker! SD obviously did not, after having talked so much about Jews, explain why they were formed. That could have been explained here during the interpellation debate.

As the minister said, there will be no applications from Palestinians from Gaza. They are locked in Gaza and are being bombed by Israel right now; that is why there are no applications from them. I am talking about those who are here; it is these people that it concerns.

The Minister has a responsibility to ensure that the right to asylum is protected. This debate is about the fact that the right to asylum must be protected. I mean that it is not being protected now, with this position, and that they are not being given the protection they have a right to.

The Minister is also responsible for ensuring that we fulfill our convention commitments. International law, in particular asylum law, was not created for days of peace and freedom but for difficult times when humanity shows its worst sides. After the atrocities and dangers of the Second World War, which had driven 60 million people into flight, the realization came that a promise between states was needed to protect people in the future when they are fleeing from war, persecution, and torture. Sweden has signed that promise.

We have a Migration Minister who is to ensure that we follow this convention commitment, but with the line and the legal assessment that the Swedish Migration Agency now has, people are not given that protection. One simply puts a stop to it, which is completely wrong. It is in conflict with asylum law. There is clear information about what is happening in Gaza. The ground for protection cannot be made any clearer.

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Statsrådet Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)

Mr. Speaker! We have such an order in Sweden that we do not have ministerial rule. I would gladly have a separate seminar with Tony Haddou on whether this should be changed, but as things stand now, which is what I have to work with, it is the authorities that make assessments in the individual cases and produce legal positions. If one is not satisfied with that, one can, as mentioned, appeal to the court. The court has, just like the Swedish Migration Agency, to follow the international commitments that we are subject to.

I want to continuously ensure that we continue to maintain high quality in the migration process. Therefore, in accordance with the Tidö Agreement, we have commissioned the Swedish Government Offices to conduct a review of the asylum process with the aim of strengthening quality, consistency, and legal certainty. This assignment is, as mentioned, to be reported on October 7, 2024.

As a government minister, I cannot intervene and overrule the assessment regarding the individual area that this interpellation concerns at the Swedish Migration Agency, which I believe the interpellator is well aware of.

I would like to conclude by thanking you for the debate.

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

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