UNHCR Baltic and Nordic Headlines (uutiskirje)

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Tässä ketjussa julkaistaan UNHCR:n kolme kertaa viikossa ilmestyvän uutiskirjeen sisältö eli englanninkielinen yhteenveto maahanmuuttoaiheisista uutisista Pohjoismaista ja Baltian alueelta.

http://www.unhcr.fi/en/News/baltic_nordic_en.html

Uutisarkisto löytyy täältä: http://www.unhcr.fi/en/News/baltic_nordic_archive_en.html

Älkää kommentoiko uutisia tähän ketjuun, jotta se säilyy helppolukuisena. Jos yksittäinen uutinen tuntuu huomion arvoiselta, niin sitä voi käsitellä jossain aiemmin avatussa ketjussa tai sille voi luoda oman ketjun sopivaan osastoon.

Uutiskirjeessä on referaattien perässä linkit alkuperäisiin uutisiin, mutta ne katoavat tänne copy&paste:lla kopioitaessa. Uutiset ja sieltä löytyvät linkit voi halutessaan katsoa yllämainituista osoitteista.


Edit: sinistä.

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Saturday 9 January to Monday 11 January 2010

Denmark

Iraqi children face psychological problems
A new study reveals that nearly every Iraqi child, whose family is about to be deported, has thoughts of suicide and suffers from depression. Few children receive treatment and the psychological problems worsen as the children get older.
JP.dk 10 January 2010 (in Danish)

Sweden

Rise in Somali and Afghan asylum-seekers, decrease in Iraqis
The number of asylum-seekers from Iraq has fallen sharply in 2009 compared to 2008, whereas the number of Somali and Afghan asylum-seekers has increased. In 2009 Somalis constituted the largest group of asylum-seekers with 5,558 applications, a 75 per cent increase compared to 2008. "The situation in Somalia has deteriorated during the year and unfortunately we see no hope of an improvement. In principle, everyone from Somalia is granted asylum since our assessment is that there is an armed conflict in the country", says the Migration Board's Fredrik Beijer. Furthermore, the number of Afghan asylum-seekers has more than doubled, to 1,694. Meanwhile the number of Iraqi asylum-seekers has decreased by 67 per cent compared to 2008, meaning that there were 2,297 new Iraqi asylum-seekers in Sweden last year. The number of unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers arriving in Sweden reached a new record in 2009, as 2,250 children applied for asylum. Most of the minors came from Somalia and Afghanistan. Altogether there were 24,194 asylum-seekers in 2009, a slight decrease compared to 2008. Only around one-third were granted permission to stay in Sweden.
SR 10 January 2009 (in Swedish)
SR 10 January 2009 (in English)
SvD 11 January 2009 (in Swedish) I: 6

NB. This story was also covered in Finland
Vasabladet 10 January 2009 (in Swedish)

UNHCR critical to Iraqi deportations
The number of Iraqi asylum-seekers arriving in Sweden has decreased due to the stricter measures that have been introduced. Sweden started forcibly returning rejected asylum-seekers to Iraq in 2008 as the Migration Court of Appeal ruled that there is "no armed conflict in Iraq" anymore, a decision that was criticized by the UN Refugee Agency. "Asylum-seekers coming from the central parts of Iraq are still in need of protection and no-one should be sent back to these parts of the country", says UNHCR Spokesperson Hanne Mathisen. The number of Iraqi asylum-seekers has increased in neighboring Finland and Norway as a result of Sweden's stricter policy.
SVT Rapport 11 January 2009 (in Swedish)


UNHCR in the news

UN High Commissioner for Refugees to visit Italy following clashes
Thousands of immigrants have demonstrated against racism in Rosarno in the south of Italy.The demonstrations were a continuation of Friday's clashes that started after a group of local youths shot at African immigrants with air-rifles. Seven immigrants were detained after the clashes that left 30 persons injured. The UN Refugee Agency is worried about the persecution of immigrants, and wants to start a debate on the inhumane living conditions of immigrants The UN High Commissioner for Refugees was supposed to visit the region on Saturday.
YLE 8 January 2009 (in Finnish)

Immigrants harassed in Southern Italy
Pope Benedict XVI urges Italians to respect the rights of African migrant workers after a wave of violence against African immigrants. At least 70 persons have been wounded during the violent riots in recent days in the city of Rosarno, Italy. "There is a very serious security problem here. Many immigrants who work on local farms are scared and just want to leave, even though many of them have not yet been paid", said UNHCR spokesperson Laura Boldrini.
Dagsavisen 11 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

Refugees from Myanmar find home in landfill
An increasing amount of illegal refugees from Myanmar are finding housing near a garbage dump in the outskirts of Mae Sot, Thailand. Aid organizations fear that the flow of refugees will increase significantly during the upcoming elections in Myanmar. According to UNHCR there are some 140 000 refugees from Myanmar living in official camps in Thailand.  Many refugees living by the landfill have been raped and had their villages burnt down.
VG.no 11 January 2010 (in Norwegian)
NRK.no 11 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

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Tuesday 12 January to Wednesday 13 January 2010

Latvia

Government planning to grant benefits to asylum-seekers
The government plans to grant asylum-seekers supplementary benefits of LVL 1,50  (EUR 2,13) per day for food, clothes and items of personal hygiene. During the last 10 years Latvia has granted asylum to 17 immigrants.
Vesti Segodnya 7 January 2010, according to Latvian Centre for Human Rights Integration Monitor 11 January 2010 (in English)

Norway

Storberget gets "told off" by UN
UNHCR Regional Representative for the Baltic and Nordic countries, Hans ten Feld, has criticized Minister of Justice and the Police Knut Storberget's decision to forcibly return 30 Iraqis to central parts of Iraq. Due to the unstable security situation in the central provinces of Iraq, UNHCR has urged countries not to return persons to these areas. In a letter to Storberget dated 11 December 2009, ten Feld expressed that he is deeply concerned and that the deportation of Iraqis sends the wrong message to other countries. " We sent similar letters to Sweden and Denmark when they started the forced deportations of Iraqis. We know that the authorities are aware of our recommendations, but we still want to remind them of our position", said ten Feld.
"It is not a great strain for Iraq to accept 30 persons from Norway. But this can send the wrong signals to neighboring countries like Syria and Jordan, as these countries with fewer resources, have protected up to two million Iraqi refugees. Returning Iraqis on a larger scale will not make a positive contribution to the reconstruction and stability in the country", he continued. Storberget has said that each case must be considered individually. Storberget has also acknowledged that Norway's asylum policy is not completely in line with UN recommendations. 
Aftenposten.no 13 January 2010 (in Norwegian)
VG.no 13 January 2010 (in Norwegian) 

Norway to return more asylum-seekers
Minister of Justice and the Police, Knut Storberget, said Tuesday that Norway may return more rejected asylum-seekers using chartered planes. Last year 4,359 persons without legal residence were transported out of Norway. 1,019 of them left voluntarily, while others were transported out of the country by force. Norway plans to deport 4,900 persons this year.
VG.no 12 January 2010 (in Norwegian) 

Record breaking numbers of forcibly returned persons
In 2009, Norway forcibly returned 3340 rejected asylum-seekers. Many of them were sent back to areas that the United Nations has said to be too dangerous to return to. The record breaking numbers of returnees has left critics asking why Norway does not follow up the situation of each returnee. Minister of Justice and the Police Knut Storberget said that Norway is responsible for what happens in its own country.
VG.no 11 January 2010 (in Norwegian)
NRK.no 12 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

Vellinge will receive refugee children
Vellinge municipality, which last November found itself at the centre of controversy over its hostile stance towards housing refugee children, has for the first time in 24 years decided to house five to eight unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers. Only two families have so far expressed an interest in housing the children and the municipality now intends to launch a campaign to attract more interest.
SvD.se 12 January 2010 (in Swedish) 

Palme Prize to Carsten Jensen
The Danish author, journalist and social commentator Carsten Jensen received the Olof Palme Prize 2009. The jury's reasoning highlights his great commitment to the vulnerables' situation in their community and the world. He has also made a reputation as a fearless debater who does not hesitate to defend asylum-seekers, refugees or human rights. The Olof Palme Prize was established in 1987 and consists of a diploma and 75,000 U.S dollars.
SvD.se 12 January 2010 (in Swedish) 

Cartoonist attacker tried to recruit youths in Sweden
The Danish-Somali man who attacked Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard has tried to recruit youths attending the al Huda mosque in Gothenburg to the Islamist al-Shabab organisation. "For those of us who heard him preach, it was not a question of whether he would carry out an act of terrorism, but how and when," says one witness. Many Swedish-Somalis in Gothenburg wonder now why the Swedish Security Service SÄPO did not react to the recruitment attempts. Patrik Peter, spokesperson for SÄPO, says he does not wish to comment on the case but he does say that the service is aware of a small group of radical Swedish-Somalis who sympathise with al-Shabab. However, according to Peter, support for the al-Shabab has in fact declined in Sweden recently, partly due to its brutal methods and partly due to an open discussion among Somalis in Sweden.
DN.se 12 January 2010 (in Swedish)
SvD.se 12 January 2010 (in Swedish)

War crimes suspect arrested
A Bosnian-born Swede was arrested in northern Sweden, suspected of war crimes during the civil war in the Balkans during the first half of the 1990's. The 43-year-old man served as a prison guard at a detention camp for Bosnian Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992 and is accused, along with others, of murdering and torturing some of the inmates. "We are talking about serious violations of the Geneva Convention," says Magnus Elving from the international prosecution authority in Stockholm. The prosecutor has until Thursday to decide whether to ask a court to take the man into custody. No one knows exactly how many war criminals live in Sweden, but Swedish police have previously estimated that it could be as many as 1000.
SvD.se 12 January 2010 (in Swedish)
DN.se 13 January 2010 (in Swedish)


UNHCR in the news

Hundreds of rebels dead after battles at the Saudi-Yemeni border, civilians fleeing
Hundreds of Shiite rebels have died as Saudi troops struck into the Yemeni border village of al-Jabri. Yemeni troops attacked the rebels in Saada, killing dozens and capturing 25. The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR reports that around 200,000 civilians have been forced to flee the conflict in the Northern parts of Yemen since it escalated in 2004. In November last year, UNHCR reported that around 175,000 persons were displaced, compared to 120,000 only three months earlier. UNHCR Spokesperson Andrej Mahecic says that the organisation is now running out of resources as the number of displaced persons continues to grow.
YLE 12 January 2010 (in Finnish)
VG.no 12 January 2010 (in Norwegian)
VG.no 12 January 2010 (in Norwegian)
Nyhetskanalen.se 12 January 2010 (in Swedish)
SVT 12 January 2010 (in Swedish)

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Thursday 14 January to Friday 15 January 2010

Finland

Number of Bulgarian asylum-seekers rocketed in late 2009
Finland received a large number of Bulgarian asylum-seekers during the second half of 2009, 708 applications, compared to only 14 during the first half of the year. In December, 40 per cent of all asylum applications were lodged by Bulgarians. Almost all of the Bulgarian asylum-seekers belong to the Roma minority. All applications are generally rejected. During 2009, the largest groups of asylum-seekers who arrived in Finland were Iraqis and Somalis. Bulgarian nationals were the third largest group, followed by Afghans.
YLE 14 January 2010 (in Finnish)

Chief Inspector: Espoo shootings not a failure of residence rules
According to Chief Inspector Tero Haapala of the National Bureau of Investigation, the media discussion about the Espoo shootings has strayed, unhelpfully, toward questions over criminality and the deportation of non-Finnish citizens. Instead, the media should ask whether a simple restraining order was ever the right response for a known criminal with convictions for illegal firearms possession, as well as of making credible threats to kill against a former lover, Haapala comments. Furthermore, one should ask how effectively the restraining order was being supervised by the police, Haapala continues.
Helsinkitimes.fi 14 January 2010 (in English, subscription required)

Misreporting of age in asylum-seeking not as common as thought
According to a report by the office of the Finnish Ombudsman of Minorities misreporting of age in asylum applications is not as widespread as was thought. The Ombudsman, Johanna Suurpää, says the age-testing system in Finland should be reconsidered. She is also concerned about the so-called Dublin decisions where the asylum-seeker is returned to another EU-country. The report recommends that an unaccompanied minor seeking asylum should not be returned to a country that is unable to ensure the child's rights or to prevent exposure to human trafficking. The report was given to the Finnish Minister of Migration, Astrid Thors, on Thursday.
Sanomat24.fi 13 January 2010 (in Finnish)
YLE 14 January 2010 (in Finnish)

Norway

Norwegian politicians demand documentation from Storberget
In the light of UNHCR's critique towards Norway's forced returns of 30 Iraqis, The Christian Democratic Party demands that Minister for Justice and the Police, Knut Storberget releases documents that allegedly confirm that it is safe to travel to central parts of Iraq.  UNHCR has previously said that asylum-seekers should not be deported to Baghdad and other provinces in Central Iraq. The Christian Democratic Party has given Storberget five days to make the documents known to the public.
Aftenposten.no 14 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

War crimes suspect remanded in custody
The 43-year-old Bosnian born Swede suspected of war crimes was arrested in northern Sweden on Tuesday and has been remanded in custody. He is suspected of violations of international humanitarian law, murder, kidnapping and an accessory to kidnapping in 1992 when he was a prison guard at the Dretelj detention camp for Bosnian Serbs. Amnesty International has previously criticized Sweden for the lack of legislation that risks turning the country into a safe haven for war criminals. Among other things, Amnesty has found that several international crimes are not defined as crimes under Swedish law.
Svd.se 14 January 2010 (in Swedish)
DN.se 14 January 2010 (in Swedish)

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Saturday 16 January to Monday 18 January 2010

Finland

Asylum-seekers causing disturbances in Paimio town
Reception centre residents in the south-western town of Paimio have causedsome disturbances recently, according to local police. Since the centre was opened in November, several petty thefts have been reportedthe police have been called in to settle disputes between Somali and Afghan asylum-seekers. The police also found Bulgarian asylum-seekers taking clothes from a collecting box for discarded clothes, intended for charity. According to deputy head of the centre Päivi Mikkola, the alleged disturbances are exaggerated.
Turun Sanomat 16 January 2010 (in Finnish)

Lithuania

Translator needed to communicate with Sri Lankan refugees
Lithuania is unable to locate a translator to communicate with 14 Sri Lankan refugees that have been in the country since December. The refugees were detained in Belgium in October, where it became known that the group has used forged identification documents to obtain Schengen visas. If their asylum plea is rejected, the applicants will be sent out of the country.
Baltic News Service 16 January 2010 (in English) (subscription required)
Norway

More paperless persons seek medical assistance
A health centre in Oslo has received a large number of paperless persons seeking medical assistance. The centre is run by the Church City Mission and the Red Cross and assists persons who lack residence permits, identification papers and the right to medical assistance. Some 18 000 persons are believed to reside illegally in Norway.
NRK 15 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

The Minister of Migration criticizes other ruling parties
The Swedish Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy, Tobias Billström from the Moderate Party, defends the provisions of the Aliens Act concerning family reunification. He also contests the Uppland politicians Solveig Zander, Centre Party, and Cecilia Wikström from the Liberals for harshly criticizing the Migration Board for allowing bureaucracy to go before humanity. The discussion was launched after two children, who had fled from Eritrea to Sudan, applied for reunification with their father in Sweden. The farther, Tesfamicael Asfah, is an Eritrean dissident journalist who received a residence permit in Sweden and now lives in Uppsala. The Migration Board, however, questions the children's age and requires age determination by a physician. The rules for unification depend on the age of the applicant. UN Refugee Agency UNHCR would not comment on this particular case but says that the Migration Board generally has good skills for this type of assessment. Hanne Mathisen, spokeswoman for UNHCR, stresses that it is important that families can be reunited, not least to facilitate integration.
Uppsala Nya Tidning 15 January 2010 (in Swedish) 
 
Large variations in number of asylum-seekers between municipalities
A survey by news agency Siren shows that there are large variations in the numbers of asylum-seekers between Swedish municipalities. For example, Vellinge in the south of Sweden received only 25 asylum-seekers in 2009, whereas Boden in the North of the country got almost 25 times as many. Another Southern municipality, Tomelilla, received only one applicant. However, Refik Sener, Migration Board's Deputy Head of the Press Unit says the variation does not necessarily correlate with hospitality and inhospitality of the municipality's residents. "It also partly depends on where the Migration Board has accommodations. Around half of the asylum-seekers live in reception centres and most of these are in the North", Sener says.
Nyheter24.se 15 January 2010 (in Swedish)

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Tuesday 19 January to Wednesday 20 January 2010

Estonia

Estonia received 1,670 new citizens in 2009
The Estonian government granted citizenship to 1,670 people through naturalization in 2009. Data from the Police and Border Guard show that out of the new citizens, 1,556 persons had not previously defined their citizenship. Naturalization has steadily declined in Estonia in recent years. The number of naturalized new citizens was 2,124 in 2008, 4,228 in 2007 and 4,753 in 2006.
BNS 18 January 2010 (in English) (subscription required)

Norway

Norway to examine genitalia of young asylum-seekers
The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration has announced that clinical examinations of genitalia and other parts of the body will help authorities determine the age of young asylum-seekers. Examinations of the teeth and x-rays  are used today. The Christian Democratic Party, The Conservative Party and The Liberals are very skeptical to the proposed clinical examinations. Critics believe that the new methods violate human rights and question whether the procedure is legal. The Norwegian Directorate for Immigration underlined that asylum-seekers must give their consent and no one will be forced to undergo the examinations. 
Aftenposten 19 January 2010 (in Norwegian)
Aftenposten 19 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

Norway tightens its border control
Norway is to enforce tighter controls along its borders in order to prevent asylum-seekers lacking identification documents from entering the country unregistered.  The new controls will ensure that asylum-seekers are properly listed and sent to a police immigration unit. The new controls are also believed to reduce border crime.
NRK 19 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

The U.S expects an influx of refugees from Haiti
The U.S. will not accept refugees from earthquake-stricken Haiti, instead the U.S. Guantánamo base in Cuba is ready to receive Haitian refugees. Similar restrictive approaches to potential refugee influxes can be found in the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic. UNHCR has established an office in the Dominican Republic as a preventative measure. Hanne Mathisen, Head of Press Relations at UNHCR in the Nordic countries, points out that the victims of the earthquake disaster are not defined as refugees under the Geneva Convention. "These are not persons who flee war or persecution. But we have established an office to monitor the situation and are prepared to assist if the security situation is changing, or develops to a civil war," said Hanne Mathisen. There is as yet no common EU policy on refugees from Haiti. In Sweden a hitherto untested provision of the Aliens Act states that natural disaster can be possible grounds for getting residency in Sweden.
Svenska Dagbladet 20 January 2010 (in Swedish)

Tobias Billström questioned about murder threats
The Swedish Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy, Tobias Billström, was heard in a trial where a 40-year-old man is suspected of sending death threats to both Billström and the director of the Swedish Migration Board, Dan Eliasson. The hate-filled letters were sent to the Migration Board in Norrköping and the Government office in Stockholm between April and December 2007. The suspected offender is a Kurd from Iraq and has for years resided in Trelleborg. He was charged with several cases of illegal threats and faces trial at Ystad District Court. In his letters he makes himself the spokesman for 1 500 other Kurds in Sweden, who he believes have been mistreated by the Swedish authorities. The defendant himself denies the crime.
Expressen 18 January 2010 (in Swedish)

Malmström interrogated about refugee issues
Cecilia Malmström (Liberal Party), who was nominated by the Swedish Government to be European Commissioner, was interrogated by the European Parliament about refugees and police issues, as these areas may become her responsibility. Malmström appeased both those who demand a more generous refugee policy, by stressing the need for legal and secure migration to Europe, as well as those who want to restrict the flow of immigrants, by promising more resources to strengthen the EU's agency for border security, Frontex. If Malmstföm is elected, her first task will be to implement the Stockholm programme, a five-year framework for her proposed policy. The foundations of this work were laid during the Swedish EU presidency. One of the main parts of the program is to co-ordinate the EU countries' handling of asylum seekers and refugees.
Dagens Nyheter 19 January 2010 (in Swedish)   
Svenska Dagbladet 19 January 2010 (in Swedish)


UNHCR in the news

Refugees end up in cities
Only a third of the world's 10.5 million refugees live in refugee camps, which has created a new set of challenges for the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR. As the majority of today's refugees end up in cities, finding, identifying and helping the most vulnerable becomes challenging. To this end, UNHCR has started to utilize new methods, such as the use of new technology: Mobile phone text messages and the internet are now common tools in reaching out to refugees in an urban environment. Furthermore, refugees themselves are often recruited and trained to help, teach and advice other refugees in how to survive in a foreign environment.
Kaleva Plus 19 January 2010 (in Finnish)

Iraqi refugees a milestone for UNHCR
The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR has faced serious challenges in Iraq since the war broke out in 2003, as over two million persons have been internally displaced, and another two million have fled to neighboring countries. UNHCR alone has registered some 300,000 Iraqi refugees in the neighboring countries, who have been hospitable in hosting the large refugee influxes. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have also continued their journey to Europe and to the US. However, some of the European countries have started returning Iraqis to Baghdad and Central Iraq, something that the Refugee Agency has criticized.
Kaleva Plus 19 January 2010 (in Finnish)

Conflict displaces 63,000 civilians in Southern Somalia
Fighting and general insecurity in Southern Somalia has displaced some 63,000 people since the beginning of this year. Conflict continues in Mogadishu and clashes between government forces and Islamist militiamen has displaced some 14, 000 persons from and within the city. The suffering in Somalia is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with some 1,5 million people internally displaced and more than 560,000 people living as refugees in neighboring countries, mainly Kenya, Yemen and Ethiopia.
Aftenposten 19 January 2010 (in Norwegian)
Verdens Gang 19 January 2010 (in Norwegian

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Thursday 21 January  to Friday 22 January 2010

Norway

"Voluntary returns are not leisure trips"
One fifth of asylum-seekers who want to return voluntarily are not allowed to. The reasons range from the persons having committed crimes so serious that they would need to be accompanied on flights for safety purposes, to the fact that they are not staying illegally in Norway and thus cannot benefit from the programme intended for declined asylum-seekers. Last year 1019 persons opted for voluntary return, twice as many as the year before. They were mainly from Iraq, Kosovo, Russia, Serbia and Nepal.
Dagbladet 21 January (in Norwegian)

Minister Lysbakken grilled about age determination
The Norwegian Minister of Children and Equality, Audun Lysbakken, was on Thursday grilled by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva. The Committee wanted to know why Norway wants to examine young asylum-seekers' genitalia to determine their age. The Directorate of Immigration sees this as a method to find asylum-seekers who are lying about their age, but the Committee believes that this is a very controversial, stressful and drastic method. In his comment, Minister Lysbakken underlined that the government has not yet concluded whether it will start the physical examinations. In addition, the Committee was concerned about the return of 12-year-old Ashok to Sri Lanka, the matter of unaccompanied minor refugees who disappear from reception centres and are recruited to criminal activities, as well as the situation of unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers who are over 15 years old.
Dagsavisen 22 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

Horn of Africa new focus for Sweden
According to the United Nations a humanitarian disaster is plaguing Eastern Africa with millions of refugees fleeing Somalia and Eritrea and thousands of people living in refugee camps in Kenya, Sudan and Libya. On Wednesday the Swedish Migration Board decided that Sweden would help to alleviate the pressure on refugee camps in the Horn of Africa by accepting 500 Eritreans and 350 Somalis as quota refugees. In all 1,900 quota refugees will come to Sweden. Sweden has been accepting quota refugees since 1950, and is the fourth largest recipient of quota refugees in the world. "We have, together with the UN Refugee Agency, reached the conclusion that the humanitarian needs are tgreatest in the Horn of Africa and it is therefore natural that we concentrate our efforts there," says Dan Eliasson, director general of the Migration Board. The focus of selection as well as the number of quota places is determined in cooperation with several countries within the EU together with the United States, Canada and Australia.
Dagens Nyheter 21 January 2010 (in Swedish)
Svenska Dagbladet 21 January 2010 (in Swedish)
Sveriges Radio 21 January 2010 (in English)

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Saturday 23 January to Monday 25 January 2010

Denmark

Immigration debate has hit all-time low
Danish People's Party Jesper Langballe has suffered a weekend of criticism for his claim that Muslim fathers murder their own daughters and allow the girls' uncles to rape them. Socialist People's Party leader Villy Søvndal said the debate about Muslims in this country has now reached an "all time low". The Conservatives' spokesperson on party policy, Henriette Kjær, said that Langballe had "gone too far" this time. - It's a generalisation of all Muslims, many of whom are well integrated into our society, and it's unacceptable. Zubair Butt Hansen, spokesman for the Muslim Joint Council, said he was "appalled and shocked" by Mr Langballe's "abominable" comments whose only aim is to stigmatize Muslims, while Copenhagen Town Hall integration consultant Many Sareen accused the DP MP of poisoning integration efforts.
Politiken 24 January 2010 (in Danish)
Berlingske Tidende 23 January 2010 (in Danish)

Finland

Rwanda genocide case continues next month
The Porvoo District Court in Finland is preparing to hear testimony next month from African witnesses in a case against a Rwandan-born Porvoo resident accused of participating in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The court is set to begin hearing testimony on 24 February in Dar es Salaam, says judge Petra Spring-Reiman. A total of 19 witnesses will travel to Tanzania from five different countries. Half of them are refugees. The proceedings have been at a standstill due to visa problems. Refugee witnesses had difficulties travelling within Africa due to their visa status. Now Tanzania has agreed to assist Finland. According to the latest estimate, the hearing of witnesses in Tanzania will last about three weeks. The suspect is accused of leading members of the Hutu tribe to kill Tutsis in 1994. He has denied involvement in the massacres.
YLE 22 January 2010 (in English)

Biaudet: Child's best interests should be taken into account in immigration policy
According to former Swedish People's Party MP and Minister, Eva Biaudet, the child's best interests should be better taken into account in the immigration policy. The question of the child's interests is raised in particular in the so-called Dublin process, where even children coming alone can be returned to the EU country where they first applied for asylum. Biaudet stresses the fact that the Dublin process may set children at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking. "According to Human Rights treaties the child has a right to protection where ever he is, and the child's best interests should be prioritized over other regulations", says Biaudet, who has now returned home from Vienna, where she worked three years as the OSCE Special Representative for combating trafficking in human beings.
Helsingin Sanomat 24 January 2010 (in Finnish)

Norway

Norway must follow the UN's recommendations
UNHCR has made clear recommendations on the countries or certain areas in some countries where rejected asylum seekers should not forcibly be returned. Despite UNHCR's recommendations, Norwegian authorities forcibly returned 30 Iraqis to Baghdad in December 2009. The Norwegian Minister of Justice and the Police, Knut Storberget, stated earlier that 54 of the 400 Iraqis who have voluntarily returned to Iraq in 2009, went back to areas that UNHCR does not recommend. In a joint opinion piece by the secretary generals of Amnesty International Norway, Norwegian People's Aid and Noas propose that by acting in contradiction with UNHCR's recommendations and orders from other UN bodies, Norway puts not only persons in danger, but also undermines the international human rights system that has been built up after World War II to protect human rights.
Aftenposten 25 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

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Tuesday 26 January to Wednesday 27 January 2010

Denmark

Permanent residency requirements to be tightened
Under the terms of a new proposal to tighten integration legislation in Denmark, an applicant will only be granted permanent residency after gaining a certain number of points earned by attending language and "society information" courses, and by working a certain number of hours. The government will also tighten legislation by deporting foreigners who are found guilty of social fraud and introducing stiffer penalties for people who offer shelter to rejected asylum-seekers, or who try to prevent the police from sending asylum seekers home.  The Rehabilitation and Research Center for Torture Victims (RCT) fears that tighter rules for obtaining permanent residence would punish victims of torture who may have a harder time learning a new language compared to other asylum-seekers.
Jyllands Post 26 January 2010 (in Danish)
Jyllands Posten 26 January 2010 (in Danish)
Berlingske Tidene 26 January 2010 (in Danish)

Finland

Chechen Couple to Remain in Finland
Hadizhat Gatajeva, also known as the Angel of Grozny, and her husband Malik Gatajev are allowed to remain in Finland and will not be extradited to Lithuania, according to a decision by the Helsinki District Court. The two were detained on the basis of a European arrest warrant earlier this month. They have applied for asylum in Finland, and the court found that they cannot be sent to Lithuania while their applications are being processed. They are to remain in prison while they wait for a final decision on their case. The Gatajevs have been convicted of crimes including abusing foster children under their care. The two already served their original sentences, but the basis of the warrant against them was an additional sentence. A number of organisations allege that the charges against the two are politically motivated.
YLE 25 January 2010 (in English)

Finland may reduce financial support of family reunifications
The Finnish Ministry of the Interior has investigated how EU member states refund refugees for expenses in connection with family reunification. According to the report other EU countries only refund the costs of quota refugees uniting with their families, whereas Finland covers the costs of both quota refugees and those who have received protection in the country. The Ministry of the Interior also issued new regulations that reduce the income support paid to asylum-seekers.
YLE 26 January 2010 (in Finnish)

Norway

Another 13 Iraqi refugees forcibly returned
13 Iraqis without legal residence in Norway were flown out of the country on a chartered plane from Gardermoen airport. Six of these persons were convicted of crimes in Norway. Another 33 Iraqis were taken on board in Stockholm before the plane headed to Baghdad. The operation was a collaboration between Norwegian and Swedish authorities and took place barely two months after 30 Iraqis were forcibly from Norway returned in a secret operation. In a letter addressed to the Minister of Justice and the Police, Knut Storberget, UNHCR's representative in the Nordic countries, Hans ten Feld, criticized Norway for these returns.
Dagbladet 26 January 2010 (in Norwegian)
Aftenposten 26 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

Billström: Guantanamo detainees received only through quota
The United States has asked a number of countries, including Sweden, to help in accommodating Guantánamo prisoners who are to be released from the camp, but cannot be returned to their home countries. Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy, Tobias Billström, says that if Sweden is to receive prisoners, it must be through the UNHCR refugee quota system. In addition, the Swedish Migration Board would also need to consider the case. Minister Billström underlined that the Government's stance is that Guantánamo should be closed down, but that the Aliens Act clearly states that the resettlement system must be applied in this context.
Svenska Dagbladet 25 January 2010 (in Swedish)

520 new places to solve acute refugee crisis
The acute crisis in the reception of unaccompanied refugee children is about to be resolved. 520 new places are created in municipalities like Vellinge, Trelleborg, Eslöv, Bastad, Ystad, Strängnäs, Karlskoga, Fagersta and Surahammar. Stockholm is also expected to arrange for 150 places. In 2009, 2 400 unaccompanied refugee children arrived in Sweden. Most of them were teenage boys from Afghanistan and Somalia who fled their homelands out of fear of being recruited into the Afghan Taliban guerrillas or the Somali al-Shabaab militia. The Swedish Migration Board sees no signs that the influx of teenage asylum-seekers will decrease in 2010.
Sydsvenskan 25 January 2010 (in Swedish)

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Thursday 28 January to Friday 29 January 2010

Denmark

Results from immigrant and refugee poll does not bother the Liberals
According to a poll conducted among 1,055 immigrants and refugees by Catinét, the Liberals would only get six seats, thereby making it the smallest party in the Danish Parliament. The Social Democrats with 94 seats would be the parliament's largest party and have an absolute majority. The Social Liberals would get 11 seats, Unity List would get eight seats, and the Socialist People's Party would get 56 seats according to the poll. The Conservatives as well as the Danish People's Party would not obtain the required amount of votes needed for membership in Parliament. According to the Liberals' political spokesman Peter Christensen, this is a natural consequence of the government's tight immigration policy and therefore does not bother the party. Refugees and immigrants from Pakistan, Turkey, Somalia, former Yugoslavia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, as well as stateless persons, participated in the poll.
Berlingske Tidende 27 January 2010 (in Danish)
Jyllands-Posten 27 January 2010 (in Danish)
Jyllands-Posten 27 January 2010 (in Danish)

Finland

Bulgarian Roma seeking asylum
There are currently hundreds of Bulgarian Roma, whose applications for asylum Finland considers manifestly unfounded, living in reception-centres. The Ministry of the Interior is preparing a law amendment according to which EU residents could be evicted from the reception-centres within a week from receiving their negative decisions . According to current practice asylum-seekers can reside at the reception centers for a month.
Aamulehti 28 January 2010 (in Finnish)

Lapland receives more refugees
Lapland is prepared to receive 185 refugees this year, compared to last year's 165 persons. This year's refugees are Palestinians, Iraqis and refugees from Myanmar. 135 of Lapland's places are reserved for quota refugees. Rovaniemi municipality has already received Palestinians from Iraq, and a group of Iraqis from Syria and Jordan is about to arrive. In early March, Kemi municipality will receive 30 persons from Myanmar, whereas 35 Iraqis from Syria and Jordan will arrive in Tornio municipality.
YLE 27 January 2010 (in Finnish)

Norway

375 refugees to Bergen in 2010
The City Council of Bergen agrees to accept 250 refugees in 2010, including 30 unaccompanied minors. In addition to this it is expected that family reunifications will raise the number to 375. This is almost 100 more than last year, but over 200 fewer than what was requested by the Directorate of Integration and Diversity.
Bergens Tidende 27 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

Reception centre opened without interference
Minister of Justice and the Police, Knut Storberget, has opened the Nordre Land Reception Center for unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers and has 33 places. In many places in Norway the establishment of reception centres has been controversial, but in Dokka it is well received, according to the mayor of the Northern Land. Knut Storberget believes that both asylum seekers and the municipality will benefit from the new centre.
NRK 28 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

The Foreign Ministry has still not contacted the Iranian consul
Last week, Mohammad Reza Heydari, Iranian consul in Norway, became an asylum-seeker after 20 years as a diplomat. In protest against Iran's treatment of protesters in the aftermath of the presidential election, he quit the job so he could join the fight for freedom. Heydari said that his goal now is to uncover human rights violations in Iran. The Foreign Ministry sees no reason as to why the ex-diplomat should receive special treatment. State Secretary Erik Lahnsstein in the Foreign Ministry comments that all applicants should be treated equally, and that the Foreign Ministry should exercise some caution when dealing with these types of cases.
NRK 28 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

Reconsideration of apathy cases
Following a ruling in the Migration Court of Appeal last November in which an 18-year-old boy showing apathetic symptoms was granted residency in Sweden, the Migration Board has reconsidered six similar cases. On Tuesday, two families with apathetic children were granted permission to stay in Sweden. A decision is pending in the other four cases. Meanwhile, an ethics commission for human rights, which provides assistance to particularly vulnerable asylum seekers, is currently in touch with 16 apathetic children. According to a psychotherapist in the commission, many of them are Roma who are to be deported to Serbia or Kosovo. "Generally, they have seen their parents subjected to violence. This is a sign that Roma are harassed in Eastern Europe", says the psychotherapist.
Sveriges Radio 27 January 2010 (in Swedish)

Health care for paperless to be investigated
Persons who find themselves without a residence permit in Sweden today have limited access to subsidized health care. A government commission of inquiry is to look into how asylum-seekers, hidden and paperless refugees could receive better access to health care. Sweden has been criticized by the United Nations for failing to ensure that the right to subsidized health care also applies to adults without residency permits. Currently, paperless and hidden adults have only the right to non-subsidized emergency treatment, although several counties have independently chosen to adopt more generous rules. "A fundamental principle of health care is that care should be provided as needed, without regard to the patient's financial, social or ethnic background," says Minister for Health and Social Affairs, Göran Hägglund. The inquiry's findings will be presented on 11 May 2011.
Dagens Nyheter 28 January 2010 (in Swedish)
Sveriges Radio 28 January 2010 (in Swedish)
Läkartidningen 28 January 2010 (in Swedish)

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Saturday 30 January to Monday 1 February 2010

Denmark

Religion less important among immigrants
While the government proposes a burqa ban and tightens the requirements for foreigners who want permanent residency in Denmark, the gap between the political discourse and reality among immigrants grows. New figures from Catinét, who have studied a large group of refugees and immigrants in Denmark, show that there are fewer strongly religious immigrants in Denmark, and several more refugees and immigrants who feel Danish. According to the survey, the proportion of immigrants who do not feel Danish has decreased from more than 30 percent in 2005 to below 20 percent in 2009. In terms of religion - about 80 percent of the participants are Muslim - the proportion describing themselves as "very religious" has fallen from 19.8 percent to 10 percent during the same period.
Berlingske Tidende 31 January 2010 (in Danish)

Finland

Foreigners with family not easily deported
Foreigners who have family in Finland are not easily deported, even though they have committed several offenses. According to a survey conducted by Helsingin Sanomat, the easiest way to get deported from Finland is by engaging in drug-related crimes. Last year, authorities proposed the expulsion of 154 people from Finland. The Immigration Service decided to deport 124 of them. Over half of the deportees have a background in drug crimes. The second most common cause of deportation was violent crimes. Deportation is loosely defined in the Aliens Act. Family ties, possible offences, the type of residence permit and the length of residency in Finland should be taken into account when considering deportation.
Iltasanomat 31 January 2010 (in Finnish)
Turun Sanomat 31 January 2010 (in Finnish)
Savon Sanomat 31 January 2010 (in Finnish)

Iceland

Haitian refugees to Iceland
Iceland's Minister for Justice and Human Rights is looking into whether Haitian refugees can be brought to Iceland. Minister Ragna Arnadottir said she has had nearly 20 enquiries from Icelandic citizens with relatives in Haiti – relatives not deemed close enough by Icelandic law for their guaranteed entry into Iceland. It is not currently legal to issue residence permits to non-EU nationals who are not yet inside Iceland or who do not have close family ties in the country. Arnadottir has asked the parliamentary Refugees Committee to investigate how Icelanders' extended family members in Haiti can legally be offered temporary Icelandic residence permits.
IceNews 28 Janury 2010 (in English)

Norway

Lysbakken a lot to do after UN criticism
Save the Children says that the Minister of Children and Equality, Audun Lysbakken (SV), is going to be a busy man when he has to follow up on a number of critical remarks and recommendations from the UN Childrens' Committee. The Committee has found several areas where the conditions for Norwegian children could have been better. Lysbakken (SV) admits that Norway has a potential for improvement in several areas, but is also proud of the fact that the Committee has not found any point where Norway violate the Convention. Norway was, among other things, criticized for their treatment of minor asylum-seekers.
Verdens Gang 29 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

Norway violates UN Children's Committee's recommendation
The Children's Committee says in a new report that Norway violates human rights if they conduct age test on asylum-seekers by examining their genitals. An investigation was supposed to start on October 5th last year, but the investigation of the legality of the test method was postponed. It has now been concluded that Parliament must decide whether it is legal to examine underage asylum-seekers naked in order to determine their age. This should be decided in February.
NRK 1 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Every third depressed asylum-seeking child receives psychological treatment
One out of three asylum-seeking children with severe symptoms of depression are treated by a doctor or a psychologist for their problems. According to a new report from the National Institute of Public Health, 52 percent of unaccompanied minor boys and 60 percent of unaccompanied minor girls have symptoms of depression and are in need of help. Among asylum-seeking children who are suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, only 30 percent said they had been to the doctor or psychologist during the last three months. The survey was conducted on unaccompanied minors have been granted a residence permit. Liv Berit Løken Nyblin at Hvalstad Reception Center for unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers says that the earlier refugees with symptoms of trauma are helped, the better are the chances of a complete and successful recovery.
Aftenbladet 1 February 2010 (in Norwegian) 

More asylum-seekers return voluntarily
In 2009, 1019 persons returned voluntarily. That is 79 percent more than in 2008, according to figures from the Directorate of Immigration. The government now hopes that even more persons will return home voluntarily in 2010. Re-establishment support promotes and facilitates the reintegration of persons from Iraq, Afghanistan and Burundi in their home country. According to the Secretary of State, financial support to these persons is one important reason as to why many have returned. Iraqis who's asylum applications have been rejected has now been given a particularly favorable return scheme.
Aftenposten 30 January 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

Human smuggling and Sweden
Sweden's new EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmström wants to strengthen the EU's fight against human smuggling. However, in reality human smuggling is often given low priority as a crime in Sweden. Chairperson of the Riksdag Committee on Justice, Thomas Bodström, sees a clear link between human smuggling and human trafficking. His view is backed by Liberal Party spokesperson on justice policy, Johan Pehrson, who says that Sweden needs a central authority to lead the work of the Swedish police in combating human smuggling.
Svenska Dagbladet 31 January 2010 p:14 (in Swedish)



UNHCR in the news

A quarter of a million persons displaced in Yemen
The humanitarian crisis in Northern Yemen is getting worse, warned the UN refugee agency UNHCR on Friday. According to the organization, the number of persons who have fled the fighting between government forces and Shiite Muslim rebels has risen to 250 000. The rebels have been fighting against the central government since 2004, but the situation intensified again in August. The Shiite Muslim rebels, beleaguered between Yemeni and Saudi government forces, said on Saturday that they accept the government's conditions for a ceasefire.
Helsingin Sanomat 29 January 2010 (in Finnish) 

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Tuesday 2 February to Wednesday 3 February 2010

Finland

Finland to stem Roma asylum-seekers
Last year, over 700 Roma from Bulgaria sought asylum in Finland Lawmakers, hoping to discourage the trend, are working to strip these EU citizens from asylum-seeking benefits. In December alone, over 200 Roma from Bulgaria arrived in Finland. Last month, however, fewer made the journey. "We are proposing to exclude EU citizens from refugee reception services. We would also require a person to pay for expenses if they try to seek asylum more than once," says Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors. It's expected that the number of EU citizens seeking asylum in Finland will taper off once they can no longer benefit from Finland's hospitality.
YLE 2 January 2010 (in English)

Norway

24 municipalities refuse to accept asylum-seeking minors
According to a survey from the Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDi), 24 municipalities in Norway refused to settle unaccompanied asylum-seekers under the age of 18 last year. 79 municipalities said 'yes'. Municipalities mainly refer to three reasons when they refuse asylum-seeking minors: restricive reception policies, a lack of resources, or integration challenges. The Directorate of Integration and Diversity believes that these are poor excuses. Ohene Aboagye at IMDi says that the municipalities' argument that they cannot afford to accept minor asylum-seekers is nonsense since IMDi always provide them with the adequate resources.
Aftenposten 3 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Well-integrated in district municipalities
The Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDi) says that district municipalities are better at integrating refugees. During last year, a total of 732 people, including 56 unaccompanied minors, got new homes spread over 76 of the least central municipalities in the country. The Director of IMDi, Osmund Kaldheim, estimates that about 10,000 people will need to be settled during 2010. IMDi has therefore requested that an additional 50 municipalities participate. During last year, 17 municipalities refused to accept refugees. There is a trend that many refugees living in small municipalities eventually move to the big cities. Kaldheim therefore believes that the smaller municipalities need to work harder to keep the refugees.
Dagbladet 2 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
Nationen 2 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Storberget will detain even more asylum-seekers
On Tuesday, Minister of Justice Knut Storberget visited the Police's Detention Center in Trandum, to ensure that the government's asylum policy under the vignette "strict and fair" is followed. He was pleased with the figures that the head of the Detention Center Ingrid Wirum presented. Never before has the police detained more foreign nationals under the Immigration Act than they did last year. 575 former asylum-seekers were detained because police feared that they would disappear before they were deported or because police were uncertain of their identity. The 57 per cent increase from 2008 is, according to Storberget, entirely in line with government policy. Storberget also received a tour of the new center in Trandum designed for families with children, single women and minor asylum-seekers who have received their final rejections. Here they will spend the last few days in Norway before being deported. The new center has increased its capacity with an additional 50 places, making it possible to keep up to 150 foreign nationals in custody at any time. Incarceration often only lasts a few days before they are sent out of the country. Storberget says the goal is to increase the Trandum capacity by another 100 places. Last year 4,359 people were deported from Norway. 1019 left voluntarily through the International Migration Organization (IOM). This year, Storberget hopes that the police will manage to deport 5,000 foreign nationals without residence permits.
TV2 Nyhetene 2 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

More Afghans may stay in Sweden
The Swedish Migration Board concludes, after a recent visit to Afghanistan, that the situation in the country has worsened. As a result of these findings the Migration Board has increased the number of provinces to which asylum-seekers cannot be returned. Based on individual assessment, asylum-seekers from afflicted provinces can still be returned to other parts of the country, for example Kabul. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees maintains that a person needs a social network in order to survive in Kabul. Sweden has been harshly criticized for its expulsion of young men who are able to work. Today, the Riksdag will hold a hearing on why Sweden deports asylum-seekers from Afghanistan at a time when the situation in the country is deteriorating. The number of asylum-seekers from Afghanistan has increased. Today, 72 per cent of those who apply for residence permits are granted permission to stay in Sweden.
Dagens Nyheter 3 February 2010 p:11 (in Swedish)
Sveriges Radio 3 February 2010 (in Swedish)
Expressen 3 February 2010 (in Swedish)

Asylum children have a right to free schooling
A commission of inquiry, headed by government investigator Margaret Åberg, handed over a report entitled "Schooling for every child" to Minister for Education Jan Björklund on Tuesday. The report recommends that all children resident in Sweden should be offered statutory education, regardless of their immigration status. There are thought to be several thousand hidden children in Sweden who face deportation. The fact that these children have not had a right to schooling has been criticized by the UN. The report proposes that schools and social welfare committees should no longer be obliged to report the children to the authorities, so that the families of the concerned children will not hesitate to send them to school. The proposal, if adopted, would bring Swedish legislation closer into line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Dagens Nyheter 3 February 2010 (in Swedish)
The Local 3 February 2010 (in English)

Uighur refugee faces trial
The trial against a 62-year-old Uighur man suspected of spying started on Tusday in Stockholm. He is being charged of spying on Sweden's 100-strong Uighur community on behalf of the Chinese government. The man came to Sweden in the late 1990s as a political refugee and today has a Swedish citizenship. The Intelligence agency Säpo arrested the suspect on 4 June after a lengthy investigation and surveillance period. The suspect himself denies the offence.
Dagens Nyheter 2 February 2010 p:15 (in Swedish)

Migration Board criticizes new payment forms
The Swedish Migration Board criticizes county councils' decisions to send patient fees as an invoice to the patient, instead of accepting credit card and cash payments. Dan Eliasson, the Migration Board's Director General says that this procedure becomes expensive for asylum-seekers. They do not usually posses valid ID-documents and therefore cannot open a bank account. Instead, they must pay a fee to the bank to pay the invoice. At the turn of the year the county council in Gävleborg stopped using credit card and cash payments and 1 March 2010 the County Council in Östergötland will remove the possibility of cash payments.
Sveriges Radio 31 January 2010 (in Swedish)
Dagens Medicin 2 January 2010 (in Swedish)



UNHCR in the news

258 civilians killed in Somalia
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that at least 258 civilians were killed in clashes between government forces and Islamist rebel forces in Somalia in January. According to UN spokesman Andrej Mahecic, at least as many civilians have been wounded. These figures make January to the worst month for civilians in terms of persons killed since August 2009. This month, there have been reports of combating in central Somalia. About 80 000 persons have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the fighting, including some 18 000 persons who have fled because of the fighting in the capital Mogadishu. Mahecic points out that the fighting makes it harder to reach persons in need with aid.
Svenska Dagbladet 2 February 2010 (in Swedish)
Dagbladet 2 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

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Thursday 4 February to Friday 5 February 2010

Denmark

Danish Refugee Council leaving Bosnia
After 18 years of humanitarian work, the Danish Refugee Council is now pulling out of Bosnia. Instead, the work will be performed by local humanitarian organizations. Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council, Andreas Kamm, explains that the Council is pulling out because they do not have enough money to stay in the country, and because it is now safe to leave. In the years after the war and especially in recent years, the Danish Refugee Council has focused on supporting the reconstruction by supporting the capacity building of local organizations. The Danish Refugee Council has since 1992 spent over DK one billion on more than 200 projects in Bosnia and will continue to support those Bosnian refugees in Denmark who want to return home. 
Jyllands-Posten 4 February 2010 (in Danish)

Finland

Costs of receiving refugees calculated as development assistance
According to the Finnish Service Center for Development Cooperation, Kepa, Finland is becoming its own biggest recipient of development assistance. It has been estimated that the cost of receiving refugees account for 39 million euros of development funds, and the sum is now greater than ever before. According to Kepa, even the costs of rejected asylum-seekers are calculated as development assistance. "The reception of refugees is an important obligation of Finland, but it does not reduce poverty in developing countries," says Niina Pitkänen at Kepa. In 2008, 18 million euros of refugee related costs were calculated as development co-operation.
YLE 5 February 2010 (in Finnish)
Helsingin Sanomat 5 February 2010 (in Finnish)

Latvia

Over 133 000 people naturalized in Latvia in 15 years
Since the naturalization process began in Latvia in February 1995, a total of 133 050 persons have acquired Latvian citizenship through naturalization, including 13 813 minor children who were naturalized together with their parents. As many as 9 412 children of non-citizens and stateless persons born after 21 August 1991 have also been recognized as Latvian citizens. The Naturalization Board also processed 2 843 applications to relinquish Latvian citizenship and investigated 2 341 cases resulting in deprivation of citizenship.
Baltic News Service 3 February 2010 (in English) (subscription required)
Integration and Minority Information Service 4 February 2010 (in English)

Norway

The next flight is already booked
In December, the Police's Immigration Unit deported 30 Iraqis to Baghdad with a chartered plane. Minister of Justice and the Police, Knut Storberget, hopes that forced deportations of rejected asylum-seekers will discourage fortune-seekers from traveling to Norway. The number of asylum-seekers in January declined drastically compared to the previous year. Hanne Mathisen at the UNHCR commented last year that one explanation for Norway's returns to Iraq is that Sweden tightened its policies towards Iraqis last year by making it more difficult to get asylum and starting with forced returns. 
NRK 4 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
Verdens Gang 5 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
Dagbladet 5 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
Verdens Gang 5 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Criticizes deportations to Iraq
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights is very critical to Norwegian authorities' forced return of asylum-seekers to Iraq:  - We are worried about this because we believe that there are parts of Iraq that are not secure. It is above all the areas around Baghdad, where it is still very violent", said Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg. Last week, more than 40 people were killed in another suicide attack in Baghdad. At the same time, the Norwegian authorities continued to deport Iraqi asylum-seekers to that area, even when the United Nations asked them not to. Since May last year, about 70 Iraqis have been deported to Baghdad, according to the Police Immigration Unit. During last week, when 13 Iraqis were forcibly returned, Norway collaborated with Swedish authorities. Both are now criticized by the Council of Europe Commissioner:  - I believe that both Sweden and Norway have not shown respect for the gravity of this situation and the competence of the Refugee Commissioner", said Hammarberg. - I must say I am critical of this policy, and hope that both Sweden and Norway will reconsider their policies and wait until we have less conflict in this area in Iraq before we send people back by force", said Hammarberg.
NRK 5 February 2010 (in Norwegian) 

Not treated well enough
Paul K. Lønseth at the Ministry of Justice admits that asylum-seeking children in Norway are not treated well enough. The UN has previously criticized Norway for its treatment of minor asylum-seekers, saying that they violate the Children's Convention, which states that refugee children should receive appropriate help. Both adults and minors asylum-seekers risk waiting for several months to receive answers from the Norwegian authorities.
NRK 4 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

5600 received a residence permit in Norway in 2009
The Directorate of Immigration (UDI) processed 10,700 applications for asylum in 2009. Some 4500 were granted residency permits, of which 1750 were grated asylum, wheras the rest were allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds or other forms of protection. 6200 persons' applications were rejected, and about 4000 persons' applications were sent to other countries as part of the Dublin cooperation. In more than every fourth case in which asylum was granted, the person that applied was an unaccompanied minor. These cases were also processed faster than other cases, with an average of six months. Just over half of  women's applications were rejected, while almost two-thirds of the men who had their cases handled last year were rejected. The largest groups of asylum-seekers were persons from Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea, and Somalia, and stateless persons. Over 90 percent of persons from Somalia and Eritrea were granted asylum, while the same figure for stateless persons was 53 percent. In addition, Norway accepted 1101 quota refugees in 2009.
NRK 3 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
Verdens Gang 3 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

Government steps up fight on human trafficking
The Swedish government wants to tighten the law against human trafficking. Although human trafficking has been classified as a crime for seven years there have only been 21 convictions during this time. The draft includes proposals to make it easier for Swedish courts of law to convict people accused of human trafficking abroad. The government also proposes that the Riksdag (Parliament) should fully ratify the European convention against human trafficking. On Thursday the customs officials in Malmö stopped two men suspected of attempting to smuggle five persons to Sweden.
Dagens Nyheter 4 February 2010 (in Swedish)
Svenska Dagbladet 5 February 2010 p:14 (in Swedish)
Svenska Dagbladet 5 February 2010 (in Swedish)

Goverment Accused of Dictatorship Commerce
Amnesty International has accused Sweden of contributing to the violation of human rights in Libya. The charges originate in Minister for Trade Ewa Björling's recent trip to Libya, during which she promoted the sale of air reconnaissance equipment manufactured by state-owned company Rymdbolaget. The machinery would be used with the clear purpose of tracking refugees travelling by boat over the Mediterranean. There are around two million refugees and migrants residing in Libya, most of them are stuck on their way from sub-Saharan countries to Europe. One reason for this is a highly controversial agreement signed by Italy and Libya to stop refugees trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean. The UN refugee agency UNHCR has argued that the procedure is a violation of the right of asylum. According to UNHCR, many of the trapped refugees are detained under very difficult conditions. For her part, the Minister of Trade says that the equipment will be used to save lives and stop human smuggling.
Dagens Nyheter 3 February 2010 (in Swedish)
Sveriges Television 3 February 2010 (in Swedish)
Sveriges Radio 4 February 2010 (in English)
Rapport 4 January 2010 (in Swedish)
Webfinanser 4 January 2010 (in Swedish)

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Saturday 6 February to Monday 8 February 2010

Finland

True Finns Call for Migration Minister's Resignation
The populist True Finns party is demanding that Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors resigns from her post. The party alleges she has handled her job poorly by promoting a liberal migration policy that has attracted more asylum-seekers. The True Finns point out that the Finnish Immigration Service is struggling to process a backlog of 6,000 family reunification applications. The party says Finland's liberal migration policy is to blame for the recent large influx of family reunification requests. They are now calling on the government to scale back migration and refugee policies to prevent Finland from appearing more lucrative than other countries. Culture Minister Stefan Wallin, Thors' fellow Swedish People's Party politician, reacted to the comments by saying that the Migration Minister enjoys the full support of the government.
YLE 6 February 2010 (in English)
YLE 6 February 2010 (in Finnish)
Uusi Suomi 6 February 2010 (in Finnish)
Hufvudstadsbladet 6 february 2010 (in Swedish)

Norway

Ban against health-related assistance to illegal immigrants
Progress Party leader Siv Jensen and her party colleague Per-Willy Amundsen wish to change the law in order to prevent the Church City Mission from helping sick, illegal immigrants.  It is estimated that between 10,000 and 32,000 immigrants are staying illegally in Oslo. Figures from the Directorate of Immigration show that over 22,000 asylum-seekers have disappeared from Norwegian Reception Centers in recent years. Progress Party leader Siv Jensen says that several non-profit organizations, such as the Church City Mission and the Red Cross, today offer assistance to illegal immigrants in Norway who are sick. Jensen says that she understands the humanitarian and moral values that are the basis for this, but that since they have not been allowed to stay here, the organizations are helping to prolong their illegal stay. Therefore, they are now introducing a ban on the provision of health-related assistance to illegal immigrants. However, the ban does not apply to emergency assistance. Furthermore, the Progress Part would like to force NGO health providers to notify authorities of illegal immigrants that they come in contact with.
Verdens Gang 7 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Progress Party politician reported for racist language
Municipal politician from the Progress Party, Ole Elling Aarvik, is reported to have used wording such as "devious criminals, "blacks" and "they are taking over everything" during a debate on whether the Hemne municipaly should receive more refugees. Morten Myking, head of the Reception Center in Hemne, has reported Aarvik under the Penal Code section 135A, where the one who has presented a discriminatory or hateful statement may be punished by fines or imprisonment for up to three years.
NRK 6 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

Apathetic children "in risk zone"
The number of so-called "apathetic children" is not increasing, but those at risk for entering into the catatonic-like state are on the rise, a new report describes. The syndrome, known as "pervasive refusal syndrome" in medical circles, has almost exclusively struck the children of underground refugees. Most of the sick children come from Central Asia and the Balkans, including Kosovo, Serbia, and Bosnia. According to the Migration Board, 34 apathetic children were registered in its system in summer 2008; by the end of 2009, that number had dropped to 26. Of those, nine children were so sick that they had to be tube-fed. The National Board of Health and Welfare hopes to reduce those numbers in the future, largely through more thorough visits with doctors and other health workers. At this time, however, the children of refugees who have gone underground to hide from deportation are not allowed to attend Swedish schools. The National Board of Health and Welfare disagrees with the law, and writes in a press release that all children should be able to attend school, as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child dictates.
Sveriges Radio 5 February 2010 (in English)
Sveriges Radio 5 february 2010 (in Swedish)
Svenska Dagbladet 5 February 2010 (in Swedish)
Dagens Nyheter 5 February 2010 (in Swedish)

Most refugee-friendly politicians in Finspång municipality
Finspång municipality in Östergötland County has the most refugee-friendly politicians in the country, according to a study conducted by the University of Gothenburg. In a survey politicians were asked whether their municipality should receive more refugees. The study shows that in the country as a whole, the Left Party politicians have the most favorable attitudes towards refugees while the Conservatives were the least positive. Politicians in Vellinge municipality in southern Sweden have the least favorable attitudes towards receiving more refugees.
Sveriges Radio 6 February 2010 (in Swedish)



UNHCR in the news

Migrants killed in the Gulf of Aden
At least ten migrants have been killed and 30 are missing after a boat smuggling them into Yemen had engine failure in the Gulf of Aden. 70 persons, most of them Ethiopians, were rescued by coastguards in Somaliland. Two were found dead on the boat and at least eight were drowned when they tried to swim ashore. The UN refugee agency UNHCR said the number of migrants who have left the volatile Horn of Africa to come to Yemen rose by 50 per cent last year, to 74, 000 persons. Last year more than 300 persons did not survive the journey.
Svenska Dagbladet 7 February 2010 (in Swedish)
Blekingen Läns Tidning 7 February 2010 (in Swedish)
Nyhetskanalen 7 February 2010 (in Swedish) 

NB. This story was also covered in Norway
Aftenposten 7 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

[Roope]

Tuesday 9 February to Thursday 10 February 2010

Denmark

Church Asylum Society dissolves itself
The Church Asylum Society, which last year mobilized thousands of people to support a group of deported Iraqi asylum-seekers, have decided to put itself out of business. Since August 13 last year, when police stormed the Brorson Church in Nørrebro at night, the asylum activists have spent much time to evaluate the events. - We no longer have the same opportunities to support Iraqis that are facing deportation. The Iraqis are either no longer in this country, have gone into hiding, or are in custody. Therefore, our role is outplayed, says Laurids Hougaard. After the evacuation of the Brorson Church, a total of around 25,000 people demonstrated in Copenhagen. Although the Church Asylum Society originally demanded asylum or residence permits to all 282 Iraqis that had been rejected in Denmark, only a small group of 25 individuals have either been granted asylum, residence or have had their cases reopened.
Jyllands-Posten 9 February 2010 (in Danish)
Berlingske Tidende 9 February 2010 (in Danish)
Politiken 9 February 2010 (in Danish)

Latvia

Latvia to receive a former Guantanamo prisoner
A Latvian lawyer working in the European Parliament, Aleksejs Dimitrovs, believes that the Latvian decision to accept a former Guantanamo prisoner was right. According to Dimitrovs, Latvia is responsible for consequences of military operations because it participates in military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. No charges will be brought against the detainee, and he will enjoy his freedom while in Latvia.
Integration and Minority Information Service 9 February 2010 (in English)
The Baltic Times 2 February 2010 (in English) (subscription required)

Norway

38,000 in line at the Directorate of Immigration
The greatest immigration to Norway of all times has created a record waiting line at the Directorate of Immigration (UDI). Of the 38,000 waiting for a response, nearly every fifth has waited for over a year. The queue is composed by 12,200 asylum seekers, 8,300 cases of family reunification, 7,700 who have applied for citizenship, 7,300 who have applied for a settlement permit and 1,600 waiting for execution of the expulsion decision. The Ministry of Immigration describes the situation as "very difficult". UDI Director Ida Børresen commented that significant resources will be needed just to administer the pending cases.
Dagbladet 10 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
Verdens Gang 10 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
NRK 10 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Socialist Left Party against their own government
Socialist Left Party politicians in Sogn and Fjordane rebel against the government's asylum policy. They are of the opinion that the Socialist Left Party's politics is not in line with children's rights. Norvald Nøringset in Førde Socialist Left Party believes that it may seem as if the Socialist Left Party has given up the asylum fight. However, Socialist Left Party's parliamentary leader Heikki Holmås believes in turn that the party leaders are fighting hard for a more humane asylum policy.
NRK 10 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Lowest number of asylum-seekers in two years
In January this year, 803 asylum applications were registered. That is a decline of 40 per cent compared to January last year. - I think this might be a downward trend that will last a while. It's not that there are many fewer asylum-seekers in general in Europe, but it seems that there is less interest in seeking asylum in Norway, says Directorate of Immigration Director Ida Børresen. In January this year there were a total of 71 applications from minors, a decline of nearly 60 per cent compared to January last year, when 176 minors applied for asylum in Norway. The number of Iraqis applying for asylum fell by 74 per cent, the number of Afghan asylum-seekers decreased with 56 per cent and 44 percent fewer Nigerians applied for asylum in January 2010 compared to January 2009.
NRK 8 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

Malmström faces a tough path ahead
The European Parliament voted on Tuesday in favour of the new 27-strong team of European commissioners. Some 250,000 refugees sought asylum in the European Union last year and Swedish EC Commissioner Cecilia Malmström will now be responsible for creating a common asylum policy and for combating illegal immigration. Italy, Greece and Malta have called for stringent border controls and for the swift deportation of illegal refugees. Ms Malmström has pointed out that most refugees come by air and land from countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq, not by sea across the Mediterranean. And, the EU member states with the highest number of asylum-seekers last year were France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Ms Malmström has also promised to defend the fundamental rights of refugees.
Dagens Nyheter 9 February 2010 (in Swedish)

Sharp increase in asylum-seeker deportations
The number of asylum-seekers deported from Sweden increased by 1,300 during 2009, according to new figures from the Swedish Migration Board. In 2009, some 10,700 persons were deported compared to 9,400 the previous year. The number of forcible deportations also increased by 500 to 2,200 cases. The Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy Tobias Billström declared 2009 as the year of repatriation. - For me it is obvious that if your asylum application has not been accepted then you must return home. In that sense every year is a year of repatriation, said Billström. During 2009 the Migration Board received extra funding to accelerate the repatriation of asylum-seekers whose applications to stay in Sweden had been rejected. The Church of Sweden (Svenska Kyrkan), which offers support and advice to refugees, has criticized the upturn in expulsions.
Sveriges Radio 9 February 2010 (in English)
The Local 9 February 2010 (in English)
Sveriges Radio 9 February 2010 (in Swedish)
Expressen 10 February 2010 (in Swedish)

Asylum-seeker held 18 months on remand
A rejected asylum-seeker has been kept locked up for 18 months in an Uppsala cell while the police and migration authorities decide where to return him. He is unable to prove his identity as since fleeing the North African country he claims that he has lived on the streets and has never possessed any identity papers. According to Swedish law a person may not be held remanded in custody for a period longer than two months unless there are "extreme circumstances". The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture under the Council of Europe visited Sweden's prisons and remand prisons in 2009. The subsequent report noted that Sweden had on previous occasions been urged to desist from holding people for extended periods on remand.
The Local 8 February 2010 (in English)

Many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children missing
According to Christina Ullsten at the National Criminal Police, many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, particularly from Somalia, were reported missing in 2009. Ullsten, who is responsible for the central registry where all the children that have disappeared since 1983 are registered, says that some of them might travel to other destinations, and some might have gone underground, but that the high number of missing asylum-seeking children simply cannot be explained by these two arguments.
Dagens Nyheter 9 February 2010 (in Swedish)

Sentenced to prison for threats against Billström
A man from Trelleborg who sent threatening letters to Billström and Migration Board's Director General Dan Eliasson, was on Tuesday sentenced by the Ystad district court to three months imprisonment. He must also pay Minister Billström five thousand crowns in damages for the violation. The threats were made in five letters in 2007. In his letters he makes himself the spokesman for 1,500 other Kurds in Sweden, who he believes have been mistreated by the Swedish authorities.
Sveriges Television 9 February 2010 (in Swedish)
Sydsvenskan 10 February 2010 (in Swedish)



UNHCR in the news

126 refugees rescued by Somali fishermen
Somali fishermen rescued 126 refugees in the Gulf of Aden, who had been forced to jump into the sea by smugglers. The refugees, who mainly come from Somalia and Ethiopia, went out in the boat around a week ago. They were told that they had to leave the boat since it had not operated for several days due to engine trouble. It was the Coast Guard from Somalia who discovered the refugees on Sunday and several fishing boats nearby helped to rescue the refugees, who had kept afloat thanks to driftwood. Aid workers from UN and Red Cross have taken care of the refugees. In September last year, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, estimated that almost 300 people had died in their attempt to get across to Yemen.
Aftenposten 8 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
NRK 8 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Jolie visits Haiti's earthquake victims
On Monday, the American actress Angelina Jolie visited Haitian children in the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo where they are being treated for injuries after the earthquake in Haiti. Angelina Jolie's visit is part of the actress's work as a Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Jolie visited the children's department at the Dario Contreras Hospital in Santo Domingo, and donated together with her husband Brad Pitt, one million U.S. dollars to Doctors without Borders' work in Haiti. The earthquake in Haiti on the 12th January has killed more than 200,000 people and is the largest natural disaster in the history of the country.
Jyllands-Posten 9 February 2010 (in Danish)

NB. This story was also covered in Finland and Norway
Iltasanomat 9 February 2010 (in Finnish) 
Adresseavisen 10 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Angelina Jolie visits earth quake victims in Haiti
Angelina Jolie is currently in Haiti as a goodwill ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), working hard to bring relief to the affected people in the area. Her visits include a trip to SOS Children's Village in Santo just outside the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. The SOS Children's Village has recently been subject to a lot of attention after American missionaries were accused of attempting to smuggle 33 children out of Haiti. The children were initially reported to be orphans, but it was later discovered that they were in fact not. Angelina Jolie has on her two-day trip to the earthquake-struck area already visited one of the major trauma hospitals in Santo Domingo in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
Søndagsavisen 10 February 2010 (in Danish)

[Roope]

Thursday 11 February to Friday 12 February 2010

Denmark

Liberals and Conservatives on permanent residence permits
According to the integration spokesmen for the Liberals and Conservatives, foreigners who work, learn Danish quickly, send their children in day care and will volunteer as coaches for the football club should be rewarded with a residence permit much faster. The Liberals and Conservatives are ready to bring forward the date for obtaining permanent residence from seven to three years for foreigners who integrate quickly into Danish society. Together with the Liberals, the Conservatives will introduce a score card system where points are given according to different integration parameters.
Politiken 12 February 2010 (in Danish)

Estonia

Estonia still not accepting Guantanamo detainees
Estonia carried out a legal analysis on accepting Guantanamo prisoners in late autumn. The document prepared by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is confidential but seems to have concluded that the Estonian legal system does not allow receiving such prisoners. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet says that the issue is not being debated in Estonia because no request concerning any individual has been received from the United States. - I am not a specialist of the Latvian legal system but certainly its laws for asylum-seekers and immigration are different from Estonia's, says Minister Paet. Latvia will receive one Guantanamo prisoner with Uzbekistani background. The man will be supervised by the local authorities but enjoy his freedom while in Latvia.
Baltic News Service 11 February 2010 (in English) (subscription required)

Share of stateless persons decreasing
On Thursday, the government granted Estonian citizenship to 121 persons. Last year 1,670 persons were naturalized in Estonia, which is the smallest annual number since restoration of independence. The number of persons of undefined citizenship declined during 2009. On 1 January 2009, there were 110,315 stateless persons residing in Estonia and by the beginning of this year, 104,813 such persons were living in the country. Naturalization has gradually declined in Estonia in recent years. The number of naturalized new citizens was 2,124 in 2008, 4,228 in 2007, and 4,753 in 2006. The share of stateless residents has been decreasing ever since Estonia regained independence, being 32 per cent in 1992, 13 per cent in 1999 and now less than 9 per cent of the population.
Baltic News Service 11 February 2010 (in English) (subscription required)

Finland

Human Rights watchdog criticizes child deportations
The Refugee Advice Centre criticizes Finland for deporting underage asylum-seekers to Italy under the Dublin accord. According to Marjaana Laine, lawyer at the Refugee Advice Centre, children deported to Italy end up on the street. The EU agreement enables Finland to return refugees who have applied for asylum in other member states.
- Finland has relied on the Dublin principle to accelerate its asylum procedure; however, Finland is too strict in its interpretation of the policy, says Laine. The EU is currently reviewing its asylum policies, including the Dublin regulation.
YLE 12 February 2010 (in English)
YLE 12 February 2010 (in Finnish)

Immigration Service suggests special residence permit for foreign elderly
On Thursday, the Finnish Immigration Service proposed offering a new type of residence permit for foreign elderly persons hoping to live in Finland. The permit would allow elderly applicants to stay in Finland, but would not entitle them to welfare benefits. The elderly person's own insurance or relatives living in Finland would be required to cover living expenses. Later on Thursday, Minister of Social Affairs and Health Liisa Hyssälä rejected the idea of a new type of residence permit that does not entitle the holder to welfare benefits. Hyssälä notes that social benefits in Finland are based on residence. She told it was "very hard to imagine in whose interest it would be to be in the country without social security - at least not in the person's own interest." Recently Finnish courts have ruled to deport several elderly foreigners despite their weak health and family ties to Finland.
YLE 11 February 2010 (in English)
YLE 11 February 2010 (in Finnish)
YLE 11 February 2010 (in Swedish)
YLE 10 February 2010 (in Finnish) 

Deportation of disabled Russian senior suspended
Police in Helsinki have suspended efforts to deport an 81-year-old Russian woman. On Wednesday morning, Immigration Police attempted to carry out a standing deportation order. Doctors declared that Irina Antonova, who is wheelchair-bound and in poor health, was unfit to travel. She will be allowed to remain in the country at least as long as she is being treated at a hospital. The deportation order had been in force for more than a year, following the 2008 decision by the Finnish Immigration Service. Relatives say she would not be able to cope with the deportation on her own due to her poor health - nor does she have any relatives in Russia.
YLE 10 February 2010 (in English)
YLE 10 February 2010 (in Finnish)
Helsingin Sanomat 10 February (in Finnish) 

Illegal entries quadruple
The Central Bureau of Investigation says that the number of people illegal residing in Finland during the first nine months of last year was 5,398, as compared to only 1,389 during the same period of 2007. During the summer, Helsinki Police and Finland's Border Guard set up a joint investigative team to uncover illegal immigration. - At its simplest, identification documents are being checked on the street. Of course, cases of human smuggling are also being exposed through tips received, explains Inspector of the Helsinki Police Jari Koski. Police are currently investigating an organization that has smuggled Afghanis from Moscow via the Baltic countries to Finland where they have applied for refugee status. These persons have paid thousands of dollars to the smugglers to reach Finland.
YLE 12 February 2010 (in English)
YLE 11 February 2010 (in Swedish)

Norway

Long queues for asylum-seekers at the Directorate of Immigration
The Progress Party will fasten the processing of asylum applications to reduce the queues of asylum-seekers at the Directorate of Immigration. The party will also restrict the opportunity to reside in Norway. The Minister of Justice and the Police, Knut Storberget, admits that the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) is facing huge challenges despite the fact that the number of employees has doubled since 2007. - The government brings a consistent, fair and secure asylum policy so that those who need to stay can do so. Persons who have received a final rejection of their applications for asylum need to leave Norway, said Storberget. According to Storberget, it is important that the Police Immigration Unit continues to deport those who do not have the right to reside in Norway.
TV2 Nyhetene 10 February 2010 (in Norwegian)   
 
Storberget: Most persons get their cases tried too many times
Aftenposten reported on Tuesday that the Directorate of Immigration has built up a queue of 38,000 immigration cases. - If you also add the complaint cases at the Immigration Appeals Board, you are talking about a total of 50,000 cases in the queue, says Storberget. He also says that there is a need for an immigration process with fewer cases tried repeatedly, a new "first-line treatment" to avoid that the cases are sent back and forth between the police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Directorate of Immigration, with time lost in between. In Thorshov in Oslo, the Directorate of Immigration and the police conduct interviews, manage cases and register asylum-seekers at one and the same site.
Aftenposten 10 February 2010 (in Norwegian) 

Socialist Left Party dissatisfied with the government
The Socialist Left Party County leader Roy Eilertsen in Østfold says the party should consider leaving the government because of the government's strict immigration policy. Other Socialist Left Party county leaders were also concerned about their party being a part of a government that practices an asylum- and immigration policy at odds with the party's own program. Mr Eilertsen is especially dissatisfied with the forced return of children.
Aftenbladet 12 February 2010 (in Norwegian) 
Hegnar Online 12 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

Roma want an end to deportations
One hundred Roma asylum-seekers demonstrated outside the Immigration Service in Kållered in Gothenburg on Wednesday. The demonstrators, who handed over a letter to the Swedish Migration Board, demand that Sweden stops deporting rejected Roma to Kosovo and Serbia. The majority of asylum-seekers from Serbia and Kosovo looking for a residence permit in Sweden are not allowed to stay.
Sveriges Radio 10 February 2010 (in Swedish)
Sveriges Television 10 February 2010 (in Swedish)

[Roope]

Saturday 13 February to Monday 15 February 2010

Denmark

Support for Liberals' and the Conservatives' integration initiative
The Social Democrats, the Socialist People's Party and the Social Liberals all support the new proposal presented by the Liberals and the Conservatives. Astrid Kragh (Socialist People's Party), believes that this is a very promising sign. The proposal envisages that particularly well-integrated foreigners can obtain permanent residence permit after three to seven years. Henrik Dam Kristensen (S) says that the proposal sounds very reasonable and that they have long fought for better conditions for immigrants and refugees - not only to those who perform well, but also those who for various reasons have a difficulty in being integrated. He also says that there is a need for change, and that it is good that it is now recognized that something must be done.
Politiken 12 February 2010 (in Danish) 

Socialist People's Party copies the Danish People's Party's strategy
Out of the 79 proposals presented by the Socialist People's Party during the last six months within the area of integration, only the proposed burqa ban was accepted and implemented. Therefore, Astrid Kragh (Socialist People's Party) will now bring more of the Party's proposals to the Danish Parliament. One of the concrete proposals that she will submit is that refugees with psychological trauma must be treated faster than today and that existing residential areas with ghetto character must be rebuilt and renovated, so that it will be more attractive to live there. The burqa ban was originally presented by the Danish People's Party, but Astrid Krag and the Socialist People's Party copied it.
Jyllands-Posten 12 February 2010 (in Danish)

Latvia

Number of persons interested in resettlement to Russia grew threefold
493 persons resettled from Latvia to Russia in 2009. According to the Russian Ambassador to Latvia Aleksandr Veshnyakov, the number of persons interested in resettlement grew threefold and more than 4,700 persons received information in the Embassy about resettlement to Russia.
Integration and Minority Information Service 15 February 2010 (in English)

Lithuania

Decision on Sri Lankan refugees in Lithuania may take 6 months
It may take up to six months for Lithuania's Migration Department to decide the fate of 14 refugees from Sri Lanka who arrived in the country in December, says Gintaras Valiulis, deputy head of the department's Refugee Affairs Division. After the department managed to find interpreters to assist specialists in communication in the Tamil language, interrogation of the refugees is currently in progress. Nevertheless, the interviews may take a long time, thus putting off the decision on granting asylum to the 14 Sri Lankan persons. The refugees were detained in Belgium last October after local authorities established they had received Schengen visas in Lithuania's consulate in India after presenting forged documents.
Baltic News Service 14 February 2010 (in English) (subscription required)

Norway

Political grassroots revolt is spreading
It all started in Sogn and Fjordane with an internal party revolt against the immigration policy of the government since elected members of the Socialis Left Party believed that children suffer as a result of the government's strict immigration policies. The revolt had, at first, no effect on other local groups. Now, the revolt has spread to local branches of other government parties. Heidi Kathrin Osland (Socialist Left Party), who started the revolt, and is now flanked by government colleagues Nils Gjerland and Jorunn Eide Kirketeigen from the Center Party and the Labor Party. Nils Gjerland in Førde believes asylum children suffer as a result of the Government's asylum policy, and Labor Party politician Brigt Samdal believes that there are many who think that children rights are not taken care of in a good way and must promoted. This weekend, Socialist Left Party leader Kristin Halvorsen met with critics during the annual meeting of the Socialist Left Party in Sogn and Fjordane. She said that the immigration policy that is reflected in the government declarations is a result of the election, wihen asylum and refugee friendly parties lost votes.
NRK 13 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
NRK 12 February 2010 (in Norwegian) 

[Roope]

Tuesday 16 February to Wednesday 17 February 2010

Denmark

DF dismisses Conservative criticism
The Danish People's Party (DF) has dismissed the criticism from seven prominent Conservatives who claim that their own party's integration polices are too closely tied to DF's. Seven rebels have come out against their Party's efforts to ban the Burqa, forbid prayer rooms in schools, and stop anyone who is found guilty of social fraud of becoming a Danish citizen, but DF's Peter Skaarup said that he does not understand the criticism. Skaarup said that they have tightened the immigration policy in conjunction with the Conservatives and that these rebels should realize that their party would not even be part of the government if it was not for DF. He is adding that the criticism is not beneficial to cooperation between the two parties.
Jyllands-Posten 16 February 2010 p:8 (in Danish)

Early retirement for immigrants
The number of female immigrants on early retirement in Aarhus municipality has increased by 43 per cent in two years. There are now more female immigrants on early retirement in Aarhus than in Copenhagen, even though almost three times as many immigrant working age women are living in the capital. Hans Halvorsen points out that the refugee and immigrant women in Aarhus are particularly strained where 60 per cent comes, according to a report from consulting firm LG Insight, from war zones, while the number is only 36 per cent nationwide. Halvorsen says that it would have been nice if these women could contribute to society by being part of the labor force, but that a number of them are deeply traumatized. The increase in the number of early women migrant retirees over the past two years is four times as high in Aarhus as it is in Copenhagen, and 50 per cent higher than the national average.
Jyllands-Posten 16 February 2010 (in Danish)

Finland

A more comprehensive age assessment for children
The Ombudsman for Children Maria Kaisa Aula says the age of asylum-seeking children should be assessed more comprehensively. The assessment has been based mainly on X-ray images from the teeth or wrists. The Finnish Parliament is currently discussing a law proposal on how to define the age of immigrant children. The proposal, however, is based on medical evidence only. According to Aula, the proposal needs to be corrected so that interviews, the child's own report and the assessment of puberty, growth and behavior would be included in the assessment. The European Ombudsman for Children network ENOC and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child have also recommended a more comprehensive age assessment for children. The age of nearly one hundred unaccompanied minors was assessed in Finland last year.
YLE 15 February 2010 (in Finnish)

Norway

Five asylum-seekers escaped from Trandum
The five asylum-seekers who on Monday night escaped from Trandum pre-departure detention center in Ullensaker in Akershus, are arrested. The asylum-seekers escaped in connection with the evacuation after a fire in one of the rooms at the Center. Four of the five were found in the area around the camp. The last man was found on Tuesday. When the police found the last person he tried to escape again, but was later captured. No one was injured in the fire, and the fire was extinguished before the fire department arrived at the Center. A total of 35 persons were evacuated. Trandum pre-departure detention center is operated by the Police Immigration Unit. It is used as a holding facility for persons that are to be sent out of the country, and for persons Norwegian authorities do not know the identity of.
Verdens Gang 16 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
Verdens Gang 16 February 2010 (in Norwegian) 

Neighbors pay to get rid of refugees
Children who were settled in Lørenskog must find themselves a new house. The neighbors of the planned refugee home in Lørenskog have been very skeptical of the municipality's plans. Together they raised four million NOK to buy the house themselves. The municipality accepted the money and chose to find another place for the four refugee children. Per Nordli, manager of the property, says that they saw a potential problem with the refugees having such negative neighbors. Several municipal politicians were shocked when they were informed of the agreement on Wednesday afternoon. Nina Hanssen (Labour Party) says that it is outrageous that minor children would have to be protected against adults in Lørenskog. Ann-Marie Oppegaard (Progress Party) agrees and says that it is unacceptable that children should have to move because they are unwanted in the neighborhood. Finn Erik Kalnæs, who is one of the neighbors to the refugee housing, defends the agreement by saying that the refugee housing does not fit into their environment.
Aftenposten 16 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Labour Party is pursuing Progress Party Policy
Rolf Reikvam, former Member of Parliament for the Socialist Left Party, believes that the Labour Party has adopted the same immigration policies as the Progress Party. Sogn and Fjordane has had several well-integrated children whose asylum-applications have been rejected. On Monday, several hundred inhabitants in Førde joined in a torchlight procession to protest against the government's asylum policy. Last autumn, it was decided that fewer asylum-seekers should be allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds. Lise Christoffersen (Labor) says that the idea of limiting the number of asylum-seekers is an advantage for those who really are in need of protection. She says that it does not seem like a Progress Party-like asylum policy.
NRK 17 February 2010 (in Norwegian)

Sweden

Returned refugees face hard camp conditions in Malta
Overcrowded camps, filth and despair await the unaccompanied refugee children deported from Malmö to Malta. Over the past two years, 30 unaccompanied children from Somalia have received an indication that they will be sent back to Malta. Only six have gone back. The vast majority, 18 children, have instead chosen to go underground. Fredrik Beijer from the Swedish Migration Board says that he is well aware that there are major problems in Malta, but that the Dublin Regulation must be followed and that the regulation is valid regardless of the conditions in Malta. Under the Dublin Regulation, rejected refugees should be returned to the EU country they first arrived to. According to Beijer, Malta is a small country with many refugees, and it simply lacks resources. Many African refugees travel to Europe via the island of Malta since it is located strategically on the route between North Africa and mainland Europe.
Sveriges Television 17 February 2010 (in Swedish)

Deficiencies in receiving unaccompanied refugee children
According to a survey conducted in seven municipalities in Östergötland, there are deficiencies in both receiving and introduction of unaccompanied refugee children. Among others, there are no guidelines for legal caretakers. According to the study the chief guardians lack resources to review and inform the legal caretakers about their assignments. To avoid misunderstandings, clearer responsibilities and improved cooperation between housing staff, legal caretakers, schools, social workers and health care is needed. Also the skills of housing staff and legal caretakers need to be broadened.
Dagens Nyheter 17 February 2010 (in Swedish)

Migration Board examines the rejection of Christian Iraqis
The Swedish Migration Board receives help from NGOs and different churches in the examination of 50 cases of rejected Christian Iraqis. Sweden has previously been criticized by the United Nations and international human rights organizations for deporting Christian Iraqis. A similar investigation conducted last year showed that in some cases authorities had been too hard in the assessment of Iraqi minority cases. It has been estimated that since 2003, over half of all Christians in Iraq have fled abroad because of what resembles a religious cleansing, in many cases attempted murder, fires and kidnappings.
Världen idag 15 February 2010 (in Swedish)



UNHCR in the news

Criticized refugee camps in Kosovo to be closed
Some 500 Roma live under very difficult circumstances in lead-contaminated area in two refugee camps outside of Mitrovica in Kosovo. According to Francesco Ardisson, Senior Protection Officer at the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, two new construction projects are underway and the criticized camps will disappear. Ardisson says that the situation for Roma has become better in terms of security and human rights, and therefore he thinks the move to a new area overseen by the Kosovo authorities will go well. Nevertheless, Ardisson underlines that the total of 6,000 refugees that arrived last year is more than Kosovo is able to handle and that the challenge is too great. "We must be very cautious before we reject people, and be sure that they can be integrated, otherwise they will leave Kosovo again," says Francesco Ardisson. He also stresses the fact that by simply rejecting persons the real problem will not be solved.
Sveriges Radio 16 February 2010 (in Swedish)

Angelina Jolie meets with children at hospital in Haiti
Actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie met with children at a hospital for earthquake victims in Haiti. During her visit she asked the children about what they want to be when they grow up, if they want to work or go to school, and if they have any family members left. Angelina Jolie said that she thinks that the program helping children should be expanded. (Video clip was shown without commentary).
NRK Nett-TV "Angelina Jolie møter barn på sykehus i Haiti"

Refugees in Somalia
Most of the people that arrive in the refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya, are fleeing from their war-thorn home-country because of the militia group al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda's extended arm in Somalia. When children arrive at the camp, they are tired, exhausted, and very weak. Some of them are sick and have diseases like diarrhea. Every month, 5,000 people cross the border of Somalia to Kenya where 300,000 Somali refugees are now. No one knows how many people that did not make it across. The refugees are trying to live as normal lives as possible, but even here they are not safe. Al-Shabaab have allies even inside the UN camps. The UN is trying to protect the refugees but is unable to. Young men are disappearing from the camps and are forced back to Somalia to fight for groups like al-Shabaab. According to refugees in the camp, al-Shabaab recruit young boys by force. If someone refuses to join their army, that person is killed. Richard Ackland, head of UNHCR's Dadaab office says; "We try to monitor the situation, but with the ratios that we've got of staff, and the ratios of police, it is totally impossible for us to keep under surveillance 300,000 people 24 hours per day". Both the police and the UN are concerned about the situation. Ackland says; "Refugee camps should be entirely civilian in their character. Anybody who joins an armed group of any sort can no longer be considered as a refugee".
NRK Søndagsrevyen 14 February 2010, "Somalia: Flyktninger" (in Norwegian)

[Roope]

Thursday 18 February to Friday 19 February 2010

Denmark

Get paid to return voluntarily
Interest in voluntary repatriation has been massive since the parties of the Danish Parliament negotiated the budget for 2010 and began the discussion about giving foreigners 100,000 DKK to go back. The parties now propose that a person that has lived in Denmark for more than 18 years should receive 116,954 DKK if he/she returns to his/her home-country. The amount offered today is 28,256 DKK. The suggested amount for foreigners that have stayed less than 18 years is 35,651 DKK. The amount offered today is 9,042 DKK. Vagn Larsen Klim at the Danish Refugee Council says that many persons are now postponing their decisions of repatriation until the rules are adopted. The Danish Parliament will make their final decision on the proposed amounts on 16 March.
Jyllands-Posten 18 February 2010 (in Danish)
http://jp.dk/indland/article1983930.ece

Iceland

Haitians offered shelter in Iceland
In the coming weeks and months ten to 20 people from Haiti will arrive in Iceland, according to a request from the Icelandic Ministry of Social Affairs. All of these people have relatives in Iceland, which expedited their residence permits. The welfare division of Reykjavík City has agreed to cooperate with the Ministry on helping these people adjust to new living conditions.
Iceland Review 12 February 2010 (in English)
http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/search/news/Default.asp?ew_0_a_id=357706

Norway

Iranian ex-consul has received political asylum in Norway
The Iranian top diplomat Mohammed Reza Heydari has been granted political asylum in Norway. Heydari worked as a consul at the Iranian Embassy in Norway until the beginning of the year when he chose to terminate his position in protest against human rights violations and oppression in the country. In an interview with Dagbladet the diplomat said that the Iranian authorities refused to accept his resignation. According to Heydari, he was both threatened and lured to withdraw his resignation and the regime-critical statements about the sitting government in Iran. The Directorate of Immigration now confirms that Heydari and his family have been granted asylum. Heydari plans to use Norway as a base for efforts to shed light on the situation in Iran. He wants to focus on the extensive human rights violations in the country. In an official statement he writes that he will fight for the release of all political prisoners, for the defense of women's rights and for a free Iran.
Dagbladet 17 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/02/17/nyheter/innenriks/iran/mohammed_heydari/10449931/

Sweden

With 'Lex Vellinge' all municipalities would have to accept refugees
Luciano Astudillo and Anders Lago from the Social Democratic Party write in a presentation on the Party's new policy for integration that the law amendment 'Lex Vellinge' would make it compulsory for all municipalities to accept asylum-seekers and newly arrived refugees. It would no longer be possible to cite the lack of housing as a reason for not accepting refugees. The report, presented on Friday, also proposed a special responsibility bonus for municipalities receiving an unusually high proportion of asylum-seekers and newly arrived refugees. At the same time, municipalities with an unusually low proportion of asylum-seekers in their communities would get an economic incentive to accept more.
Dagens Nyheter 19 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.dn.se/opinion/debatt/med-lex-vellinge-ska-alla-kommuner-ta-emot-flyktingar-1.1048125
Svenska Dagbladet 19 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/s-obligatoriskt-ta-emot-flyktingar_4290553.svd
Sveriges Radio 19 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.sr.se/ekot/artikel.asp?artikel=3454112

Billström disregards demands by the Council of Europe
Sweden's Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy, Tobias Billström, rejects international criticism of Sweden's decision to deport Roma refugees to Kosova. Billström said that no one doubts that the conditions faced by Roma refugees can be very difficult in eastern  Europe, but that Swedish law does not allow him to interfere with decisions made by the Migration Board, which rules on deportations on a case by case basis. Billström says that, after Sweden changed the system of Migration Courts in 2006, it is no longer up to the government to decide which groups of people should or should not be allowed to stay in Sweden. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sweden deports the largest number of refugees to Kosovo, including children from the Roma minority, despite longstanding concerns over human rights violations in the country. Following a visit to northern Kosovo last week, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, called for a total halt to the deportations due to inhumane conditions in refugee camps. The Swedish Migration Board recently changed the rules for refugees from Afghanistan so that more people can stay in Sweden because it is so insecure in the country. According to Ekot there has not been a similar discussion on Kosovo.
Sveriges Radio 18 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.sr.se/ekot/artikel.asp?artikel=3448402

Few refugees want to move
A Swedish government project focused on enticing refugees to leave problem-ridden areas in Sweden's big cities has failed to achieve its goals. After two years, just 286 people have made use of the scheme, according to figures released by the Swedish Migration Board. The Minister of Integration Nyamko Sabuni says that there are certainly many more people that would benefit from moving, but that it is very difficult once you get rooted. The Migration Board received 6 million kronor ($830,000) over the course of 2008 and 2009 to stimulate outward movement from areas with heavy refugee populations, housing shortages, and high unemployment. In 2008, 125 persons moved, and 161 persons have so far been registered during 2009. When the Migration Board reports to the government later this spring, the number for 2009 is estimated to increase to about 200.
Svenska Dagbladet 17 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/fa-flyktingar-vill-flytta-vidare_4281321.svd
The Local 17 February 2010 (in English)
http://www.thelocal.se/25056/20100217/

Discrimination against minor refugee children
An investigation conducted on behalf of the Regional Federation Östsam and the provincial government in Östergötland shows that unaccompanied minor refugee children are discriminated against in Östergötland municipality. Housing staff interviewed in the survey give testimonies of a discriminatory treatment from clinics and the public dental service. For example, a clinic in Boxholm refused to order interpreters for refugee children. In Norrköping, the housing staff found it difficult to get an appointment with the health center, even though the matters were urgent. In Motala a clinic denied access to a child because his symptoms were too vague. In many municipalities, especially Finspång and Linköping, there have also been problems with discrimination and racism in schools. Unaccompanied minor refugee children from Boxholm have experienced harassment from other kids and are scared of adults and older people in the municipality. The study is based on interviews with managers and staff accommodation at the seven group residences in Östergötland and the responsible social secretary.
SVT Östnytt 17 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://mobil.svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=52463&a=1893138

Malmö awaiting load alleviation
The pressure on the four municipalities that receive the majority of the unaccompanied minor refugee children continues to be strong. Despite the promise of new homes for 800 refugee cildren in Sweden, the Malmö municipality is still responsible for more than 300 minors. Last fall, the government and the Migration Board issued a statement saying that the reception system for unaccompanied minor refugee children was about to collapse due to an unusually large influx of young asylum-seekers. The minors primarily sought asylum in Malmö and three other reception municipalities - Mölndal, Sigtuna and Solna. There are now hundreds of children in temporary transit sites just waiting to be transferred to a more permanent accommodation. Therefore, the pressure remains on the four municipalities where the majority of the refugee children arrive. The 300 refugee children that are in Malmö are now living in six different municipalities and fifteen different homes. This Monday, Malmö opened another shelter for unaccompanied refugee children, this time in the Dal-köpinge in Trelleborg municipality.
Sydsvenska Dagbladet 18 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://sydsvenskan.se/malmo/article630892/Malmo-vantar-pa-avlastning.html

[Roope]

Saturday 20 February to Monday 22 February 2010

Finland

Undocumented immigrants hope for Baltic entry
Russian border and migration officials estimate that there are about 20,000 illegal immigrants near Estonian and Latvian borders whose destination is Finland or other Scandinavian countries and who attempt to get there through the Baltic states. They say that if Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania wish to keep those illegal immigrants outside their borders they need to close all loopholes that they may use for illegal border crossing. The Estonian police and border guard board agrees that Estonia is becoming an important transit point for smuggling illegal immigrants, especially Afghans, Syrians and Palestinians to Scandinavia. In a matter of some months, border guard officers have caught about thirty illegal immigrants from Central Asia who were on their way to Finland. According to informed sources, illegal immigrants pay up to 15,000 US dollars per person to get to the West.
Helsinkitimes 18 February 2010 (in English)
http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/htimes/finland-in-the-world-press/9918-undocumented-immigrants-hope-for-baltic-entry.html

Norway

Fear that funding of EU project contributes to asylum-seeker mistreatment
Organizations working with asylum-seekers are skeptical to Norway's participation in the EU project that aims to improve border control in the Schengen area. The Antiracist Center fears that the funds will contribute to the mistreatment of asylum-seekers. The government decided on Friday that Norway will contribute with NOK 329 million to the EU's external border fund. The fund provides financial support to countries that have the greatest influx of asylum-seekers in the Schengen area. Antiracist Center Director Rune Berglund Steen believes that Norway now has a direct responsibility for how border guards in countries that receive funds from the project treat asylum-seekers. Acting Secretary General Sylo Taraku from the Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers (NOAS) believes that the money should have gone to something other than stricter border control. He says that it would for example have been possible to build reception centers in Greece with the money. Bjorn Svenungsen at the Foreign Ministry points out that the funds will go to equipment and training of border personnel and believes that it falls on its own absurdity to claim that Norway is financing the mistreatment of asylum-seekers.
Verdens Gang 22 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/eu/artikkel.php?artid=593594

Asylum police refuse to work overtime
The deportation of asylum-seekers is affected by the conflict between the employees of the Police Immigration Unit and their supervisors. Odd Asbjørn Johansen, union representative of the Police Immigration Unit, says that they will not work for free for the State. According to Johansen, the deportations are based on that idea that they will work voluntary overtime, and they refuse to do this now. So far, 28 deportations have been cancelled this year. However, according to the Police Immigration Unit management, this is not only due to the conflict, but also that those who were supposed to be deported were missing or that the departure dates were changed. Roar Hanssen, head of information at the Police Immigration Unit, says that it was only in a few cases that the deportation was cancelled due to a lack of personnel. The number of deportations increased from 2,891 in 2008 to 4,359 in 2009 and overtime  is therefore required. Police Forum writes that several employees of the Police Immigration Unit worked up to 500 hours of overtime last year. Some had over 1,000 hours of overtime. The reason why the immigration police now refuse to spend more of their spare time, is due to a disagreement about the interpretation of the employment contract between the joint Federal Police and the Police Directorate. The agreement says that the staff must be with the person who is about to be deported for at least 12 hours before they are entitled to accommodation. If the escort takes less than 12 hours they have wait at the airport or fly back to Norway without rest. In addition, they react against the fact that their return travel to Norway does not count as working time. The Police Directorate disagrees with the staff's interpretation of the agreement and believes the guidelines are reasonable.
Aftenposten 19 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article3527751.ece
NRK 20 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.7004341

Sweden

Tobias Billström on "Lex Vellinge"
A working group of the Social Democrat Party suggests that a law amendment called "Lex Vellinge" would make it mandatory for municipalities to receive asylum-seekers and persons granted with residence permits. Sweden has already tried a similar system and a study shows that the system has obvious weaknesses. The Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy Tobias Billström rejects the proposal, and calls it pointless. He says that the proposal would not change the fact that people do not want to move to certain areas of the country.
Sveriges Radio 19 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/ekot/artikel.asp?Artikel=3454933
Dagens Nyheter 19 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.dn.se/nyheter/valet2010/forskare-samre-integration-om-kommuner-tvingas-ta-emot-flyktingar-1.1048605
Sveriges Raddio 19 February 2010 (in English)
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/international/artikel.asp?ProgramID=166&Nyheter=1&artikel=3455371

A Government proposal would make it easier to apply for residence
The Government proposes that asylum-seekers who have children with a Swedish citizen will not have to return to their home country in order to submit a new application for residence. The Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy Tobias Billström says that the Government will deliver a bill to Parliament and that these new rules could come into force from 1 July this year. The guidelines in the proposal are predominantly for families that threaten to split for more than a month.
Sveriges Radio 19 February 2010
http://www.sr.se/ekot/artikel.asp?artikel=3456155

New ruling opens for more asylum-seekers
The number of asylum-seekers coming to Sweden from Somalia has increased considerably following the turnaround ruling by the Migration Court of Appeal in October 2009, which stated that three Somali men from Mogadishu would be able to stay in Sweden on the basis of the current armed conflict in Somalia. Immediately after the ruling the Migration Board made an inventory of on-going armed conflicts in the world, and has assessed that those in Somalia, parts of Afghanistan and Congo-Kinshasa are so serious that the board has revised its forecast for the number of asylum-seekers that may come to Sweden during 2010. The Migration Board is currently studying the security situation in more parts of Congo-Kinshasa, in Cabinda (in Angola), Yemen, Sudan and northern Caucasus.
Svenska Dagbladet 22 February p:12 (in Swedish)
Sveriges Television 20 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://svt.se/2.22620/1.1898173/ny_syn_pa_krig_-_fler_far_asyl

Folders on how to survive
The Social Democrats in charge of refugee affairs now react to the booklet distributed to Afgans who are being deported from Sweden. The country is considered safe - however, the refugees receive a folder from UNHCR on how to survive when they return. Magdalena Streijffert (S) says that it is tragic that people are sent back. According to the Migration Board, there are currently armed conflicts in 10 of 34 provinces. Other serious conflicts exist in another 18 provinces, including Kabul. According to Streijffert, Swedish troops are there to protect the population and thinks that it is tragic that at that stage actually send people back there.
Sveriges Radio 19 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.sr.se/sjuharad/nyheter/artikel.asp?artikel=3456165

[Roope]

Tuesday 23 February to Wednesday 24 February 2010

Denmark

Activists arrested at Copenhagen Airport
On Tuesday, 41 activists were arrested by the police at Copenhagen Airport, where they, without success, protested against the deportation of two Iraqi asylum-seekers. The activists refused to follow police orders to leave, and were therefore arrested. The plane with the two Iraqis onboard left Danish soil as scheduled. Another four Iraqi asylum-seekers are, according to Said Parvin from the refugee group ´Asylret´, facing immediate deportation. The 41 activists were driven by bus to Bellahøj Station, where they were questioned and later released.
Jyllands-Posten 23 February 2010 (in Danish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCa530ZqnfK0aYE0DzGk0EW
Jyllands-Posten 24 February 2010 (in Danish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCa530ZqnfK0aYE0DzGl0EX

Finland

National Coalition Party divided on Finnish immigration policy
Wille Rydman, the President of the National Coalition Party's youth organization, says that the present principle to emphasize multiculturalism in Finland's immigration policy is wrong. According to Rydman, problems are bound to emerge if immigrants are placed in large groups close to each other, which is why they do not integrate into Finnish society. In Rydman's opinion, Finland should abandon its annual resettlement quota. Taru Tujunen, the National Coalition Party Secretary, says the National Coalition Party recommends that Finland should stick to its international agreements, even those concerning humanitarian aid. According to Tujunen, Rydman's views differ from those of the National Coalition Party in this matter. Rydman's statement has raised a debate whether this is the major parties' way of flirting with the voters who are attracted by the True Finns, or the Change 2011, a movement even more critical towards immigration. The Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen (Finnish Centre Party) has participated in the debate by suggesting that Finland should receive less quota refugees in the future.
Helsingin Sanomat 24 February 2010 (in English)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCa530ZqnfK0aYE0DzGm0EY
YLE 23 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCa530ZqnfK0aYE0DzGn0EZ

Latvia

Many persons in Latvia still hold only Soviet passports
Almost 20 years after the restoration of Latvia's independence, many persons in the country still hold only passports issued by the former Soviet authorities. Vilnis Jekabsons, head of the Latvian Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP), says that some 100 people with such passports turn up at PMLP every year. According to Jekabsons, in some cases their national identity cannot be determined at all and PMLP makes a decision on granting them a stateless person's status. In 2009, a total of 127 people wanted to change their invalid Soviet passports - 67 of them obtained Latvian citizens' passports and 60 were assigned a non-citizen status. Jekabsons explains further that these were mostly persons who lived in rural areas, and that locals had known them for many years and they never really needed the Latvian passport. But at one point they realized they were eligible for old-age pensions or other benefits, which they could only receive if they had a valid passport.
Baltic News Service 23 February 2010 (in English) (subscription required)
www.bns.ee

Norway

71 asylum-seeking children disappeared last year
PRESS - Save the Children Youth and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimate that 100,000 unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 have come to Western Europe since 2001. Not all are asylum-seekers. A good number of them live under ground, and / or are victims of trafficking. Figures from the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) show that 71 asylum-seeking children disappeared in Norway last year. PRESS believes that the missing children may be potential victims of human trafficking. In a press release, PRESS - Save the Children Youth demand that asylum children are to be given the same care provision by child welfare services that Norwegian orphans receive. They also emphasize the importance of good follow-up of cases when children disappear, and that the cases are properly investigated. Save the Children estimates that a total of 600 asylum children have disappeared since 2000. Immigration report at the same time that the number of unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers in Norway has fallen by 60 percent compared to January last year. In January 71 asylum-seekers arrived in Norway as unaccompanied minors, i.e. under 18 and not accompanied by parents or others with parental responsibilities. In particular, there are fewer children from Afghanistan that arrive on their own. In addition to Afghanistan, most unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers come from Somalia, Eritrea, Iraq and Ethiopia, according to UDI statistics.
Dagbladet 23 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCa530ZqnfK0aYE0DzGo0Ea

Must know that they are able complete their studies
Young asylum-seekers that are enrolled in the educational system can be deported on their 18th birthday. The education is withdrawn, and the student will not receive any documentation on what he or she has learnt in Norway. Teachers at Nygård school in Bergen have asked the politicians to review this policy, and the teachers get support from local politicans from the Christiand Democratic and Socialist Left parties, as believe that the students' motivation will disappear if they do not know, with absolute certainty, that they will be able to finish their studies. Since Norway is covered by the UN Children's Convention, anything done in relation to children should be with the child's best interests at heart.
NRK 23 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCa530ZqnfK0aYE0DzGp0Eb

Sweden

The age of children refugees often unclear
According to the Swedish Migration Board a majority of refugee children arriving in Sweden through Italy have already been recorded as adults there. Many of them might have indicated that they are adults because they have heard that this way they will be given more freedom, for example to work. But age rarely plays any role in Sweden - if the applicant has already had his case tried in another EU country, the person is sent back to that country in almost all cases, whether a child or an adult. Hanne Mathisen, spokeswoman for the UNHCR Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic countries, says that if there are ambiguities about the age, the key is to ensure the child's best interest. If Swedish authorities suspect that the person in question in fact is a child, it should be considered whether it is in the child's best interest to be returned to Italy; Italy is not likely to reverse its earlier age-determination.
Sveriges Radio 22 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCa530ZqnfK0aYE0DzGq0Ec

Refugee housing in Gotland receives criticism
Gotland Municipality receives criticism by the Swedish Work Environment Authority for deficiencies in the municipal housing for unaccompanied refugee children in Visby. Criticism stems from situations involving violence or threats, spreading of diseases and lack of supervisors around the clock. Gotland Municipality has now two months to overcome the problems, otherwise the Swedish Work Environment Authority will decide on enforcing an injunction.
Sveriges Radio 23 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCa530ZqnfK0aYE0DzGr0Ed
Sveriges Television 23 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCa530ZqnfK0aYE0DzGs0Ee
Dagens Samhälle 23 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCa530ZqnfK0aYE0DzGt0Ef

[Roope]

Thursday 25 February to Friday 26 February 2010

Finland

Debate over quota refugees
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen (Centre Party) said on Tuesday that Finland's annuall quota for taking refugees should be reduced from the current 750, and that Finland might instead support the UN Refugee Agency in other ways. The quota system has remained largely unchanged since 1986, when a decision on the first refugee quota was made. In addition, Minister Väyrynen suggested that the quota for Congolese refugees should be abandoned, because in his opinion, the Congolese refugees have had great difficulties to integrate into Finnish society. The proposal has received strong criticism from the Green Party and the Left Alliance and experts working with refugee issues. Väyrynen's statement is seen to be prompted by the attitude of local authorities towards refugees. The Centre Party speaks for local authorities, and attitudes in Finland's municipalities have become increasingly critical towards quota refugees and immigrants in general. The debate was sparked at the weekend, when Wille Rydman, the President of the National Coalition Party's youth organization, said that Finland should abandon its annual resettlement quota.
Hufvudstadsbladet 24 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUg0EH
YLE 24 February 2010 (in Finnish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUh0EI
Helsingin Sanomat 24 February 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.hs.fi/politiikka/artikkeli/Vihreät+ja+vasemmistoliitto+suuttuivat+Väyrysen+pakolaispuheista/1135253211200
Helsingin Sanomat 26 February 2010 (in English)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUi0EJ

Cutting number of quota refugees may increase human trafficking
According to an answer relating to Finland's refugee quota given to Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen (Centre Party) by Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors (Swedish People's Party) and Divisional Director Arja Kekkonen from the Migration Department of the Ministry of the Interior, if refugees cannot come to Finland on the official route as quota refugees based on a contract between Finland and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), they will try to get here by fair means or foul - even if it means that they fall into the hands of human smugglers. According to Kekkonen, the resettling of refugees is the most essential contribution that UNHCR hopes Finland to make. She notes further that because quota refugees come to Finland under the protection of the United Nations and other countries, this is bound to prevent human trafficking. Over the past three years, a total of some 450 quota refugees from Congo have been taken by Finland. Thors and Kekkonen are surprised at Väyrynen's assertion that the Congolese have integrated poorly, as so far, not a single study has been made on the matter.
Helsingin Sanomat 24 February 2010 (in English)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUj0EK

Norway

Sending genitals to Knut Storberget
Leader for the Anti-Racism Center, Kari Helene Partapuoli, believes that it is extremely humiliating and also in violation of human rights to test the age of unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers by examining their genitals. Partapuoli says that age testing as such is reasonable, but that it must be conducted with respect for the individual. The Anti-Racisism Center is now sending one thousand postcards with the slogan; "Do you want to see sex organs - look at mine!" to the Minister of Justice and the Police Knut Storberget (Labour). The postcards have pictures of adult male and female genitals. Partapuoli says that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed strong concern over Norway's treatment of unaccompanied minors.
Dagbladet 24 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUk0EL

Nine Iraqis deported
Nine Iraqis were forcibly returned on Tuesday. This was the third time since December last year that the Norwegian authorities have been using chartered planes to return asylum-seekers to Iraq. In December, 30 Iraqi men were deported, and in January 13 Iraqis were sent back to Iraq. According to Roar Hanssen at the Police Immigration Unit (PU), the flight was conducted in cooperation with Sweden. The accompanying officials have not yet returned to Norway, but according to Hanssen, everything went according to plan. In total, around 80 persons have been deported to Iraq since May last year when the return agreement between Norway and Iraq was signed.
Verdens Gang 24 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUl0EM

Sweden

Malmström on EU border control
Yesterday the EU Commission approved Cecilia Malmström's, the Home Affairs Commissioner, proposals for a new legal framework for Frontex, the EU's border management agency. Member states shall provide more equipment and personnel available to the Agency, all border guards shall be trained in international refugee law, and representatives of voluntary organizations such as the Red Cross can be present during joint return operations. Cecilia Malmström says that the strengthening of Frontex does not mean more repressive policies. The Agency has been criticized for having returned people who have entered the European waters or transit countries without giving them a chance to apply for asylum - a right that all persons have, under the Geneva Conventions.
Svenska Dagbladet 24 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUm0EN
Sveriges Radio 24 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUn0EO
Dagens Nyheter 24 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUo0EP

NB. This story was also covered in Finland
YLE 24 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUp0EQ

Number of unaccompanied minors coming to Sweden increasing
Approximately 3000 children without a guardian are expected to seek asylum in Sweden this year, a sharp increase from the Migration Board's previous forecast. Last year, 2,250 children and adolescents under 18 years came to Sweden to seek asylum without a guardian, which was an increase from 1,510 children a year earlier. Of these children 63 per cent were given asylum. The Director-General of the Migration Board, Dan Eliasson, says that the main cause of the increase in the influx of asylum-seekers is the situation in Afghanistan and Somalia. It is estimated that a total of 28,000 people will seek asylum in Sweden this year, compared to 24,000 in the previous forecast. Meanwhile, the proportion of approved asylum applications is expected to grow from 37 per cent to 43 per cent.
Dagens Nyheter 25 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUo0EP
Sveriges Radio 25 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUq0ER
Stockholm News 25 February 2010 (in English)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUr0ES
Dagens Samhälle 25 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUs0ET

Four of Stockholm's municipalities receive 75 per cent of county's refugees
Stockholm, Södertälje, Huddinge and Botkyrka have together received more than 75 per cent of the county's refugees since 1994. Meanwhile, the three medium-sized municipalities Täby, Danderyd and Tyresö have received only two per cent or a total of 900 persons. Södertälje is the municipality in Stockholm County which in relation to its population has received most asylum-seekers since 1994, a total of 6670 persons. During the Iraq war's most intense years Södertälje, which has over 84,000 inhabitants, received more refugees from Iraq than the whole of North America. In total, Stockholm County has received 44,800 refugees since 1994. Commissioner Anders Lago (The Social Democratic Party) is critical towards the Swedish asylum system, which he says puts too great a burden on a few municipalities. He also stresses that the situation in Södertälje is getting out of control.
Dagens Nyheter 25 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCbR80ZqnfK0aYE0DzUt0EU

[Roope]

Saturday 27 February to Monday 1 March 2010

Finland

Police investigate Facebook threats against Migration Minister
Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors (Swedish People's Party) has asked the police to investigate threats of violence made against her on Facebook. Minister Thors has decided to press charges saying the comments can no longer be justified as free speech. Police Commissioner Mikko Paatero promised to determine who was responsible for the threats, after which the police would decide what action to take. The tabloid newspaper Ilta Sanomat claimed a councilor in the province of Häme operates the Facebook group responsible for the threats, while some other newspapers reported that he is also a member of the True Finns Party. Minister of Culture and Sport, the Swedish People's Party Leader Stefan Wallin requires that all party leaders condemn the death threats that Minister Thors was subjected to on Facebook.
YLE 26 February 2010 (in English)
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/02/police_investigate_facebook_threats_against_migration_minister_1486475.html
Iltasanomat 26 February 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.iltasanomat.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/uutinen.asp?id=1993363
Turun Sanomat 28 February 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.ts.fi/online/kotimaa/114873.html
MTV3 28 February 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/kotimaa.shtml/arkistot/kotimaa/2010/02/1067283
Hufvudstadsbladet 28 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.hbl.fi/text/inrikes/2010/2/28/w43765.php
Ålandstidningen 27 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.alandstidningen.ax/article.con?id=21386&iPage=7

NB. This story was also covered in Sweden
Sveriges Radio 26 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.sr.se/ekot/artikel.asp?artikel=3472459

Sharp rise in asylum-seekers
The Finnish Immigration Service reports a sharp increase in the number asylum-seekers last year. Some 6,000 applications were received representing a rise of 48 percent. However, the number of unaccompanied minors declined with some 557 cases. Most asylum-seekers came from Iraq and Somalia in line with the previous year's trend. The number of applicants from Bulgaria doubled in comparison to 2008. The Finnish Immigration Service made a total of 4,335 decisions relating to asylum applications. Some 1,373 applicants were allowed to stay. So-called "Dublin cases", where the applicant is returned to another EU country amounted to 1,488. Approximately 21,000 persons applied for a residence permit in Finland in 2009, a drop of nine per cent over the previous year. Those with family connections rose while work-related applications dropped almost by half. A total of 4,417 foreign residents applied for Finnish citizenship with Russians, Somalis and Iraqis topping the list. About half of the applications were successful.
YLE 1 March 2010 (in English)
http://yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/03/sharp_rise_in_asylum_seekers_1493982.html
YLE 1 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/2010/03/turvapaikkaa_hakevien_maara_nousi_roimasti_1493410.html
Sanomat24 1 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://sanomat24.fi/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13155&Itemid=164
MTV3 1 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/kotimaa.shtml/arkistot/kotimaa/2010/03/1067697

Latvia

Latvian nationalist site call on Russian speakers to leave the country
A Latvian nationalist internet site www.braucmajas.lv (meaning "go home") collected more than 8,000 signatures or comments which call "disloyal" Russian speaking residents of Latvia to leave the country. Some of the comments call to kill Russian speakers.
Integration and Minority Information Service 1 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.humanrights.org.lv/html/25501.html

Norway

Seven persons escaped from asylum holding facility
Seven men escaped from Trandum pre-departure detention center close to  Gardermoen Airport at around 4 am on Sunday. One and a half hours later they were all arrested and placed behind bars. According to Bjørn Jahr, operations manager at Romerike Police District, military guards found the men when they crossed the railway tracks just north of the airport. The Police Immigration Unit will now look into how the seven were able to get out.
Aftenposten 28 February 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article3541827.ece

Sweden

Local authorities and refugee children
The government has tasked Björn Eriksson, former county governor, to encourage more local authorities to temporarily house unaccompanied refugee children arriving in Sweden. As a result, between 800 and 1,000 new places are to be provided in the near
future at local authorities around the country. This means almost twice as many places as there are today. However, despite this positive result, Tobias Billström, Minister of Migration, does not rule out legislation in order to force local authorities to house these refugee children. According to Billström, the previous system has outlived itself. He believes that there will need to be a change in the system to get local authorities to show solidarity. Europe is seeing a higher than ever influx of refugee children, notably adolescent boys from Afghanistan and Somalia, arriving alone. The Swedish Migration Board forecasts that up to 60 children per week will seek asylum in Sweden during 2010.
Svenska Dagbladet 27 February 2010 I: 6-7 (in Swedish)
Svenska Dagbladet 27 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/fler-kommuner-far-flyktingbarn_4338965.svd

'Stop deportation of Roma refugees'
Sweden should stop the deportation of Roma refugees to Kosovo where they risk being placed in camps in lead-contaminated areas, says Social Democratic MP Björn von Sydow. von Sydow has just completed a trip to the former Serbian province, and will report his findings to the European Council. According to von Sydow, the security situation in Kosovo has improved since his trip to the country at the start of 2009, but one major problem facing the country is corruption. There are still some 10,000 KFOR troops in Kosovo and in reality it is the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo that makes many of the most important decisions. When asked when he believes Kosovo will be able to stand on its own, von Sydow says that a deciding factor is that the neighboring countries Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia become members of the EU, or come closer to the EU. He believes that Kosovo will then also be pulled into the process, both economically and politically.
Svenska Dagbladet 27 February 2010 I:23 (in Swedish)
Svenska Dagbladet 26 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.svd.se/nyheter/utrikes/sluta-skicka-tillbaka-romska-flyktingar_4339019.svd

Hate crimes on the rise
According to the police in Skåne, hate crimes against Jews in Malmö have doubled in the past year and many Jews in the area are considering to move since they do not feel safe. Hate crimes have risen in other parts of the country as well, and it is not just Jews who are the target of these crimes. Close to 50 per cent of all hate crimes in 2008 targeted Muslims. In addition, many crimes are not reported. According to Helena Benaouda, chair of the Muslim Council of Sweden (SMR), people are so used to this that they do not go to the police. The issue seems hard to tackle: police in Malmö encourage anyone who is the victim of a hate crime to report the matter, but few crimes are actually solved. In 2008 there were very few suspects for the hate crimes committed. A spokeswoman for the Malmö police says the courts need to be better at applying stiffer sentences for hate crimes. Meanwhile, Lena Posner Körösi, president of the Central Jewish Council in Sweden, would like SMR to disassociate itself from hate crimes. Posner Körösi wishes that they would go out and clearly state that they do not accept that there are, among them, groups that behave in an anti-democratic fashion and attack people of a different religion.
Svenska Dagbladet 28 February 2010 I:20 (in Swedish)

Staff protest against the deportation of refugee children
Thousands of teachers, doctors and others who work with the approximately 300 unaccompanied refugee children in Malmö are now protesting against the deportation of these children, especially to countries like Malta, Greece and Italy, where children are often said to be treated badly. According to staff working with these children, some children will stop eating, cut themselves, or have bad dreams when they received their notice of deportation. Nearly 3,000 people have signed a petition against the deportation. Within a week the petition will be sent to Billström and the Migration Board.
Skånskan 1 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.skanskan.se/article/20100301/NYHETER/100309990/0/svedala/*/personal-i-upprop-for-flyktingbarn



UNHCR in the news

UN: More unaccompanied minor refugee children
According to the UN, the number of unaccompanied minors who come to Europe to seek asylum is increasing rapidly. The latest figures from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) shows that last year, the number of Afghan unaccompanied minors that arrived increased by 60 per cent compared to the year before. In total, more than 6,000 children under the age of 18 sought asylum across Europe. The UN believes that the latest figures are, in reality, only showing the tip of the iceberg and that many children do not report themselves to the authorities for fear of being detained and deported.
DR København 1 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Udland/2010/03/01/113916.htm

[Roope]

Tuesday 2 March to Wednesday 3 March 2010

Denmark

Århus will house persecuted writer
After receiving a grant of DKK 300,000 from the National Arts Council's Literature Committee on Monday, Århus is able to accept a persecuted foreign writer under the Friby scheme. The other municipalities that join the scheme are Odense, Frederiksberg and Fano. Culture councilman Marc Perera Christensen (K) says that he pleased that they with this initiative can say that Århus is a city of free speech, and that it is wonderful to see that one of the first things Per Stig Møller (K) did as Minister of Culture was to ensure that help to persecuted writers are put into practice. Perera Christensen stresses that it is up to the writer to decide whether he will take an active part in the debate or will remain in hiding after moving to Århus. It is the organization Icorn, International Cities of Refugee Network, with headquarters in Stavanger, who coordinates the work of selecting a persecuted writer - author, journalist, playwright, etc. - who will move to Århus. The name of the writer is, for now, not revealed, but Perera Christensen says that the author has neither spouse nor children.
Jyllands-Posten 1 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://jp.dk/indland/aar/kultur/article1996419.ece
Aarhus.dk 2 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.aarhus.dk/default.asp?Id=251&AjrDcmntId=18188

Former military camp will be converted to asylum center
A year ago, the Danish Immigration Service and the Danish Red Cross visited the former military camp in Auderød to assess whether it could be used as a temporary reception center for the growing number of asylum-seeking refugees. Mayor Helge Friis (S) sees no problems with the municipality setting up a reception center as long as it is only temporary and thus gives the municipality a possibility to, in the future, use the area for tourism and recreation. The camp will initially accommodate up to 300 refugees, but it will, according to the Ministry of Integration, be possible to increase the capacity to 600 if needed. The camp is expected to be ready before Easter.
Netavisen Nordkysten 2 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.nordkysten.nu/?Id=14528

Estonia

Council of Europeurges Estoniato increase integration efforts
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), an independent body of the Council of Europe, finds that Estoniahas made progress in combating racism and intolerance, but also expresses concern about the large number of stateless persons, the limited contact between Russian-speakers and ethnic Estonians, high unemployment among minority groups and discrimination against Roma.The key recommendations concern improvement of the quality of education offered to Russian-speaking children, reduction of the number of persons without citizenship and tackling of the undue placement of Roma children in special schools and their reintegration in mainstream schools. The authors of the report note that Roma are particularly vulnerable to discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice, and that in the field of education Roma pupils are far more likely to drop out of school and they continue to be overrepresented in schools for mentally disabled children.
Baltic News Service 2 March 2010 (in English) (Subscription required)
www.bns.ee

Norway

'Trandum is a danger to life and health'
Trandum in Akershus, Norway's only pre-departure detention center, is the last stop for asylum-seekers without legal residency. In recent weeks, the holding facility has been so low on staff that there has been danger to their life and health. Within two weeks, a total of 12 asylum-seekers have escaped from Trandum. The Labor Inspectorate believes there are too few employees working in Trandum, and the Police Immigration Unit service is increasing its number of staff after a critical report. In recent weeks, the main protection Ombudsman received disturbing messages from the staff at the holding facility. According to the main protection ombudsman Einar Saglie, the employees believe that the conditions there are not safe enough, and that their safety is sometimes put at risk. After an inspection by the Labor Inspectorate after the fire at the holding facility, the Labor Inspectorate writes in a report that there is an imminent danger to the safety of the employees, and that they are considering to close the pre-departure detention center. Amnesty International is now investigating Trandum, and Peder Engenæs, Secretary General of Amnesty International Norway, says that they are shocked that it has gone so far that the Labor Inspectorate is considering closing the entire operation. He says that if it is dangerous for the employees, Amnesty is also very concerned about the safety and welfare of those who are detained there.
NRK 1 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.7018292

Paperless get health care
The Government is introducing new policies to regulate health care for up to 30,000 persons who are staying illegally in Norway. The Minister of Justice, Knut Storberget, and the Minister of Health and Careservices, Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen, have agreed to clearly define the rights of several groups of paperless persons, and change the regulations that apply to people who are staying illegally in Norway. Paperless persons are today only entitled to emergency care and it varies from hospital to hospital if they receive assistance beyond this. The Government is now committed to making sure that children are entitled to virtually the same healthcare as children with legal residence, that paperless pregnant women get full access to health care, that women without residence permit who want to do an abortion have the right to it, and that mentally unstable persons have the right to receive psychiatric treatment. According to Storberget, this has been a challenging issue that has been discussed for a long time. He says that it was demanding to find the balance between giving a decent amount of help and at the same time protect the welfare provision which in itself can attract persons who want to stay in Norway. The Government also offers all paperless the right to health care that cannot wait. This implies a formal extension of the current regulations which only ensures paperless persons emergency care.
Aftenposten 2 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article3544449.ece

Resigns from Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board
Terje Einarsen, who is an expert on refugee law, is resigning from his posts at the Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) in protest against UNE-director Terje Sjeggestad. Sjeggestad has publicly called Einarsen "a person working against his colleagues" and an "unprofessional" because he expressed his opinion on a controversial decision that the UNE took in February. The decision regarded the deportation of asylum-seekers to Greece two years after the UNE itself had stopped deportations to Greece after receiving information about possible violations of the human rights of asylum-seekers. Einarsen has chosen not to comment on his resignation, but NRK reported that Einarsen withdrew because he felt that his freedom of speech was violated. Sjeggestad still believes that Einarsen was working against his colleagues, since Einarsen was the only one out of seven board members who voted against the decision. Einarsen said the decision could lead to violations of the UN Refugee Convention. Sjeggestad believes that it was unprofessional of  Einarsen to a make statement on the decision and to publicly criticize his colleagues.
Verdens Gang 3 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/artikkel.php?artid=593809
Aftenposten 3 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article3546410.ece
NRK 3 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.7020343

Aarvik excluded
On Tuesday, the Board of Sør-Trøndelag Progress Party decided to exclude municipal representative Ole Elling Aarvik in Skaun Progress Party from the party because of his racist remarks. During a meeting of the Executive Committee of Health, Upbringing and Culture in Skaun on 2 February, Aarvik made certain statements that other politicians considered racist. Aarvik also made several comments to the newspaper Sør-Trøndelag after the meeting, which were considered racist. The Board of Skaun Progress Party regarded the statements as so serious that they sent the matter on to the County Board. The County Board states that Ole Elling Aarvik has acted in a way that has damaged the party in Skaun. They also reach the conclusion that Aarvik has used a clearly racist language in his discussion regarding potential settlement of refugees in Skaun municipality.
Sør-Trøndelag 2 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.avisa-st.no/arkiv/skaun/article1252870.ece
NRK 3 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nrk_trondelag/1.7020542
Trønderbladet 3 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.tronderbladet.no/nyheter/article1252877.ece

Sweden

Child Convention and right to complain
The 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was ratified by Sweden in 1990, but as in many other countries, it has yet to become part of Swedish law. Instead Sweden tries to adapt Swedish law to the Convention. According to Unicef's Swedish branch, the government is in violation of at least seven articles in the convention. Among other things, Unicef criticizes the fact that paperless children in Sweden have only been eligible to receive emergency treatment and must pay for it themselves. Anita Goh, representative of several voluntary organizations in Geneva, is currently visiting Stockholm to try to convince the Swedish government to take a leading role in a campaign to give individual children, whose rights have been violated, a means by which they can have their complaints heard and dealt with.
Svenska Dagbladet 3 March 2010 p:11 (in Swedish)

Persecution of Christians in Iraq
Violence against the Christian minority in Northern Iraq has worsened again before the elections that take place next week. Human Rights Watch reports on seven targeted killings against Christians in recent days and warns that the situation of 2008 could be repeated. In 2008 Christians in the city of Mosul faced extensive violence with the obvious aim of spreading terror among the Christian minority forcing Christians to flee. A significant proportion of Christians who have fled Iraq reside in Sweden, especially in Södertälje municipality and the district of Skärholmen. In recent years the Swedish authorities deemed it was safe for Christian refugees to return to Iraq. Sweden has been one of the few European countries that have applied a policy of forced returns of Christian Iraqis. The policy has been very controversial, and Sweden has been strongly criticized by UNHCR in particular.
Trelleborgs Allehanda 1 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://trelleborgsallehanda.se/opinion/article634446/Forfoljelse-av-kristna-i-Irak.html
Kristianstadsbladet 1 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.kristianstadsbladet.se/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100301/OPINION/703019792/1909/&/Forfoljelse-av-kristna-i-Irak

Immigration critical parties register interest for elections
Forty-five parties have registered interest in standing in the general election to be held this autumn, 12 of which are entirely new. The Svenskarnas parti, an old neo-Nazi party with a new façade, says only persons who belong to the western genetic and cultural heritage can be Swedish citizens and non-Swedes should not be allowed to have positions of power in the Swedish society. Another immigration critical party the Sweden Democrats Party has, according to opinion polls, a support of more than 4 per cent, which is required to achieve a place in the parliament. The party enjoys its strongest support in Southern Sweden, where in some areas it has received a support of over 20 per cent.
Dagens Nyheter 1 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.dn.se/nyheter/valet2010/nya-partier-staller-upp-i-valet-1.1054250

NB. This story was also covered in Finland
Satakunnan Kansa 2 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.satakunnankansa.fi/cs/Satellite/Ulkomaat/1194637880423/artikkeli/siirtolaisvastainen+puolue+kiilaamassa+ruotsin+valtiopaiville.html
Itä-Savo 2 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.ita-savo.fi/Etusivu/siirtolaisvastaiset_pyrkiv%C3%A4t_ruotsin_valtiop%C3%A4iville_9989670.html
Kauppalehti 2 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.kauppalehti.fi/5/i/talous/uutiset/stt/uutinen.jsp?selected=ulkomaat&oid=48481215

[Roope]

Thursday 4 March to Friday 5 March 2010

Denmark

Asylum-seekers arrested
Three women in the age between 20-50 years and two men, 21 and 42 years old respectively, were arrested at the temporary Reception Center in Karrebaeksminde when the police, in a raid, found a music system and five laptops from different burglaries and thefts that have taken place in Copenhagen, Solrød Beach and Nykøbing Falster. The gang of thieves were exposed when they were caught stealing sweets from a local grocery store in Karrebaeksminde. Surveillance tapes from the candy theft led police to the nearby Center where the Serbs lived as asylum-seekers. The Red Cross has now transferred the Serbian asylum group to the Sandholm camp.
Jyllands-Posten 4 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1Al0Er

Finland

Some communities still have difficulties accepting asylum-seekers
Last year, Finland rushed to set up some 20 new refugee reception centers to deal with a surge in asylum-seekers. Many locals have had difficulties accepting their new neighbors. For instance, the refugee reception centre in Paimio, Southwest Finland, has had its share of problems. Currently 130 people live at the centre. The majority are men from Bulgaria, Iraq and Iran. One problem plaguing the centre is a shortage of interpreters. Police have been called to intervene when tempers flare. However Ilona Dorij, the deputy director of the centre, says that friction between locals and asylum-seekers has eased over the past four months. Meanwhile officials are seeking the rapid adoption of a new law that would allow Finland to quickly deport asylum-seekers with dubious claims. "In contrast to what some people are saying, we are working to pass the law as quickly as possible," says the Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors. From 2008 to 2009, the number of asylum-seekers in Finland grew by 48 per cent to nearly 6,000.
YLE 3 March 2010 (in English)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1Am0Es
YLE 3 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1An0Et

Latvia

Latvia expands the right to education
On Thursday, the Latvian parliament backed major amendments to the Education Law, expanding the range of persons who are eligible for obtaining education in Latvia. Under these amendments, the right to obtain education in Latvia is granted to Latvian citizens and non-citizens, EU citizens, as well as residents of other countries, who have residence permits in Latvia. Stateless persons with valid travel documents, refugees and children of asylum-seekers will also be granted such rights. Children of persons who have no legal basis for staying in Latvia will also be eligible for obtaining education in Latvia until the time they must depart from the country.
Baltic News Service 4 March 2010 (in English) (Subscription required)
www.bns.ee

Norway

SV will not let Storberget see asylum children's genitals
Heikki Holmås, member of parliament and leader of the Oslo Socialist Left Party (SV), urges Knut Storberget to drop the proposal of examination of asylum-seeking children's breasts and testicles to determine their age. Last week, the Antiracist Center sent thousands of postcards to Storberget with the slogan "Do you want to see sex organs – take a look at mine!" and pictures of adult male and female genitalia. Gunnar A. Johansen, communications manager at the Ministry of Justice, says that they have not yet concluded on the matter. Holmås says that it is important to treat the unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers in a way that does not violate their human dignity. Holmås says that although it is important to find good methods for age determination, one should not enter into a human rights gray zone to do so.
Dagbladet 3 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1Ao0Eu

Asylum case creates a diplomatic crisis between Norway and Iran
Norway's granting of political asylum to the former Iranian top diplomat Mohammed Reza Heydari has led to a diplomatic crisis between Norway and Iran. According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Norwegian ambassador in Tehran was summoned to a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Ministry in late February. Ambassador Roald Næss was handed a letter in which Iran protests against the fact that Heydari was granted asylum in Norway. The Foreign Ministry of Iran now also requires the Norwegian diplomat to leave Iran. This demand has stirred up strong reactions in Norway. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, says that this is a completely unacceptable response from the Iranian side. He says that the right to seek political asylum is in line with international conventions. On Monday, the embassy in Teheran had to close after a demonstration where protesters threw objects at the building and the facade of the embassy was damaged. Heydari worked as a consul at the Iranian Embassy in Norway until the beginning of the year when he chose to terminate his position in protest against the human rights violations and the oppression in Iran. In an interview with Dagbladet the diplomat said that the Iranian authorities refused to accept his resignation. According to Heydari, he was both threatened and lured into withdrawing his resignation and his regime-critical statements about the sitting government in Iran. He feared for his life if he returned to Iran and decided to seek political asylum in Norway. The asylum application was granted in mid-February.
Dagbladet 3 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1Ap0Ev
Aftenposten 3 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1Aq0Ew

Norway requests Iranian diplomat to leave
Norway has reacted strongly to the Iranian authorities' request that a Norwegian diplomat should leave Teheran because of an asylum matter in Norway. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repudiated Iran's protests in a note and a letter to the Iranian Foreign Minister, as well as at a meeting with the Iranian chargé d'affaires in Oslo. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also requested that the Iranian diplomat should leave Norway.
The Norway Post 5 March 2010 (in English)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1Ar0Ex

Fewer minor asylum-seekers
There has been a decrease in number of asylum-seekers in Norway, and the decline is greater for minor asylum seekers than for adults, according to the Directorate of Immigration (UDI). In January, 71 minor asylum-seekers came to Norway, which is a decrease of 60 percent compared to January 2009. Bente Engesland, communications director of the UDI, says that they have reason to believe that the decrease has to do with the government's tightened immigration policy. Many asylum-seekers are staying in other countries in Europe before coming here, and have seen the signals that they must have justified needs for protection to stay in Norway. In September 2008, the government tightened the asylum policies on several points. In connection with the re-election of the government in the autumn of 2009, further tightening of immigration policies were announced in the Soria Moria Declaration II. Engesland says that the fall in the number of underage asylum-seekers are part of a general tendency. Sylo Taraku, Acting Secretary General of the Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers (NOAS), also thinks that it is difficult to answer why there are fewer minor asylum-seekers, but says that the fact that the Dublin Regulation previously did not apply to minor asylum-seekers could be one contributing factor. He also points out that several minor asylum-seekers get temporary residence permits, but must leave Norway when they turn 18.
Aftenposten 4 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1As0Ey

'Must assist persons who have been forced to return'
On Thursday, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, came to the Afghan capital Kabul for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and members of the government. Follow-up discussions of the London Conference on Afghanistan in January dominated the meeting, but Støre also mentioned the subject of Afghan asylum-seekers who have been forcibly returned. Støre said that he stressed to the Afghan authorities that Norway expects them to pave the way for organized return from Norway of asylum-seekers who have had their asylum applications rejected. The Norwegian government will make annual contributions to care centers for unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers in Afghanistan. During the meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zalmay Rassoul, assured Støre that he personally would contribute to the establishment of a tripartite agreement between Norway, Afghanistan and the International Migration Organization (IOM). Rassoul also said that Afghan authorities will contribute to the establishment of care centers.
NRK 4 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1At0Ez

Asylum applications are processed more quickly
The Directorate of Immigration (UDI) has introduced a 48-hour processing of asylum applications from persons from Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro. The purpose is to prevent a large number of asylum applications from persons from these countries that do not have the right to protection. According to Hanne Jendal, Director of UDI's asylum department, they consider Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro to be safe countries, where applicants from these countries very rarely are in need of protection in Norway. After citizens from the three countries received visa access to all Schengen states in December 2009, there has been a sharp increase in the number of asylum-seekers from these countries to several countries in Europe. Applicants who fall under the 48-hour procedure get a short asylum interview with UDI, and the police investigate their travel itinerary. If an asylum application is rejected, the Police Immigration Unit immediately transports the applicant out of Norway.
NRK 4 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1Au0E1

Refugee Program is a good investment
According to Statistics Norway (SSB) the introduction program for newly arrived refugees is a good investment. In 2004, the program was made mandatory for all refugees, as well as their families, who were granted residence permits in Norway. SSB has now, for the third consecutive year, evaluated the progress of those participants who completed their training. The results from fall 2008 is now ready and show that the around 959 million NOK that are used every year is a good investment. According to Statistics Norway's figures, 63 per cent were either in ordinary work or higher education one year after they finished the program. 13 percent were unemployed, while 24 percent had other or no registration. The proportion work/education was equally high for the first two evaluation periods. The first class has now been followed for three years, and it turns out that women in particular have increased their professional association over time. One year after completing the program, 55 percent of the newly arrived refugees were employed.
Verdens Gang 5 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1Av0E2

Stavanger municipality gets new advisor
Stavanger municipality creates a new position at the Department for Social Welfare. The person who is hired will work with integration and diversity matters, including issues concerning forced marriages. These are tasks that, until now, have been divided between several people in different departments. The new adviser's tasks will include follow-up on project plans for integration, prepare reception of refugees and follow up on refugees at reception centers. The municipality has already received about 30 applications for the position.
Stavanger Aftenblad 4 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1Aw0E3

Sweden

Swedish cultural orientation proposed
A commission of inquiry proposes a cultural orientation programme for newly arrived refugees. The focus will be on health care, the welfare state and daily life in Sweden as well as issues such as equal opportunities and gay rights. The commission also proposes that those refugees who refuse to take part in the programme should not receive any start-up benefits. From the first of December the Swedish local councils will have to offer new immigrants a 60 hour course about the Swedish society. According to the study ordered by the Minister of Integration, those who finish the course will receive a certificate, while those who do not, risk loosing the specific benefit that the government wants to introduce for newly arrived immigrants. The study recommends that the courses are offered at the universities, since they require highly qualified teachers. The study also suggests that the course does not have to be in Swedish, but could be offered in the language of those newly arrived.
Sveriges Radio 4 March 2010 (in English)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1Ax0E4
Dagens Nyheter 4 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1Ay0E5
Svenska Dagbladet 5 March 2010 p:11 (in Swedish)

More social welfare paid out
Local authorities paid 20 per cent more in social welfare benefits last year, compared with the year before, not including support to asylum-seekers. The main reason for the increase is thought to be the higher number of unemployed persons. Meanwhile, start-up benefits for refugees increased by five per cent in 2009, reaching 2.3 billion crowns. The largest increase in social welfare benefits occurred in Tranemo municipality, where the financial assistance, excluding benefits for refugees, increased by 105 per cent in 2009 compared to the previous year.
Sveriges Radio 3 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1Az0E6
Dagens Nyheter 4 March 2010 p:11 (in Swedish)

Influx of Roma to Sweden
This year alone, there have been approximately 1000 Roma, mainly from Serbia, who have come to Sweden by bus. They are tricked into believing that they are entitled to Swedish social benefits and residence permit, but hardly anyone is allowed to stay. The Director of the Swedish Migration Board, Dan Eliasson, says that these persons are living in difficult social situations and perhaps are even being discriminated against, but that does not entitle them to receive protection in Sweden. Although the vast majority of Roma comes from Serbia, there are also persons coming from Montenegro and Macedonia. The Roma minority in Serbia is significantly poorer than the members of the Serb community. Occasionally there are reports of violations against Roma in both Serbia and Kosovo, and recently also in Italy.
Svenska Dagbladet 4 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1A10Es
Dagens Nyheter 4 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1A20Et
Sveriges Television 4 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1A30Eu
Skånskan  4 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1A40Ev



UNHCR in the news

Sanitary conditions in Dadaab refugee camp
2.5 billion persons worldwide lack access to toilets. Lack of toilets is one of the reasons why 5 million persons each year die from diarrhea, which is more than deaths caused by HIV and malaria. There are simple and inexpensive solutions like soap, and sugar and salt solution (SSS), to manage the problem in the most vulnerable areas of the world. Yet very little money is spent on improving sanitation in developing countries. World's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya, suffers from difficult sanitary conditions. There are some 300 000 refugees residing in the camp, most of them Somalis. The camp lacks latrines and has problems with contaminated water. The most common disease in the camp is diarrhea, among both children and adults. Among children diarrhea is the second cause of death after respiratory diseases. Tuberculosis, HIV and malaria are other major diseases, though diarrhea is leading to more deaths and to more illness among children. Diarrhea causes dehydration, which is especially dangerous for children. The camp suffers also from a recent cholera outbreak, which is affecting both adults and children. In order to reduce contamination and spread of infections, Doctors Without Borders are providing health education on hygiene issues to the community. Nevertheless, the lack of sanitation, polluted rivers and contaminated drinking water is not just a problem that occurs in developing countries. Paris, London, New York and other major cities often have ancient drainage systems where rainwater and wastewater are mixed.
SVT Play 'Korrespondenterna' 24 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1A50Ew
Sveriges Television 24 February 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCcgb0ZqnfK0aYE0D1A60Ex

NB. This story was a result of a press trip organised by UNHCR ROBNC

[Roope]

Saturday 6 March to Monday 8 March 2010

Finland

Thors: Finland has not loosened its immigration policy
Minister of Immigration and European Affairs Astrid Thors does not want to admit that the Finnish immigration policy has become looser under her ministerial term. According to Thors Finland still grants asylum on the same grounds as in the past. She also says that the exceptionally strong criticism she has been subjected to may be a result of her being a woman and Finnish Swede.
MTV3 7 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/kotimaa.shtml/arkistot/kotimaa/2010/03/1072473

Quota refugees go through an in-depth examination
Following last week's demands by Paavo Väyrynen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, to decrease the number of quota refugees, Susanne Tengman, Finnish Immigration Service, explains that all quota refugees are carefully chosen as it is. According to Tengman, UNHCR preselects eligible families, after which the Immigration Service goes through the families' data carefully and interviews them on the spot. The selection grounds are primarily the families' need for protection and resettlement.  Language skills and integration potentiality are also relevant. According to Tengman, Finland does not receive only "elite refugees".
Suomen Kuvalehti 6 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://suomenkuvalehti.fi/jutut/kotimaa/maahanmuuttovirasto-pakolaiset-valitaan-jo-harkiten
Uusi Suomi 5 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.uusisuomi.fi/kotimaa/86747-nain-pakolaiset-valitaan-suomeen-%E2%80%9Dperusteellinen-syyni%E2%80%9D

Norway

Dim future for Iraqi refugees
The security situation in Iraq has improved, but for the millions of refugees in the country the prospect of a life in security is still far away, according to a report from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). It appears that fewer persons flee from Iraq or flee internally in the country than before, however, very few Iraqi refugees return home. Iraq is still in the middle of one of the most comprehensive refugee crises in the world where 2.8 million people have fled within Iraq and around 1.8 million refugees have fled to other countries, particularly Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Secretary General Elisabeth Rasmusson of the Norwegian Refugee Council says that the humanitarian need will continue to be large for a long time to come. The report points out that the security situation is still the main obstacle for efforts to reach civilians in need of help. The many internally displaced persons have few prospects for durable solutions for their situation,and Iraq has a very limited capacity to receive and care for those who have fled to other countries, if these countries start to forcibly return Iraqis.
Stavanger Aftenblad 7 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.aftenbladet.no/utenriks/1171664/-__Dyster_framtid_for_irakiske_flyktninger.html

PRESS wants asylum-seeker ombudsman
Save the Children youth organization, PRESS, believes that a special ombudsman should be created to ensure asylum-seekers' rights. The organization believes that the Immigration Appeals Board, which handles appeals for rejected asylum applications, does not have legitimacy as an independent body. PRESS leader Kirsten Kvalø says that one needs to think about what mechanisms we have to protect the rights of those who come here and seek protection. She wants an ombudsman with the legal mandate to monitor that the refugee-convention is followed.
NRK 5 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.7025557

Gahr Støre promises stricter asylum policy
Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre promises that the Labour Party will pursue strict but fair immigration policies and a consistent and active integration policy. Støre is appointed to lead the party's recently appointed integration committee. At the Rogaland municipality's annual Labour Party meeting, Støre said that if they are not perceived as consistent and strict in their asylum policy, they will lose people's confidence that they can keep the order in society. He also emphasized the fact that Norway must have an asylum policy that matches the policies of the neighboring countries. He said that differences in policy will quickly be exploited by human smugglers who will try to send streams of refugees to Norway.
Stavanger Aftenblad 6 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.aftenbladet.no/innenriks/politikk/1171417/Gahr_Stoere_lover_streng_asylpolitikk.html

Sweden

Refugees lie about age to avoid deportation
Unaccompanied minor refugee asylum-seekers who come to Sweden are not always as young as they claim, according to workers at several different refugee housing facilities. Sometimes the difference can be up to ten years, leading to problems with schooling, medical care, and housing. It is easier for underage asylum-seekers to get a residence permit, and they are less likely to be deported. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that child refugees cannot be sent back to their home countries unless someone there can take care of them. The exact number of persons who lie about their age is hard to determine. In Norway, a study using dental tests showed that 9 out of 10 underage refugee children were actually older than 18. More and more unaccompanied child refugees arrived in Sweden last year, the number was 2,250 and it is estimated to grow this year.
Sveriges Radio 5 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/international/artikel.asp?ProgramID=166&Nyheter=1&artikel=3488668
Sveriges Radio 7 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.sr.se/orebro/nyheter/arkiv.asp?ProgramID=221&Min=2001-10-10&PeriodStart=2010-03-07&Period=2&Artikel=3491113
Sveriges Radio 5 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/international/artikel.asp?Artikel=3488151

New programme for quota refugees
The Swedish Migration Board has launched a new programme  for quota refugees who are about to come to Sweden. According to Johan Harald the aim of the programme is to give refugees an idea about what their lives will be like in their new home country. The one-week training is conducted by a delegation consisting of leaders from the Migration Board, community representatives and former quota refugees, and it starts a few weeks after the selection of quota refugees has taken place. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, gives priority to refugees from Somalia and Sudan. The Migration Board will shortly arrange the resettlement of 300 Somali refugees from a refugee camp in Kenya to Sweden.
Sveriges Radio 5 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/international/artikel.asp?Artikel=3487619

Thousands of Iraqis voted in Sweden
At least 26,000 Iraqis living in Sweden cast their absentee ballots during the weekend, ahead of the Iraqi general elections on Sunday. Voting in Sweden was spread over three days, beginning on Friday and concluding on Sunday. Iraqi expatriates living in Norway and Finland had to travel great distances to vote in Sweden. The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR estimates that around two million Iraqis are living abroad, with an estimated 80,000 or more living in Sweden. At the height of the Iraqi War, Sweden liberalized regulations to ease Iraqi immigration into the country.
Sveriges Radio 6 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/international/artikel.asp?ProgramID=166&Nyheter=1&artikel=3490251
The Local 7 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.thelocal.se/25388/20100307/

Refugee spy sentenced to prison
A 62-year-old man who spied on his Uighur compatriots on behalf of the Chinese regime, was sentenced to prison for one year and four months for illegal intelligence activities. The man collected data from January 2008 to June 2009 on personal circumstances of Uighurs living in exile, including information on their travels, health and political activities. A number of these Uighurs have been politically active both in Sweden and internationally.
Svenska Dagbladet 8 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/flyktingspion-domd-till-fangelse_4396467.svd



UNHCR in the news

UNCHR sends help to Uganda
The Ugandan government minister told the news agency Reuters that about 300 people are still missing after a landslide caused by heavy raining. The torrential rain began on Monday evening last week in Bududan in the eastern part of Uganda, and continued on Tuesday throughout the day in some parts of the area. The UN refugee agency UNHCR announced on Wednesday last week that the organization is sending 5,000 tents to persons who have become homeless. - We fear that the number of homeless survivors, as well as the number of deceased, is going to rise when government-led assessment teams can access the region, says the Secretary-General of UNHCR Antonio Guterres.
YLE 3 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/ulkomaat/2010/03/ugandan_maanvyoryn_uhrimaara_jo_yli_90_1499684.html

[Roope]

Tuesday 9 March to Wednesday 10 March 2010

Denmark

Iraq: Don't let us down
Iraq's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Zebari has questioned Minister of Development Aid Søren Pind's statement last week that Denmark has no 'moral obligation' to help Iraq, despite being part of the international coalition since 2003. Zebari said that Iraq obviously still needs foreign aid and that it is only natural that those countries that started the war have a moral obligation to keep paying. At the same time he stressed that the repatriation agreement between the governments in Copenhagen and Baghdad does not give Denmark the automatic right to deport Iraqi asylum-seekers who have not been granted residency in Denmark. Zebari said that it is a mutual agreement concerning voluntary repatriation, not forced deportation. He said that Denmark therefore has an obligation to help these people in accordance with international human rights standards and that help can be in the form of repatriation and assistance when they arrive home, but not deportation.
Politiken 10 March 2010 p:4 (in Danish)

Refugees poured into poverty statistics
Figures from the Labor Movement shows that long-term poverty is a growing problem among immigrants. While only 0.6 per cent of the Danes are poor, students omitted, 5.4 per cent of immigrants from less developed countries - including many refugees – are poor. The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) considers the current legislation in the social sector to be the major problem behind this. Mette Blauenfeldt, head of the Center for Vulnerable Refugees in Danish Refugee Council, says that reduced benefits, putting a cap on cash assistance and reducing help for spouses, among other things, have affected ethnic minorities and refugees. Blauenfeldt also says that the DRC fears for the children who grow up in these families and questions how they will be able to cope in the future when their parents have not been able to afford to give them a proper childhood. The new figures show that the proportion of long term poor migrants from less developed countries has doubled from 2001 to 2007.
Berlingske Tidende 9 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.berlingske.dk/danmark/flygtninge-fylder-i-fattigdomsstatistik-0
DR 9 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2010/03/09/184425.htm

Refugees and immigrants often subjected to coercion
A study published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia shows that mentally ill refugees and immigrants are hospitalized by force more frequently and are exposed to more coercive measures during their hospitalization at the psychiatric ward than their Danish counterparts.  Especially vulnerable are men who have come to Denmark as refugees. The survey was conducted by PhD Marie Nørredam from the Department of Public Health at the University of Copenhagen. She believes that there are several possible explanations for the findings.  Refugees and immigrants may indeed be more sick than the Danes due to stress or trauma experienced in their home countries. Other explanations may be that patients with refugee and immigrant backgrounds become sick because they do not contact health professionals in time. A total of 312,300 individuals, both immigrants, refugees and Danish control persons, participated in the study.
Dagens Medicin 8 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.dagensmedicin.dk//nyheder/2010/03/08/flygtninge-og-indvandrere-/index.xml

Finland

Police start investigation into threats against Migration Minister
Police have begun investigating threats made on the internet against the Minister of Migration and European Affiairs, Astrid Thors. Senior Police Commissioner Göran Wennqvist of the National Bureau of Investigation says the case is being treated as an illegal threat. Police are separately investigating a Facebook group falsely opened in the minister's name as a case of slander. Wennqvist adds a suspect has been questioned and has admitted guilt. Two weeks ago, Astrid Thors asked the police to investigate threats of violence made against her on Facebook saying the comments can no longer be justified as free speech. The National Bureau of Investigation is also examining an online hate site that calls for the murder of leading Finnish politicians as well as immigrants. The Finnish-language site is registered to a long-time American neo-Nazi.
YLE 8 March 2010 (in English)
http://yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/03/police_start_investigation_into_threats_against_migration_minister_1513202.html
YLE 8 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://yle.fi/alueet/etela-karjala/2010/03/ministeri_thorsin_tappouhasta_rikostutkinta_1512830.html

Decisions on asylum applications take longer
Asylum-seekers in Finland have to wait for decisions on their asylum applications longer than before. For example, asylum-seekers at a reception center in Kemi municipality receive their decisions in 20 months, while last year the decisions arrived in one year. One family at the Kemi reception center has waited for their asylum decisions since December 2008. After receiving decisions on their asylum applications the asylum-seekers at the Kemi reception center still have to wait for months for their so-called municipal placements, which can be obtained in Kemi, Rovaniemi and Tornio municipalities.
YLE 8 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.yle.fi/alueet/perameri/2010/03/turvapaikkapaatoksen_saaminen_vie_pitkaan_1511067.html

Finnish Supreme Court dismisses two appeals
The Supreme Administrative Court on Monday ruled against two elderly women who wanted to stay in Finland with their families. Egyptian citizen Eveline Fadayel and Russian citizen Irina Antonova will not be granted residence permits in Finland. This means that there are no legal obstacles to their expulsion from Finland. With no family in Egypt, Ms Fadayel, 65, has lived with her sons in Vantaa in southern Finland for almost three years. Under Finnish law, grandparents are not considered part of the nuclear family in a way that would entitle them to benefit from family unification. The court also refused to make an exception for humanitarian reasons. Antonova has been living with her daughter after coming to Finland in 2008 on a visitor's visa.
Helsinki Times 8 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/htimes/domestic-news/general/10168-finnish-top-court-dismisses-eveline-fadayels-appeal-.html
Helsingin Sanomat 9 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Two+grandmothers+to+be+deported/1135253545954
YLE 8 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://yle.fi/alueet/helsinki/helsinki/2010/03/egyptilaisen_isoaidin_oleskelulupavalitus_hylattiin_1513219.html

Latvia

Illegal transportation of migrants to EU through Latvia
Illegal transportation of migrants from developing countries to the EU countries trough Latvia grows every year. Migrants from African and Asian countries arrive to Latvia from Russia, get fake documents and are transported further to Finland, Germany, and Holland. Persons who organize illegal migration earn around EUR 20,000 for each migrant.
Integration and Minority Information Service 10 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.humanrights.org.lv/html/25501.html
Integration and Minority Information Service 9 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.humanrights.org.lv/html/25501.html

Norway

Far fewer asylum-seekers in Norway
So far this year, there have been 1,552 asylum-applications registered in Norway, which is 39 per cent less for the same period last year. Most asylum-seekers come from Eritrea, Afghanistan and Somalia. According to new figures from the Directorate of Immigration (UDI), four out of ten asylum-seekers come from one of these three countries.
NRK 9 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.7029712

UNE broke the law
Two new verdicts in the Oslo District Court shows that the Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) broke the law when they tried to evict two families who had been staying in Norway for a long time. In 2006, a majority of the members of Parliament decided that it was important to take the well-being of the children into consideration when deciding if asylum-seeking families should be allowed to stay in Norway or not. According to attorney Arild Humlen, the two latest verdicts show that the Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board's decisions did not match the Parliament's intentions and that the UNE have been too strict when assessing cases. Director of the Immigration Appeals Board, Terje Sjeggestad, says that the criticism is uncalled for and that the UNE is considering to appeal the two new verdicts.
NRK 10 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.7029485

Rygge settlement of refugees delayed
In the end of 2009, Rygge municipality was housing ten underage unaccompanied refugees - two in foster care and the rest divided among two ordinary homes in the Ekholt area. Finn A. Jensen (KrF) believed that there must be a goal for Rygge municipality to accept five to seven new refugees in 2010, while Jon Aga (SV) wanted to settle 15 people. However, they received little support for their proposals. The Socialist Left Party and the Christian Democratic Party tried, but the majority of the council in Rygge municipality wanted to postpone the work of refugee settlement. Frode Klemp (FRP) believed that the housing of refugees is far too expensive.
Moss Avis 10 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.moss-avis.no/nyheter/rygge-droyer-med-bosetting-av-flyktninger-1.4769446

Sweden

China rejects spy case findings
China has strongly denied allegations that it illegally gathered information on members of the Uighur community after a Swedish court jailed a man for spying. Babur Maihesuti, a 62-year-old Uighur man who had been living in Sweden for 13 years as a political refugee, was sentenced by a Stockholm court to 16 months in prison on Monday for spying on expatriates from the mainly Muslim minority. He had given the data to a Chinese diplomat and journalist who, on assignment from the nation's intelligence service, carried out operations in Sweden for Beijing, the court said.
The Local 9 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.thelocal.se/25428/20100309/
Sveriges Radio 9 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/international/artikel.asp?ProgramID=166&Nyheter=1&artikel=3495827
Dagens Nyheter 9 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.dn.se/nyheter/varlden/kina-kritiserar-svensk-spiondom-1.1058180
Dagbladet 9 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://dagbladet.se/nyheter/inrikes/1.1870441-kinesisk-kritik-mot-svensk-spiondom

Hundreds of refugee children gone into hiding in Sweden
Hundreds of children have escaped from the Swedish refugee reception centers during the recent years. Some of the children flee to other countries, but many still reside in Sweden, hidden, and without a family. Over 700 unaccompanied refugee children have gone into hiding in Sweden since 2005. The Migration Board does not know where they have gone, and the National Board of Health and Welfare say they do not bear any responsibility over the hidden children. In Malmö, the Social Services have no track at all on the children. According to Christina Heilborn, Children Rights lawyer at UNICEF, this appears to be the case also in several other municipalities. According to Heilborn, it is important that the Social Services can help these children and that there is no obligation to notify the police.
Sveriges Radio 9 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.sr.se/sida/artikel.aspx?ProgramId=1646&Artikel=3494759

Sweden loses case in Strasbourg
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ruled that Sweden would be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights were it to deport an Iranian dissident. The Iranian man applied for asylum in Sweden in 2003, claiming that he had taken part in a demonstration against the Iranian regime in 2001, and that he had been arrested, tortured and imprisoned for two years before managing to flee the prison and the country. In 2007 a Swedish Migration Court decided to put its decision to send the man back to Iran on hold. The European Court finds the man's story credible and believes that the statement from the man's doctor supports the torture claims. If the Swedish authorities doubt this, they should have asked for expert advice, according to the European court. If the man is deported to Iran he could face inhuman treatment, the Court says.
Dagens Nyheter 10 March 2010 p:10 (in Swedish)
Sveriges Radio 9 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/international/artikel.asp?ProgramID=166&Nyheter=1&artikel=3496438
Sveriges Radio 9 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.sr.se/ekot/artikel.asp?artikel=3496297
Sveriges Television 9 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://svt.se/2.22620/1.1920520/sverige_forlorade_i_europadomstolen

Gender-based violence no obvious reason for asylum
Each year, there are women who come to Sweden to seek for protection from gender-based violence. In order to investigate the situation in Northern Iraq, the Swedish Migration Board, the Swedish Red Cross and the Swedish Refugee Advice Center conducted a joint trip to the Kurdish-controlled parts of Iraq in April 2009. The Migration Board indicates that the number of honour killings in the area decreased by 60 percent between 2007 and 2008. In 2008, 117 women were murdered. According to Anna-Pia Beier, lawyer at the Swedish Refugee Advice Center, the situation in the area has improved, but women still lack protection. She believes that women at risk for honour-related violence should be granted a residence permit in Sweden and not be returned to Northern Iraq. In order to get asylum in Sweden, it is generally required that the asylum-seeker can prove that she has sought protection through agencies or organizations in Kurdistan and that she has been unable to obtain such protection.
Göteborgs Fria Tidning 8 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.goteborgsfria.nu/artikel/82794

[Roope]

Thursday 11 March to Friday 12 March 2010

Finland

Finland is once again accepting quota refugees from Afghanistan
Finland's refugee quota will remain the same as last year, 750 refugees. Finland has not accepted Afghan quota refugees since 2005, as the situation in the country was thought to have improved rapidly. Now the conditions in Afghanistan and Iran have become more difficult, and many refugees are not able to return home. On Thursday, the group of Ministers that is responsible for immigration issues supported the Ministry of Interior's proposal, according to which Finland will receive 200 Iraqi refugees from Syria, 150 Burmese refugees from Thailand, 150 Congolese refugees from Rwanda and 150 Afghan refugees from Iran. In addition, Finland is prepared to take 100 refugees requiring urgent placement.
Helsingin Sanomat 11 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0D1lD0En
YLE 11 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0D1lE0Eo

Latvia

Reform of the Naturalization Board
The head of the Naturalization Board (NB) Igors Gorbunovs believes that reform of the NB and its merger with the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs have not hindered the examination of applications for naturalization. According to Gorbunovs, there is a small increase in the number of applicants for naturalization. A new tendency is that a majority of the applicants are men, while during the previous years there were more women applicants. Also, some applicants want to receive naturalization in order to leave the country.
Integration and Minority Information Service 11 March 2010 (in English)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0DVlf0Ey

Norway

Northern Iraq will not accept forcibly returned asylum-seekers
The authorities in the Kurdish north of Iraq refuse to let chartered aircrafts with deported asylum-seekers land, despite the fact that Norwegian authorities have made a return agreement with the central government in Baghdad. Northern Iraqi authorities believe that the agreement is in violation of human rights. Kaveh Mahmoud, a spokesman for the Kurdish regional government, says that they have sent a message to the airports in the area asking that them not to accept refugees who have been sent back involuntarily. Mahmoud agrees with the UN's assessment that the area is not secure. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is surprised that the northern Iraqi government refuses to accept Norwegian aircrafts. Norwegian police, who are responsible for the deportations confirms that they know that the Norwegian charters with forcibly returned asylum-seekers are unwanted in the area. The deportations to Northern Iraq will continued in a more anonymous way through regular scheduled flights.
NRK 11 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0D1lF0Ep
Verdens Gang 11 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0D1lG0Eq

Sweden

Lack of control in housing solutions for refugee children
According to a new study, the reception of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children has major flaws. In most cases, when a child is placed in a foster family, homes are investigated in advance by the social services. However, in the case of refugee children, the best case scenario is that this is done retrospectively. Municipalities will now face stricter regulations. The most acute cases are when children are placed with relatives or friends immediately upon arrival, or that they are already in a home when they register as asylum-seekers. Often, these are families that already are living under tough conditions, and who may feel forced to take in the children.
Dagens Nyheter 12 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0D1lH0Er

Sharp reaction to Billström's statements
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, reacted sharply to the statements made by the Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy Tobias Billström in the TV-programme Konflikt on Saturday. According to Hammarberg, Sweden does not have to comply with the Dublin Regulations and return underage asylum-seekers to inhuman conditions in Malta. Hammarberg stressed that Sweden should follow the UN refugee agency UNHCR's recommendations on the handling of asylum cases. In the programme, Billström said that Sweden, under the so-called Dublin Regulation, has returned unaccompanied refugee children into the first country they have sought asylum in, although some countries are in breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and do not meet human rights standards.
Sveriges Radio 10 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0D1lI0Es

Family reunification rules tightened
The Riksdag voted 152-144 in favour of a proposal that says that anyone living in Sweden and wishing to bring relatives from another country to live there, must be able to support the relatives and provide housing of adequate standard. The change will come into effect on 15 February. The opposition voted against the proposal. A number of exemptions will be made. These include: children, individuals with refugee status or in specific need of protection, individuals who have been permanent residents in Sweden for a minimum of four years. The aim with the change is to encourage more immigrants to live in areas where there are jobs and housing.
Dagens Nyheter 11 March 2010 p:9 (in Swedish)

Tightened family reunification requirements for Somalis
From now on it will be more difficult for Somalis to reunite with their families in Sweden. On Thursday the Migration Board made a decision on how applications from relatives of Somalis who have been granted asylum in Sweden should be handled. The decision is a consequence of two rulings of the Migration Court of Appeal in January. For applicants from Somalia it is sufficient if they can prove their identity, but for family reunification, the asylum-seekers relatives need to possess a valid passport. In Somalia, where one of the world's worst civil wars has raged since 1991, there are no proper passports. Before the new rulings the Swedish authorities had lower identity requirements for family members of asylum-seekers. Somalis are the largest group of asylum-seekers in Sweden. Last year, 5,874 Somalis sought asylum in Sweden and the number of family reunifications amounted to 9,562.
Dagens Nyheter 11 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/krigsdrabbade-somaliers-flykt-stryps-1.1059454

Ambassador concerned over sudden Roma influx
Sweden's ambassador in Belgrade Krister Bringeus has expressed concern over the number of Serbian citizens seeking asylum in Sweden in the wake of a recent relaxation of visa restrictions. According to Ambassador Bringeus there are currently 770 Serbian citizens in Sweden, most of whom are Roma, who are requesting political asylum. He notes further that all 770 persons came to Sweden in the last two months.  He believes that none of them will be granted asylum and that all will be sent back home in the coming days. Travel agents are suspected to have set up bus tours to EU countries luring locals with stories that they would get political asylum, a job and a house there. Macedonia and Serbia have agreed to investigate the possibility of prosecuting the organizers of the bus lines.
The Local 11 March 2010 (in English)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0D1lK0Eu
Sveriges Radio 11 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0D1lL0Ev

Crowded at a reception centre in Gävle
Within two weeks, about 1,000 persons from the Balkans have come to Sweden to seek for asylum. The majority of them have come by bus via the Öresund Bridge and the ports of Malmö and Gothenburg. In order to help the Migration Board Units in Southern Sweden, the Asylum Procedures Unit in Gävle received nearly 200 of these persons last week, which is significantly more than during a normal week. In December, the visa requirements for Serbs who want to travel to an EU country were dropped, which is seen as a likely cause to the increased influx of refugees from that area. According to information provided to the Migration Board, there are organized bus trips from the Balkans to Sweden.
Gefle Dagblad 10 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0D1lM0Ew
Arbetarbladet 10 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0D1lN0Ex

Iraqi refugees in a nationwide action
A nationwide operation "Aktion 2010" will bring together hidden Iraqi refugees to write new asylum applications. These persons are primarily from Iraq's minority communities. Lena Blom from the Swedish Church estimates that there are nearly 3,500 Iraqis living in hiding in Sweden. She believes that many of them will join the campaign. Figures provided by the Police show that approximately 9,000 persons have gone into hiding in Sweden after having received negative decisions on their asylum applications. A large proportion of them are Iraqis.
Sveriges Radio 12 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0D1lO0Ey



UNHCR in the news

Cycling to South Africa for refugee awareness
The world's refugees are getting support from a Norwegian footballer's World Cup travel plan. This year's FIFA World Cup will be the first one to be held in Africa, and former footballer Bjørn Heidenstrøm is doing his best to make his trip to South Africa a memorable one. The Norwegian is cycling and hitchhiking to the tournament from Oslo in an effort to raise awareness of refugee issues, using the generosity of what he enthusiastically refers to as "the football family" to help smooth his path. When Helsinki Times caught up with Heidenstrøm he was in the Sudanese capital Khartoum plotting his next move with the experience of a man who has already passed through three continents on his epic journey. Heidenstrøm explains that UNHCR will help him from Sudan to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and introduce some of the organizations work to him.
Helsinki Times 10 March 2010 (in English)
http://balticnordic.unhcr.se/cgi-bin2/DM/y/eCdtM0ZqnfK0aYE0D1lP0Ez

[Roope]

Saturday 13 March to Monday 15 March 2009

Denmark

Large number of refugee children
The immigration authorities and NGOs are experiencing difficulties in keeping up with the increasing number of unaccompanied refugee children. 469 unaccompanied minor  asylum-seekers arrived in Denmark last year, of whom 337 were Afghans. This is twice as many as during 2008. According to the Border police in Southern Jutland, many are transported by human smugglers. A Red Cross spokesman says many of the children claim to have fled from Afghanistan out of fear for the Taliban and the prospect of being forced to become suicide bombers. The Liberal Party's spokesperson on integration, Karsten Lauritzen, said that Denmark has a duty to accept the children 'with open arms'. According to UNHCR, more than 6.000 Afghan children arrived in Europe in 2009 an increase of more than 64 per cent compared 3.800 applications by minors in Europe in 2008.
Politiken 13 March 2010 (in Danish)
Jyllands-Posten 13 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://jp.dk/indland/article2008881.ece
Danmarks Radio 12 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2010/03/12/223036.htm
Danmarks Radio 13 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.dr.dk/Regioner/Nordvestsjaelland/Nyheder/Holbaek/2010/03/13/103609.htm

Finland

Majority of Finns reject increase in immigration
Finns are adopting a more critical attitude towards immigration, reports Helsingin Sanomat. A survey commissioned by the major daily newspaper and carried out by Gallup suggests that nearly 60 per cent of Finns do not want to see more foreigners in Finland. Only a few years ago, in 2007, half of Finns were ready to welcome more immigrants. Heikki Ervasti, a professor of Social Policy at the University of Turku, says that the survey marked a reversal of a trend of rising tolerance that had begun in the 1980s. He also points out that relatively few people actually have contact with immigrants. According to Said Aden, chair of the Finnish Somali League, the outcome of the survey was hardly surprising during a recession. One thousand persons were interviewed in the survey.
YLE 15 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/03/survey_finns_less_welcoming_of_immigrants_1530369.html
Helsinki Times 15 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/htimes/domestic-news/general/10260-majority-of-finnish-public-rejects-increase-in-immigration-.html
Helsingin Sanomat 15 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/artikkeli/L%C3%A4hes+60+prosenttia+ei+ottaisi+lis%C3%A4%C3%A4+maahanmuuttajia/1135254407014?ref=rss
Turun Sanomat 15 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.ts.fi/online/kotimaa/118102.html
Aamulehti 15 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.aamulehti.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/hs-suomalaisten-maahanmuuttoasenteet-jyrkentyneet/173274
Hufvudstadbladet 15 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.hbl.fi/text/inrikes/2010/3/15/w44362.php

Maryam Rajavi seeks Finnish support for refugee camp
Iran's underground opposition leader Maryam Rajavi calls for Finland to to support Camp Asrafin, an Iranian refugee camp in Iraq. There are some 3 400 members of the Iranian resistance group residing in the camp under difficult circumstances. Rajavi, who on Friday visited the town of Turku in Finland, spoke about the Iranians' situation with Archbishop Jukka Paarma. Rajavi leads the organization of Iranian exiles, NCRI, in Paris. Archbishop Paarma said he had plans to talk about the issue with some ministers during the weekend.
Turun Sanomat 12 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.ts.fi/online/kotimaa/117676.html

Norway

Directorate of Immigration closes down two reception centers
The Directorate of Immigration (UDI) closed down two reception centers for unaccompanied minors in Buskerud and Akershus. According to department director Siri Rustad at UDI, they are unable to keep empty reception centers running. She says that the reception system in Norway has to be flexible and that they have a responsibility of adapting capacity to demand. In this year's first two months, 151 asylum applications by unaccompanied minors were registered. That is less than half of the number of applications received during the same period last year. The closing of the centers is part of a planned reduction of about 250 transit seats for unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers in Eastern Norway.
Verdens Gang 12 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/artikkel.php?artid=591714

78 asylum-seekers deported
On Saturday, the Police Immigration Unit (PU) deported 78 persons from Serbia and Macedonia who had had their asylum applications rejected. All were taken to a plane at Gardemoen, specifically chartered for this occasion. The deportation is the biggest in the history of PU. Information Officer Roar Hanssen at the PU said that they were rejected according to the so-called 48-hour rule and had not spent much time in Norway before they were deported. Police said that they have received a large number of asylum-seekers from Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia recently. A potential explanation for this is the abolition of these countries' visa requirements for Schengen countries.
Aftenposten 13 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article3563113.ece

Sweden

"Make an exception for refugee children"
Archbishop Anders Wejryd, Swedish Red Cross chairman Bengt Westerberg and President of UNICEF Sweden, Birgitta Dahl, demand in an op-ed in Svenska Dagbladet that Sweden must assume its responsibility and stop returning unaccompanied refugee children to EU countries where they face inhumane treatment. They mention Malta as an example. Children who come to Sweden via Malta have testified about substandard living conditions and violence and abuses by government agents. According to EU legislation, refugees' asylum applications should be handled in the EU country they first came to, but the Dublin Regulations allow governments to make exceptions. Sweden is making a general exception for unaccompanied children who have arrived via Greece, but according to the debaters there are several countries that fail to meet the EU and international law requirements.
Svenska Dagbladet 14 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.svd.se/opinion/brannpunkt/sverige-blundar-for-barns-basta_4421363.svd
Dagens Nyheter 14 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/gor-undantag-for-flyktingbarnen-1.1060832

Municipalities may be forced to accept refugee children
Government coordinator for unaccompanied children Björn Eriksson says, together with Tobias Billström, the Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy, that unless municipalities voluntarily accept refugee children, a legislation forcing them to do so may be appropriate. According to Eriksson, Sweden is receiving many more unaccompanied refugee children than expected. Approximately 2500 children arrive annually, while the system is structured to accommodate between 300 and 400 children. Negotiations on 850 places more are underway in several municipalities, while 60 new children arrive every week. Municipalities have been reluctant to accept unaccompanied minors. Björn Eriksson says that municipalities fear that the children will cost money and pose problems, although they could help change public attitudes.
Sveriges Radio 12 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/international/artikel.asp?Artikel=3505267
Sveriges Television 12 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://svt.se/2.33831/1.1924667/brister_i_mottagandet_av_ensamma_flyktingbarn?lid=senasteNytt_1765014&lpos=rubrik_1924667

Ombudsman backs police on pepper spray at refugee wedding
The Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman (Justitieombudsmannen) has ruled that there is no case to answer for the police officers who interrupted a wedding to arrest a 24-year-old groom at Malmö city hall, using pepper spray on him in the process. The man's wedding on Saturday December 19th in Malmö in southern Sweden was brought to an abrupt halt as police arrested the man, a refugee from Afghanistan wanted by the police after his application for asylum was rejected. The 24-year-old had remained on the run to avoid deportation and resisted arrest, aided by other guests at the wedding. The police officers then used pepper spray to disperse the crowd, which by then included the man's bride. The Swedish Migration Board has since confirmed that preventing the wedding was unnecessary as marriage to a Swedish citizen would not have any effect on the man's deportation as the decision had already been made.
The Local 12 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.thelocal.se/25496/20100312/

Somalis concerned over new requirements for family reunification
Somalis are concerned about the strict requirements the Swedish Migration Board has put in place for their compatriots who want to be reunited with relatives in Sweden. According to the Migration Board the new passport requirements for relatives of Somalis already residing in Sweden are a mandatory consequence of two rulings of the Migration Court of Appeal. Somali passports are not accepted in Sweden, but exceptions have been made in reunification cases. Now the Migration Board makes rulings based on the interpretation that these exemptions could be removed. Farah Abdisamed Farah, Chairman of the Swedish Somali League (Somaliska riksförbundet), says that the disruption of reunifications is contrary to international law. He is also surprised by the fact that Sweden does not accept Somali passports, while several other Western countries do.
Skånskan 12 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.skanskan.se/article/20100312/TTINRIKES/103129871/0/kavlinge/*/somalisk-oro-over-svenskt-flyktstopp
Arbetarbladet 12 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://arbetarbladet.se/nyheter/inrikes/1.1880750-somalisk-oro-over-svenskt-flyktstopp



UNHCR in the news

100.000 forced to flee in Somalia
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, over 100,000 Somalis have been forced to flee the fighting in the war-torn country since the beginning of the year. The refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya, is already overcrowded,  with 270.000 inhabitants. UNHCR now fears that even more refugees will seek shelter in the camps due to the fighting in Somalia. Spokesman Andrej Mahecic said that UNHCR is extremely concerned by the deteriorating situation for civilians in Somalia, who again are exposed to fierce fighting in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the country. He also said that humanitarian aid organizations are unable to help many of the internally displaced because of fighting between rebels and government troops. A total of 1,4 million Somalis have been forced to flee, and 560,000 have sought refuge in other countries.
NRK 12 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/verden/1.7035793

Mayor wants to vacate the capital
Mayor Abdurisaq Mohamed Nor urges all residents of the Somali capital Mogadishu to leave the city because of an imminent, long-awaited, military action by government troops. He says that all civilians should flee from the city's battle zones and move at least two kilometers away from town, so that civilian casualties can be avoided. About half of Mogadishu's residents have already left the city after two decades of conflict. According to the UN Refugee Agency, about 33,000 persons have been driven away from their homes during the past six weeks. There are now approximately 1.5 million people displaced within the country. For several months, government leaders and the military talked about an upcoming strike to regain full control over Mogadishu. A BBC reporter says there are few civilians left in the high-risk combat areas, but that a large number of civilians are still in areas controlled by rebels. The Danish Foreign Ministry has long advised against all travel to Somalia.
Politiken 12 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://politiken.dk/udland/article922902.ece

[Roope]

Tuesday 16 March to Wednesday 17 March 2010

Denmark

Active immigrants will receive permits faster
One of the elements in the new immigration agreement between the government and the Danish People's Party is that refugees and immigrants should be able to obtain permanent residence in Denmark after four years if they make an active effort to become integrated. Today, it takes seven years. Minister of Integration Birthe Rønn-Hornbech says that the agreement offers improved possibilities for immigrants, who are making an effort in Denmark, to receive permanent residence permits faster. Under the new agreement, you will points based on  how you perform in the labor market and how quickly you learn Danish. But you can also get points for engaging in Danish clubs and societies. However, there are also constraints in the new immigration agreement. If a refugee travels back to their home country after he is granted asylum, without obtaining government permission, he or she will have his residence permit suspended for the next 10 years. Also, someone who wants to marry a woman or man from their country of origin, must have been able to support themselves for the past three years. Foreigners' right to vote in local elections will also change. Today, one is able to vote in local elections after three years in Denmark. Under the new agreement, you can only vote after four years.
Danmarks Radio 16 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Politik/2010/03/16/054609.htm
Berlingske Tidende 15 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.berlingske.dk/politik/vko-enig-om-ny-udlaendingeaftale
Jyllands-Posten 15 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://jp.dk/indland/indland_politik/article2010929.ece
Politiken 15 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://politiken.dk/politik/politikfakta/article924741.ece
Politiken 15 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://politiken.dk/politik/article924758.ece

NB. This story was also covered in Norway, Sweden and Finland
Sveriges Radio 15 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.sr.se/ekot/artikel.asp?artikel=3560187
Skånskan 16 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.skanskan.se/article/20100315/TTUTRIKES/100319801/0/trelleborgvellinge/*/tuffare-for-utlanningar
Dagbladet 15 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://dagbladet.se/nyheter/utrikes/1.1886922-danmark-stramar-at-for-utlanningar
Dagens Nyheter 15 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.dn.se/nyheter/varlden/danmark-stramar-at-for-utlanningar-1.1061841

Dagbladet 15 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/03/15/nyheter/utenriks/politikk/danmark/innvandring/10871820/
NRK 15 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/verden/1.7039924
Stavanger Avisen 16 March 2010 (in Norwegian)
http://www.stavangeravisen.com/art.asp?id=54766

MTV3 16 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/ulkomaat.shtml/arkistot/ulkomaat/2010/03/1079402

Rønn-Hornbech comments on immigration agreement
Refugees and immigrants who want a residence permit for an indefinite period in Denmark must now meet new requirements. Minister of Integration, Birthe Rønn-Hornbech, does not believe that the presented rules are tighter than before. However, one of the changes is that refugees who travel to their home country may have their permits suspended for ten years. Rønn says that if you are a refugee in Denmark, you will get a note in your passport saying that you should not go home. If you leave for your home country anyway, according to Rønn, you simply may not a refugee, and so you will lose your residence permit. At the same time, unaccompanied refugee children are wanted out of Denmark. Afghan and Iraqi minors will be placed in orphanages in their home country instead. Rønn-Hornbech says that it is not good for young people to be relocated to a new country. She also says that they know - or believe - that many of them are not genuine refugees.  Rønn says that the law proposal may be put forward this year.
Berlingske Tidende 15 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.berlingske.dk/politik/roenn-sorterer-i-opholdstilladelser

RCT: "Immigration agreement will affect torture victims"
Coordinator Tue Magnussen at the Rehabilitation and Research Center for Torture Victims (RCT), and Andreas Kamm at the Danish Refugee Council, say that the new rules do not take into account torture victims and other traumatized refugees. Magnussen says that many torture victims have, as a result of torture, difficulties in learning new languages, and can often not work to the same extent as other immigrants. RCT believes that politicians forget that cash benefits and other social services work as compensation for torture victims and other disabled refugees who are unable to work and provide for themselves. Magnussen says that they would have liked for torture victims and other disabled traumatized refugees to explicitly be excluded from to the tougher rules.
Politiken 15 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://politiken.dk/politik/article924786.ece
Berlingske Tidende 16 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.berlingske.dk/politik/organisation-aftale-straffer-svage-flygtninge

Social Liberals' criticism of immigration agreement divides the red block
The government's new immigration agreement with the Danish People's Party separates the Social Liberals from the Social Democrats (S) and the Socialist People's Party (SF). While both Ole Sohn (SF) and Henrik Dam Kristensen (S) welcomes the scoring system, the Social Liberal's integration spokesperson, Marianne Jelved, describes the agreement as inhumane. She says that the ones that are the losers in this agreement are those refugees who have traumatic experiences in their past and therefore never will be able to meet the scoring system's requirements. The Unity List's spokesperson Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen says that those who are unable to gain points in the government's point system for permanent residency will be the ones that are the weakest; those who are sick or those who have been scarred by war trauma. Schmidt-Nielsen also comments on the limitations to the participation in general elections, and says that excluding persons from participation in democratic elections, and therefore also excluding them from the community, is the dumbest thing one can do if you want to promote integration.
Politiken 16 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://politiken.dk/politik/article925014.ece
Jyllands-Posten 16 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://jp.dk/indland/indland_politik/article2011282.ece
Berlingske Tidende 16 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.berlingske.dk/politik/r-udlaendingeaftale-er-diskriminerende
Danmarks Radio 16 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.dr.dk/P3/P3Nyheder/2010/03/16/080142.htm

"Excellent balance in immigration agreement"
Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (V) believes that the new agreement emphasizes a person's own responsibility in the integration process. He says that the agreement means that you quickly obtain a residence permit if you show a desire and an ability to contribute to the Danish society. The prime minister says that the Liberal-Conservative government is the first government that seriously deals with integration.
Jyllands-Posten 16 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://jp.dk/indland/indland_politik/article2011439.ece

Every fifth refugee will be excluded
Gerhard Korbo, Danish Refugee Council, says that as result of the new immigration agreement, every fifth refugee will never be able to obtain a permanent residence permit in Denmark. Korbo says that every fifth refugee is illiterate when they arrive in Denmark, and that it is a challenge just to make them learn how to read and write in the first place. It is highly unlikely that they, with that background, will be able to pass 'Test in Danish 2', which is equivalent to Danish in the 9th grade.
Danmarks Radio 16 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2010/03/16/132800.htm

DF wants to deport refugees
Danish People's Party (DF) hopes to be able to deport many refugees with temporary residence permits, especially from Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, as part of the new immigration agreement. The party now investigates if the situation in Kosovo, as well as in other countries, is stable enough for Denmark to be allowed, under international conventions, to send asylum-seekers as well as refugees with temporary residence permits home. Danish People's Party's legal draftsman Peter Skaarup says that they will put extra focus on Kosovar Albanians. Skaarup says that there is peace in Kosovo now, and it was never the intention to let the refugees stay in Denmark forever.
Politiken 16 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://politiken.dk/politik/article925526.ece
Danmarks Radio 16 March 2010 (in Danish)
http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Politik/2010/03/16/175347.htm

Finland

"Angel of Grozny's," asylum application rejected
Finnish immigration officials have rejected the applications for asylum made by Xhadizhat Gataeva and her husband Malik Gataev, known as benefactors of orphans of the war in Chechnya. According to a group supporting the couple, the Gataevs intend to appeal to the Helsinki Administrative Court, and to apply for an interruption of deportation. Xhadizhat Gataeva, also known as the "Angel of Grozny", and her spouse are seeking political asylum in Finland alleging persecution by the Lithuanian security officials and saying that the charges made against them were politically motivated. They had been sentenced by a Lithuanian court to prison terms of a year and a half for allegedly abusing their foster children. The two were apprehended in the Helsinki region in January on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant. In January, the Helsinki District Court refused to extradite the couple to Lithuania as their asylum applications were still pending. The prosecutor appealed against the decision to the Supreme Court, which in turn is waiting for a definition of policy from the European Court of Justice.
YLE 16 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Angel+of+Grozny+to+be+deported/1135254453458
YLE 15 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://yle.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/2010/03/tukiryhmagroznyin_enkelin_turvapaikkahakemus_hylatty_1531505.html
Hufvudstadsbladet 15 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.hbl.fi/text/inrikes/2010/3/15/w44414.php

Vantaa to suspend the granting or municipal places
The City of Vantaa plans to suspend the granting of municipal places for asylum-seekers for a period of two years citing a lack of resources. Over the past two years, a total of almost 350 asylum-seekers moved to Vantaa, an increase of 70 per cent. According to Anna Cantell-Forsbom, Service Manger, Psychosocial Services at the City of Vantaa, the city is not preventing the move of asylum-seekers to the area. The number of asylum-seekers moving independently to the city rose by over 20 percent last year. Cantell-Forsbom stresses that the number of asylum-seekers has increased dramatically in recent years. Limiting the number of municipal places is the only way to guarantee the provision of integration services for existing residents.
YLE 16 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/03/vantaa_no_new_municipal_asylum_seeker_places_for_two_years_1533911.html
YLE 16 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://yle.fi/alueet/helsinki/helsinki/2010/03/vantaa_keskeyttaa_pakolaisten_vastaanoton_1533800.html
Helsingin Sanomat 16 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/artikkeli/Pääkaupunkiseutu+sulki+ovet+kiintiöpakolaisilta/1135254469071
Aamulehti 16 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.aamulehti.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/ei-sanoi-vantaa-kiintiopakolaisille/173456

Housing shortage might lead to interruptions in reception of refugees
The Ministry of Interior's Migration Department fears the lack of resources leads to interruptions in the reception of quota refugees in several municipalities. Finding housing in particular has proved to be difficult for municipalities. According to the Ministry of Migration Department senior inspector Tiina Pesonen, the decision of the city of Vantaa is unfortunate, but it was to be expected. She adds that the debate in larger municipalities in the metropolitan area has concentrated specifically on the adequacy of housing. The reception of refugees is voluntary for municipalities.
YLE 17 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.yle.fi/alueet/helsinki/helsinki/2010/03/asuntopula_jarruttaa_pakolaisten_vastaanottoa_1535527.html

Thors: Several municipalities are considering receiving refugees
The Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors (Swedish People's Party) does not think that other municipalities have taken the same direction in their immigration policies as Vantaa. According to Minister Thors, several small municipalities are currently considering receiving refugees. Above all, Thors hopes that municipalities would appreciate what a resource it is to receive new inhabitants in this way.
YLE 17 March 2010 (in Finnish)
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/2010/03/thors_monet_kunnat_harkitsevat_pakolaisten_vastaanottoa_1535619.html

Border Guard thwarted 3,200 illegal entries
The Finnish Border Guard says it prevented 3,200 attempts of illegal immigration last year. Nearly every attempt originated from Russia. Immigration officials say that as a rule, people who come to Finland illegally are either victims of human trafficking, or they intend to commit crimes in Finland or elsewhere in Europe. In addition to pre-emptive measures taken abroad, the Border Guard says it stops hundreds of illegal immigrants at border crossings. South-eastern border checkpoints seize hundreds of forged documents which are used to try and enter Finland.
YLE 17 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/03/border_guard_thwarted_3200_illegal_entries_1535803.html

Sweden

Continued custody for asylum-seekers
Last year over 250 asylum-seekers were placed in custody in Sweden even though they had not committed any crime. If an asylum-seeker is deemed to be a security risk, the Migration Board decides to have the person placed in custody. The Swedish Prison and Probation Service, which is forced to place asylum-seekers in custody cells, is critical. Sweden has also been criticized by the UN Committee against Torture and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). Last autumn the Migration Board calculated that 128 asylum-seekers were placed in custody for security reasons during the first half of 2009. Migration Board staff maintained that new routines were under way that would lead to fewer asylum-seekers being placed in custody. New figures show, however, that 131 asylum-seekers were placed in custody for security reasons in the last half of 2009. A report on the situation was to be presented to the government this year but is now likely to be delayed until next year.
Dagens Nyheter 16 March 2010 p:8-9 (in Swedish)

Hidden refugees delivering papers
News reports claim that more and more illegal refugees and immigrants who are paid very low wages are being used to deliver morning newspapers - as the hired workers meant to do the job receive full salaries. Distributors in western Sweden last year fired 50 persons who let other persons deliver the papers for them. It is not known how many of these persons used immigrants without permission to work in Sweden or refugees who have gone underground after their request for asylum was rejected. The solution is to set up more manned distribution centers so that face-to-face contact can be maintained with the deliverers.
Sveriges Radio 16 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/international/nyhetssidor/artikel.asp?nyheter=1&programid=2054&artikel=3509413
Sveriges Radio 15 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.sr.se/goteborg/nyheter/arkiv.asp?ProgramID=212&Min=2001-05-15&PeriodStart=2010-03-16&Period=2&Artikel=3508483

Sweden a safe haven for opponents of Hamas
On Monday the Swedish Migration Board stated that there are prevailing tensions in Hamas controlled areas of the Gaza strip, and Hamas authorities do not always guarantee the safety of Gaza inhabitants. The statement means that more Palestinians from the Gaza strip could receive asylum in Sweden, according to Mikael Ribbenvik, head of legal affairs at the Migration Board. In its statement, the board also refers to reports about arbitrary detention, the torture of political prisoners, and summary executions of people accused of collaborating with Israel. In 2009, 912 stateless refugees sought asylum in Sweden. Many of these were Palestinians, but the Migration Board has no definite figures. The Board also maintains that it is fully possible to return persons to the Gaza strip following a deportation order.
Dagens Nyheter 16 March 2010 p:12 (in Swedish)

Söderhamn municipality criticizes the Swedish Migration Board
The political leadership in Söderhamn municipality critizices the Migration Board for misusing municipal solidarity by sending too many asylum-seekers to Söderhamn. In order to receive all asylum-seekers Söderhamn municipality has had to accommodate refugees at a campsite. In mid-January there were 582 asylum-seekers in Söderhamn. Municipal leaders in Söderhamn say that if all local authorities took their responsibilities, Söderhamn would have to receive only 80 - 90 refugees per year and these refugees would get a better reception. On Friday, municipal leaders will meet with the Migration Board to discuss the situation.
Dagens Nyheter 16 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/soderhamn-far-for-manga-asylsokande-1.1061896
Sveriges Television 16 March 2010 (in Swedish)
http://svt.se/2.33557/1.1929013/kommunen_kritisk_till_migrationsverket?lid=senasteNytt_1765014&lpos=rubrik_1929013

Sweden Democrats still state refugee issues as priority
Svenska Dagbladet's interview with the top 25 Sweden Democrats' candidates standing in the election shows that immigration and refugee issues are still at the forefront of the party's agenda. Even those who give priority to criminal and elderly policy will generally make it with a clear link to immigration and integration. The party's main task is to limit immigration and pursue a policy of assimilation, believes the vast majority of the 25 top names of the parliamentary list. The study also shows that half of Sweden Democrats' candidates standing in the election have either been active members of the Moderate Party or previously voted for the party.
Svenska Dagladet 16 Mars 2010 (in Swedish)
http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/sds-partitopp-hamtas-fran-m_4428903.svd

Sweden offers refuge to exiled Iranian activist
Iranian journalist and women's rights activist Parvin Ardalan has accepted Sweden's offer of refuge. Ardalan, who has been sentenced to several jail terms in Iran on charges of seeking to harm national security, won the 2007 Olof Palme Prize in Sweden for her work to promote women's rights in her home country. Teheran's refusal to allow her to attend the ceremony in March 2008 caused outrage in the Scandinavian country.
The Local 16 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.thelocal.se/25548/20100316/

Göran Holm on Vellinge local council's decision to receive refugees
The local council in Vellinge agreed late last autumn to allow the municipality to receive unaccompanied refugee children, thus reversing its long standing position on the issue. The decision was followed by a stormy debate in both Vellinge and the rest of the country. In a Sveriges Television programme, "Uppdrag Granskning", the moderate politician Göran Holm gives two different versions for reasons behind the decision. In front of the camera he says it was a very easy decision to make, since the municipality receives full financial compensation from the state. Unaware of a hidden microphone, he expresses himself differently and says that if Vellinge had not signed an agreement to receive three to five refugee children, the town would have had to follow a legislation according to which the number would have been 30 to 50 instead.
Sveriges Television 17 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/vellinge-svangde-under-piskan_4435927.svd
Skånskan 17 March 2010 (in English)
http://www.skanskan.se/article/20100317/TRELLEBORGVELLINGE/100319737/0/*/*/vellinge-svangde-under-piskan