Migration and asylum

Today we celebrate United Nations Day. And we are doing so in a world that is more uncertain than for many years and in which the United Nations is needed more than ever. Global crises and challenges require common solutions.

Sweden and Europe are in the midst of an enormous task in providing security to people fleeing war, persecution and oppression. The Swedish asylum system is facing major challenges, as the number of people who have sought asylum in Sweden has increased dramatically. In this serious situation, the Government, the Moderate Party, the Centre Party, the Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats have agreed on necessary measures to reinforce capacity in Sweden’s reception of asylum seekers and strengthen the introduction of new arrivals.

Over 60 million people are currently displaced around the world. This is the highest number since the Second World War. People are fleeing to Europe mainly from Syria, where the civil war is now in its fourth year. Almost 8 million Syrians are currently displaced in their own country and more than 4 million have fled from Syria. This corresponds to half of the Syrian population.

Migration issues were once again in focus when EU heads of state and government met for the European Council meeting in Brussels on 15 October. Discussions concerned both the reception centres (hotspots) to be established in the EU and EU common return policy. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven took part in the meeting.

In early October 2015 the Government presented a number of measures in response to the refugee situation.

New York, 30 September 2015. Check against delivery.

There are large numbers of asylum seekers coming to Sweden. The responsible agencies have the capacity to deal with the situation, but things are strained. Above all, it is important to ensure access to accommodation for asylum seekers. This needs to be dealt with quickly.

DN Debatt 11 September “Values-based organisations, representatives of the business sector and municipalities, and politicians from Sweden, Romania and Bulgaria are meeting today to discuss the situation of vulnerable EU citizens. Our message is that the greatest difference is made when people give money to professional NGOs on the ground in the home countries. Giving to them is one way to break the cycle of vulnerability,” says Minister for Children, the Elderly and Gender Equality Åsa Regnér and Martin Valfridsson, the Government’s National Coordinator for vulnerable EU citizens.

On 20–23 September, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven hosted a visit by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The purpose of the visit was to further strengthen Sweden’s relations with Africa and confirm support for the African Union as a central regional actor and strategic partner for the EU.

At the informal meeting of the European Council in Brussels on 23 September, the EU heads of state and government agreed on further measures to help bring about a resolution to the acute migration crisis in Europe and its neighbourhood. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven attended the meeting.

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven is taking part in an extraordinary EU summit between heads of state and government today, Wednesday 23 September in Brussels. The main point of the discussion will be combating the underlying factors causing people to flee. The EU must do more to help resolve the ongoing conflicts and to help people on the ground.

Today, Tuesday 8 September, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will receive Austria’s Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann for a meeting on the international refugee crisis.

Swedish Daily Göteborgs Posten 3 September 2015 A number of reforms are now being launched to strengthen the UN. One of these is to provide support to a dozen or so UN bodies that work with everything from providing help to people in need and strengthening children’s and women’s rights to countering the effects of natural disasters, writes Minister for International Development Cooperation Isabella Lövin.

Today the Swedish Government decided on core support for fifteen UN bodies, active in fields including assistance to people in distress, promotion of women’s rights and reducing child mortality worldwide.

On the occasion of the visit to Stockholm by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on International Migration and Development Mr. Peter Sutherland, a seminar was hosted by the Swedish Minister for Justice and Migration Mr. Morgan Johansson to discuss global cooperation on migration and mobility, the new UN development agenda and ways to stop the tragedies in the Mediterranean

On 26 May, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven met a delegation from the Damascus-based Syriac Orthodox Church under the leadership of His Holiness Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II.