Amnesty criticizes rapid rejections | Tidning Strömstads

In May, the government wants the new rules to be established.

– It is a large group that may be covered by the new rules, says Migration Minister Morgan Johansson (S).

On Thursday, the government decides on a referral for legal advice with rules on safe countries of origin. The Swedish Migration Agency will have the right to classify an asylum application as manifestly unfounded if it comes from a country on the list.

See increased risk

Madelaine Seidlitz, a lawyer who is responsible for Amnesty work with refugees and migrants in Sweden, condemns the idea of ​​lists of so-called safe countries.

– We insist that from the perspective of legal security and from the perspective of asylum law, the lists are incorrect. It would further increase the risks of not starting from the person, but from the country the person comes from when the need for protection is proven, he tells TT.

It cautions that more applications will be considered “manifestly unfounded” when the situation in a country for good reasons is considered good.

– From a purely asylum point of view, of course, you can never start from that alone. There can always be people who need protection.

Few are allowed to stay

Exactly which countries it is is not indicated in the legal notice. It is the Swedish Migration Agency that will then compile a list.

But statistics from the Swedish Migration Agency on solved cases may provide a clue. In some countries, less than five percent are approved. Morgan Johansson cites Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Albania, Mongolia and Georgia as examples.

So far this year, for example, 1,038 cases of asylum seekers from Uzbekistan have been resolved. Only 21 of them received a residence permit.

– If you toyed with the idea that Uzbekistan would be included in a list like this, it would be quite remarkable considering the situation there, says Madelaine Seidlitz and points to a country without the rule of law where torture even occurs.

Tested before

Previously, Sweden had a fast track that was used mainly for asylum seekers from the Western Balkans. But an EU decision in 2018 put an end to that.

– Now we are reintroducing that system. When we had this arrangement before, it could be reduced to a processing time of 20-30 days, says Morgan Johansson.

Today, it takes several months to process a case.

Morgan Johansson estimates that up to one-third of asylum applications received so far this year could have been covered by the new rules.

They also mean that those who have been rejected can be rejected immediately, even if they appeal the decision.

– That’s the problem. The list then means that an application is deemed manifestly unfounded and then awaits speedy processing, says Madelaine Seidlitz.

In addition to the fact that an appeal is not judged, the asylum seeker in an expedited process also does not have the right to a public lawyer.

– It’s a big and serious deficiency, thinks Madelaine Seidlitz.

Lists in the EU

Morgan Johansson does not see any risk of the right to asylum being restricted. Even if the fast track is introduced, an individual test should always be performed. And those with special asylum grounds always have the right to be tried.

– We have had this system before and there were no major legal security problems with it, he says.

The list of safe countries will be updated periodically as conditions can change quickly.

Currently, several EU countries have lists of safe countries, which are based on the EU Asylum Procedures Directive.

According to the EU directive, a country must be able to be considered safe if it follows from a democratic system and general political conditions that there is no persecution, torture or degrading punishment.

Maria Davidsson / TT

Lars Pedersen / TT