Strengthening of legal certainty in LGBTQI asylum cases requires action
The legal certainty in the Migration Agency's assessments of asylum cases has serious flaws, which affects not least LGBTQI people fleeing persecution. This is shown in a new report that the government agency Statskontoret has handed over to the government. RFSL and RFSL Ungdom share the same view but are critical of the review's narrow focus and insufficient measures.
LGBTQI people who seek asylum in Sweden often come from countries where they risk persecution. It can mean imprisonment or torture. In a number of countries, the death penalty can be imposed. Despite that, many LGBTQI people’s asylum claims are rejected and they can be deported to countries where they therefore risk torture, imprisonment and in some cases execution. RFSL and RFSL Ungdom have shown in extensive investigations that both the Migration Agency’s and the migration courts’ assessments of LGBTQI people’s applications for asylum are contrary to both Swedish and international law.
In 2023, the government commissioned the agency Statskontoret to analyze whether the Migration Agency maintains uniformity and legal certainty in its assessments of, among other things, the asylum cases of LGBTQI persons. On 7 October, Statskontoret submitted its conclusions to the government.
Statskontoret shares in its report RFSL and RFSL Ungdom’s view that the Migration Agency has problems with “maintaining uniformity and legal certainty in the asylum assessment”. Organisational problems, differences across the country and shortcomings in quality assurance are examples of this. According to the investigation, both the Swedish Migration Agency and various organisations have pointed to shortcomings in the legal quality of asylum cases, many times specifically in cases involving LGBTQI people.
– We can never accept that deficiencies in legal certainty ultimately lead to LGBTQI persons entitled to protection being deported to face persecution. These are shortcomings that RFSL and RFSL Ungdom’s legal reviews have shown for several years. We will not be satisfied until the government ensures that the Swedish Migration Agency solves the problem, says RFSL’s president Peter Sidlund Ponkala.
Statskontoret proposes that the Swedish Migration Agency creates a national standard for handling the asylum cases of LGBTQI people and converts. In its investigation, the State Treasury has reviewed deficiencies in uniformity, not whether the assessments made are in accordance with the law. The proposals will therefore not be enough to deal with the problems.
– The investigation’s proposal is not sufficient to remedy the lack of legal certainty at the Migration Agency, which endangers asylum-seeking LGBTQI persons’ right to a fair assessment. In addition, the children’s rights perspective is absent, says RFSL Ungdom’s president Elias Fjellander.