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Krigsförbrytare på flykt - Exklusionsbestämmelserna i svensk migrationsrätt och dess tillämpning hos Migrationsverket och Migrationsdomstolarna

Goldensohn, Alice LU (2016) JURM02 20162
Department of Law
Abstract
This thesis starts off in the human right to seek asylum and the recognized right to international protection for refugees. It examines the exclusion clauses, the exception that can exclude asylum claimants from refugee protection. The protective measures guaranteed by the Refugee Convention are forfeited if there are serious reasons for considering that the claimant has committed crime against peace, a war crime, crime against humanity, or other serious crimes in the country of origin. Alleged perpetrators of international crimes coming to Sweden is a problem of growing proportions due to the increasing number of asylum seekers during the last couple of years. Even though the vast majority of those refugees who flee their homes do so to... (More)
This thesis starts off in the human right to seek asylum and the recognized right to international protection for refugees. It examines the exclusion clauses, the exception that can exclude asylum claimants from refugee protection. The protective measures guaranteed by the Refugee Convention are forfeited if there are serious reasons for considering that the claimant has committed crime against peace, a war crime, crime against humanity, or other serious crimes in the country of origin. Alleged perpetrators of international crimes coming to Sweden is a problem of growing proportions due to the increasing number of asylum seekers during the last couple of years. Even though the vast majority of those refugees who flee their homes do so to escape war and persecution, it is now known that also perpetrators of international crimes come to Sweden. This has resulted in a growing pressure on the Migration Agency, The War Crimes Commission and the Swedish Security Service to deploy more resources to identify war criminals. Focus is on the intersection between refugee law, international criminal law and the human rights instruments and how they correlate with exclusion of asylum seekers. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the exclusion clauses in Chapter 4, Section 2, (b) and (c) in the Swedish Aliens Act are applied in Swedish refugee law. Furthermore, the paper questions whether the purpose behind the exclusion clauses is fulfilled. Through the traditional legal method, the paper studies the regulation of exclusion and its relationship to the practical implementation at the Migration Agency and the Migration Courts.

The analysis of this paper highlights that the rationale of the exclusion clauses is to ensure that refugee protection does not include those who are deemed undeserving and that the perpetrators will be brought to justice. In cases where the Migration Agency identifies a suspected war criminal and makes a decision to expel the claimant, it is often impossible to send the person back, due to the principle of non-refoulement. From the understandings drawn from this legal assessment, it is therefore concluded that this principle is more important than the ambition to exclude war criminals. The Migration Agency and the Migration Courts seem to apply the exclusion clauses in accordance with their wording. However, the implementation results in alleged war criminals caught in a legal limbo since they neither can get refugee protection, nor get expelled. Lastly, it is recommended that more suspected war criminals be brought before national criminal prosecution in Sweden. That would decrease the risk of any individual being punished for alleged crimes without a fair trial. Moreover, it would provide an opportunity for redress to the victims of war crimes. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Med avstamp i den mänskliga rättigheten att söka asyl och den väletablerade rätten till internationellt skydd för den som uppfyller flyktingdefinitionen, belyser uppsatsen exklusionsbestämmelserna, undantaget som kan utesluta en person från flyktingskydd. De humanitära skyddsåtgärder som Flyktingkonventionen erbjuder förverkas nämligen om det finns synnerligen anledning att anta att den asylsökande gjort sig skyldig till brott mot freden, krigsförbrytelse, brott mot mänskligheten eller andra grova internationella brott i hemlandet. Problemet med att misstänkta krigsförbrytare kommer till Sverige har intensifierats efter de senaste årens ökning av asylsökande från kris- och konfliktdrabbade områden. Trots att den stora majoriteten av... (More)
Med avstamp i den mänskliga rättigheten att söka asyl och den väletablerade rätten till internationellt skydd för den som uppfyller flyktingdefinitionen, belyser uppsatsen exklusionsbestämmelserna, undantaget som kan utesluta en person från flyktingskydd. De humanitära skyddsåtgärder som Flyktingkonventionen erbjuder förverkas nämligen om det finns synnerligen anledning att anta att den asylsökande gjort sig skyldig till brott mot freden, krigsförbrytelse, brott mot mänskligheten eller andra grova internationella brott i hemlandet. Problemet med att misstänkta krigsförbrytare kommer till Sverige har intensifierats efter de senaste årens ökning av asylsökande från kris- och konfliktdrabbade områden. Trots att den stora majoriteten av människor som flyr sina hem gör det för att undkomma krig och förföljelse, är det idag känt att även förbrytare som begått folkrättsbrott också kommer till Sverige. Det har föranlett att Migrationsverket, Krigsbrottskommissionen och Säkerhetspolisen fått hög press på sig att lägga mer resurser på att identifiera krigsbrottslingar. Uppsatsen behandlar skärningspunkten mellan flyktingrätten, den internationella straffrätten och instrumenten för de mänskliga rättigheterna och hur dessa korrelerar med uteslutande av asylsökande. Det övergripande syftet är att undersöka hur exklusionsbestämmelserna i 4 kap. 2 b-c §§ i utlänningslagen hanteras i svensk migrationsrätt. Framställningen ifrågasätter även huruvida ändamålet med uteslutandeklausulerna uppfylls. Genom en rättsdogmatisk metod med de allmänt accepterade rättskällorna kartläggs gällande rätt. Dessutom utreder uppsatsen hur den rättsliga regleringen förhåller sig till den praktiska tillämpningen hos Migrationsverket och migrationsdomstolarna.

Den avslutande analysen av utredningen belyser syftet med exklusionsklausulerna, säkerställandet av att flyktingskydd enbart tillkommer de som anses berättigade till sådant skydd, samtidigt som de som begått grova folkrättsbrott inte ska kunna utnyttja asylrätten och leva i straffrihet. I de fall då Migrationsverket identifierar en misstänkt förbrytare och fattar ett utvisningsbeslut kommer denne ändå att få stanna i Sverige, eftersom det inte går att skicka tillbaka personen på grund av principen om non-refoulement. Det konstateras alltså att denna princip överväger viljan att exkludera krigsförbrytare. Migrationsverket och migrationsdomstolarna verkar applicera regleringen enligt föreskrift men tillämpningen resulterar i ett rättslig limbo för den asylsökande, som varken kan bli beviljad flyktingskydd eller bli utvisad. För att den enskilde inte ska blir straffad för sina påstådda brott utan rättegång och för att ge upprättelse till offer för krigsbrott, föreslås slutligen att fler misstänka krigsförbrytare ska ställas inför rätta i Sverige. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Goldensohn, Alice LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
War Criminals on the Run - The Regulation and Implementation of the exclusion clauses in Swedish Refugee Law
course
JURM02 20162
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
folkrätt, förvaltningsrätt, straffrätt, mänskliga rättigheter, internationell straffrätt, migrationsrätt, uteslutande, exklusion
language
Swedish
id
8896978
date added to LUP
2017-01-21 13:37:09
date last changed
2017-01-21 13:37:09
@misc{8896978,
  abstract     = {{This thesis starts off in the human right to seek asylum and the recognized right to international protection for refugees. It examines the exclusion clauses, the exception that can exclude asylum claimants from refugee protection. The protective measures guaranteed by the Refugee Convention are forfeited if there are serious reasons for considering that the claimant has committed crime against peace, a war crime, crime against humanity, or other serious crimes in the country of origin. Alleged perpetrators of international crimes coming to Sweden is a problem of growing proportions due to the increasing number of asylum seekers during the last couple of years. Even though the vast majority of those refugees who flee their homes do so to escape war and persecution, it is now known that also perpetrators of international crimes come to Sweden. This has resulted in a growing pressure on the Migration Agency, The War Crimes Commission and the Swedish Security Service to deploy more resources to identify war criminals. Focus is on the intersection between refugee law, international criminal law and the human rights instruments and how they correlate with exclusion of asylum seekers. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the exclusion clauses in Chapter 4, Section 2, (b) and (c) in the Swedish Aliens Act are applied in Swedish refugee law. Furthermore, the paper questions whether the purpose behind the exclusion clauses is fulfilled. Through the traditional legal method, the paper studies the regulation of exclusion and its relationship to the practical implementation at the Migration Agency and the Migration Courts.

The analysis of this paper highlights that the rationale of the exclusion clauses is to ensure that refugee protection does not include those who are deemed undeserving and that the perpetrators will be brought to justice. In cases where the Migration Agency identifies a suspected war criminal and makes a decision to expel the claimant, it is often impossible to send the person back, due to the principle of non-refoulement. From the understandings drawn from this legal assessment, it is therefore concluded that this principle is more important than the ambition to exclude war criminals. The Migration Agency and the Migration Courts seem to apply the exclusion clauses in accordance with their wording. However, the implementation results in alleged war criminals caught in a legal limbo since they neither can get refugee protection, nor get expelled. Lastly, it is recommended that more suspected war criminals be brought before national criminal prosecution in Sweden. That would decrease the risk of any individual being punished for alleged crimes without a fair trial. Moreover, it would provide an opportunity for redress to the victims of war crimes.}},
  author       = {{Goldensohn, Alice}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Krigsförbrytare på flykt - Exklusionsbestämmelserna i svensk migrationsrätt och dess tillämpning hos Migrationsverket och Migrationsdomstolarna}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}