Sweden’s Minister for Migration, Johan Forssell, is in New York at the UN to try to gather international support behind a Swedish initiative for stricter rules concerning convicted rapists with refugee status. The Tidö government wants individuals convicted of rape to be more easily deported, even when they are granted protection under the UN Refugee Convention.

For several days, Forssell has participated in meetings within the UN system, given speeches, and met with representatives from various countries to push the issue forward. He has also been interviewed by Aftonbladet about the trip and how the Tidö government views situations where rapists avoid deportation by invoking their refugee status.

“Today, it is terribly unfair that a person convicted of rape can remain in a country because rape is not seen as a sufficiently serious crime,” says Forssell, continuing:

“I find it provocative.”

The Swedish initiative concerns how the UN Refugee Convention is interpreted. At present, there are opportunities to deny protection or deport individuals who have committed very serious crimes, but according to the government, the threshold is too high when it comes to sexual offenses.

Sweden therefore wants rape to always be included among the exceptions in the Refugee Convention, describing the issue as an important matter of justice. Johan Forssell believes the regulations would have a much bigger impact in Swedish legal proceedings if the wording where people “can” be deported was changed to say they “shall” be deported.

Meya Was Raped – but Mohamed Got to Stay

The background to the government’s initiative includes, among other things, the widely publicized case of Meya Åberg in Skellefteå. The then 16-year-old girl was raped in a pedestrian tunnel, but the perpetrator was not deported because the Court of Appeal did not classify the crime as exceptionally serious.

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Since the man had refugee status, the conviction was not sufficient for deportation. At the UN, Minister for Migration Johan Forssell raised Meya’s rape and the associated legal process, where the rapist could not be deported.

Gathering International Support

The government is hoping that the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR itself will continue the process, rather than having the matter decided through a larger vote among member countries.

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When Sweden first raised the issue, resistance from UNHCR was clear, according to the migration minister. Now, however, he says the tone has shifted somewhat.

“I notice that there are countries showing interest. Even though it’s unusual to amend conventions,” he told Aftonbladet.

If the UN refugee agency does not move forward on the issue, Forssell says Sweden will still continue trying to gather international support.

ALSO READ: Court of Appeal judge on the rape of Meya: He was “somewhat inside her”