“Sweden has played a leading role in providing assistance to persons in need of international protection; this should continue” said today Nils Muižnieks, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, at the end of a five-day visit to Sweden. Welcoming Sweden’s efforts within the relocation and resettlement programmes, the Commissioner reiterates the urgent need to increase European solidarity, as well as safe and legal avenues for people to reach protection in Europe.
Noting the rapid decline in the number of asylum seekers, after a record high of 163,000 in 2015, the Commissioner expresses the hope that the temporary measures which introduced restrictions in 2016 in response to that increase will be lifted before the 2019 deadline. “The need to move beyond emergency mode is particularly urgent when it comes to the limitations introduced to the right to family reunification” says the Commissioner.
