Left to right: Oskar Ekblad, the Swedish Migration Board; Madelaine Seidlitz, Amnesty International; Anders Sundquist, the Swedish Refugee Advice Centre; Liv Feijen, UNHCR; Karin Fält, the Swedish Migration Board. © UNHCR

2008-09-24

Knowledge top-up for asylum advocates

STOCKHOLM (UNHCR) Asylum-seekers rely on their legal counsels to represent their interests and, if necessary, challenge the decisions of the migration authorities. As one of the most important actors in an asylum system, investing in the legal representatives is a priority for UNHCR.

On September 18-19, UNHCR Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic countries, together with Amnesty International and the Swedish Refugee Advice Centre, hosted a two-day-training course on asylum law and the Swedish national procedures for some 40 lawyers working with asylum cases. The Swedish Migration Board also contributed with lecturers.

In April, the Swedish Bar Association warned against the perception that it was less attractive for Swedish lawyers to work with asylum issues than with other fields of law and that there are too few courses in refugee law at Swedish universities. Given the important role of legal representatives in the asylum procedure, the Swedish Bar Association feared that the legal safeguards for asylum-seekers may be in jeopardy. Similar concerns have been voiced by the Swedish Migration Board, which has expressed a wish to improve the general competence of the legal representatives.

To address the demand for targeted training, this timely initiative was welcomed by the Swedish asylum lawyers, and the 40 available places were rapidly filled. Åsa Malmborg, one of the legal representatives present, said:

- It is very important that significant actors such as UNHCR and Amnesty International host these kinds of events, since it raises the status of the profession as well as the quality of us as representatives.

The course was equally appreciated for its theoretical input as for the networking opportunity it afforded. Lawyer Irina Tkatsenko talked of the difference between practitioners of business law and asylum law in that regard:

- Whereas networks and idea sharing are essential and commonplace among lawyers of business law, it is strangely absent among legal representatives acting on behalf of asylum-seekers

Linn Öst, a legal representative with merely six months of experience working with asylum cases, confirmed the need of a forum:

- The opportunity to ask the Migration Board about their policy and interpretation of the law in addition to discussing with co-workers gives me concrete tools that I can use in the court room. That is particularly important as I am so new to the field.

Ms. Öst further highlighted the usefulness of UNHCR position papers and country of origin information in the asylum procedures. During the seminar, UNHCR gave practical advice on how to gather such information and how it can be used in the asylum process. Other topics covered by the speakers included:

•         international refugee law and on refugee status determination (RSD)
•          interpretation and application of the Swedish Aliens Act
•         the use of international and regional fora, such as the European Court of Human Rights and the UN Committee against Torture, as part of strategic litigation to advance asylum law in Sweden.
•          the EU asylum harmonization process

Liv Feijen, UNHCR, spoke on international human rights instruments.

Training of Swedish asylum lawyers will be a regular UNHCR activity and the next session is scheduled to take place on 4-5 December 2008 in Malmö.

UNHCR for the Baltic and Nordic countries is inviting legal representatives from all Nordic countries to a session on how to turn to the European Court as a last instance to protect the rights of asylum-seekers, to be held in Copenhagen later this fall.