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Sweden gives more earthquake aid

The Swedish government has authorized Sida, the Swedish Agency for International Development Cooperation, to contribute 82 million kronor to the United Nations appeal for humanitarian assistance in South Asia.

Published: 14 October 2005 17:46 CEST

The latest contribution takes Sweden’s total aid to the region since the earthquake to 105 million kronor.

“It is the duty of the international community to help the people who have been affected” says Minister for International Development Cooperation Carin Jämtin.

“The earthquake has caused a major humanitarian disaster. It is most gratifying, therefore, that many countries and humanitarian organizations have been able to respond very quickly. We want to offer rapid and flexible support to the UN in its efforts to lead and implement initiatives in the area,” said Jämtin.

Sweden is prepared to provide further support as the situation develops, Jämtin added.

The epicentre of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake was approximately 50 miles from Islamabad, Pakistan. At least 30,000 people have been killed and villages in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India have been devastated.

The number of people left without adequate food, water, and shelter by the quake remains unknown, but the UN estimates that 4 million people have been affected. 2 million remain homeless as hope of finding more survivors grows slimmer.

The Swedish contribution is an answer to Tuesdays United Nations appeal to the international community for $272 million to provide emergency supplies such as tents, medical aid and helicopters for six months.

So far, some 30 nations have contributed money, relief supplies and manpower. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annans spokeman said on Monday:

“The emergency teams dispatched by the United Nations have been working since October 8th around the clock in support of national authorities to ensure a rapid assessment of the needs and an effective coordination of international assistance”.

<i<David Stavrou

'Very little debate' on consequences of Sweden's crime and migration clampdown

The Liberties Rule of Law report shows Sweden backsliding across more areas than any other of the 19 European Union member states monitored, fuelling concerns that the country risks breaching its international human rights obligations, the report says.

“We’ve seen this regression in other countries for a number of years, such as Poland and Hungary, but now we see it also in countries like Sweden,” says John Stauffer, legal director of the human rights organisation Civil Rights Defenders, which co-authored the Swedish section of the report.

The report, compiled by independent civil liberties groups, examines six common challenges facing European Union member states.

Sweden is shown to be regressing in five of these areas: the justice system, media environment, checks and balances, enabling framework for civil society and systemic human rights issues.

The only area where Sweden has not regressed since 2022 is in its anti-corruption framework, where there has been no movement in either a positive or negative direction.

Source: Liberties Rule of Law report

As politicians scramble to combat an escalation in gang crime, laws are being rushed through with too little consideration for basic rights, according to Civil Rights Defenders.

Stauffer cites Sweden’s new stop-and-search zones as a case in point. From April 25th, police in Sweden can temporarily declare any area a “security zone” if there is deemed to be a risk of shootings or explosive attacks stemming from gang conflicts.

Once an area has received this designation, police will be able to search people and cars in the area without any concrete suspicion.

“This is definitely a piece of legislation where we see that it’s problematic from a human rights perspective,” says Stauffer, adding that it “will result in ethnic profiling and discrimination”.

Civil Rights Defenders sought to prevent the new law and will try to challenge it in the courts once it comes into force, Stauffer tells The Local in an interview for the Sweden in Focus Extra podcast.

He also notes that victims of racial discrimination at the hands of the Swedish authorities had very little chance of getting a fair hearing as actions by the police or judiciary are “not even covered by the Discrimination Act”.

READ ALSO: ‘Civil rights groups in Sweden can fight this government’s repressive proposals’

Stauffer also expresses concerns that an ongoing migration clampdown risks splitting Sweden into a sort of A and B team, where “the government limits access to rights based on your legal basis for being in the country”.

The report says the government’s migration policies take a “divisive ‘us vs them’ approach, which threatens to increase rather than reduce existing social inequalities and exclude certain groups from becoming part of society”.

Proposals such as the introduction of a requirement for civil servants to report undocumented migrants to the authorities would increase societal mistrust and ultimately weaken the rule of law in Sweden, the report says.

The lack of opposition to the kind of surveillance measures that might previously have sparked an outcry is a major concern, says Stauffer.

Politicians’ consistent depiction of Sweden as a country in crisis “affects the public and creates support for these harsh measures”, says Stauffer. “And there is very little talk and debate about the negative consequences.”

Hear John Stauffer from Civil Rights Defender discuss the Liberties Rule of Law report in the The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers.

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