New report – strong reasons for not deporting Roma to Kosovo

Caption: An orphaned girl in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje. Photo: Joakim Roos.

Today the Church of Sweden is publishing a report on the situation for Roma in Kosovo with a special focus on the situation for those whose applications for asylum within the EU have been rejected and who have been deported from Sweden and other countries. The report is aimed at the politicians and migration authorities responsible, both in Sweden and in the rest of the EU.

In the report the Church of Sweden presents four recommendations regarding Roma and their situation in Kosovo.

1. The Church of Sweden supports the recommendations of the Council of Europe and UNHCR to not force Roma to return to Kosovo. The Church also wishes to emphasise that school age children are particularly vulnerable and risk a breach of their rights to education if forced to leave the country.

2. People in need of trauma-related care should not be forced to return to Kosovo, because such care is under-developed there. It is inhumane to deport seriously ill people and this should not take place to any country whatsoever.

3. The risk of forced marriage should be assessed in all applications for asylum from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian women from Kosovo.

4. Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians must be given more space and support in civil society. There is also a need for economic development in Kosovo that benefits all ethnic groups.

“The stories told by Roma from Kosovo differ quite considerably from how the situation is portrayed by the migration authorities,” says Kristina Hellqvist, author of the report and coordinator of refugee and integration issues in the Church of Sweden. “That’s why it was important for the Church of Sweden to go on a study visit so that we could see the situation of the Roma minority with our own eyes, focusing in particular on those returning.”

The strained situation for the Roma minority in Kosovo also applies to the Ashkali and Egyptian minorities who have strong ties to the Roma population. The report therefore extensively describes the situation for all three groups.

Sweden has denied asylum and deported asylum seekers from the Roma minority in Kosovo for many years, despite the fact that this goes against recommendations from the Council of Europe and UNHCR.

The report is based on experiences from a study visit undertaken on 9–13 September 2013. The aim of the trip was to learn more about the situation for the Roma minority and in particular the difficulties faced by those who are deported from Sweden to Kosovo.

CONTACT

Kristina Hellqvist, coordinator of refugee and integration issues in the Church of Sweden,
tel. +46 (0)70 609 83 69, kristina.hellqvist@svenskakyrkan.se