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The government has promised to crack down on honor-related violence and strengthen efforts for missing children.
At the same time, the special service within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Middle East has been removed – where many girls are taken and risk marriage.
– It’s a really bad way to save money, says Annika Söder, former cabinet secretary at the Foreign Ministry.
In 2018, the then Swedish government with Foreign Minister Margot Wallström decided to introduce a special section within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UD, for work on family-related coercion and oppression. That is, cases when someone is taken out of Sweden or held abroad in an honorable context.
– It was a meaningful and good investment. The information spread about their work and also among families and children who were abroad so that the children themselves or those who helped them also sought out the local services that were there, says Annika Söder, who was then cabinet secretary at the Foreign Ministry.
The section works to help young people who are at risk of being subjected to genital mutilation, being married off or who have been forced into foster care. But under the current government, the section has shrunk – despite the promise to crack down on honor oppression.
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full screen Equality Minister Paulina Brandberg. Photo: Jerker Ivarsson
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full screen The Tidö agreement states that they want to strengthen efforts to help missing children. According to the Minister for Equality, who deals with issues of honor, they are currently investigating whether parents who abduct children can be fined.
In the Tidö agreement, the government and the Sweden Democrats have emphasized that they want to help the abducted children in particular: “The efforts for missing children must be strengthened and fines must be able to be imposed for guardians who do not contribute to the return of the children”.
Despite that, it was decided in the spring of 2023 to remove one of the posts within the Foreign Affairs section for these very issues. It is about the position of regional advisor, which was located in the Middle East.
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full screen Aftonbladet’s investigation shows that girls who are at risk of being married off are often taken to the Middle East. Illustration: Paul Wallander
UD: “Building phase”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms via its press service that the regional advisor who was previously stationed in Beirut has been abolished. There is only one regional advisor left, in Nairobi, and three positions in Stockholm:
“A build-up phase quite naturally requires more resources than an administrative phase and operations can now be maintained with a regional advisor,” writes the Foreign Ministry’s press service.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an important role for the regional advisor was to acquire knowledge about legislation and practice and about, for example, lawyers, but that the embassies themselves have the resources to help the vulnerable.
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full screen Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
Helped 96 abducted children in 2023
Last year, the section handled cases involving 96 abducted children. The most common countries were Iraq, Somalia, Syria and Egypt. In 22 of the cases, there was information about a concrete risk of child or forced marriage.
Aftonbladet’s review shows that girls who are at risk of being married off are often taken precisely to the Middle East – where a position has now been removed from the section.
Former cabinet secretary Annika Söder believes that it is important to have a specific person locally, who can act as a link between Sweden and the country.
– It is important to be on site and be able to speak with family, authorities there and organize paperwork. Of course you can call from a Swedish municipality to Nairobi, but it gives a lot of support and help that there are people who are there.
What do you think about the removal of the service?
– I think it’s very sad if we can’t help more girls and boys who end up in terrible situations that can also be devastating for the rest of their lives, says Annika Söder.
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full screenAnnika Söder was previously cabinet secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A cabinet secretary is the highest politically employed official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: Krister Halvars
The minister: help the children at home in Sweden
Equality Minister Paulina Brandberg (L) believes that the government is focusing on preventing children from disappearing abroad from the very beginning.
– The most important thing we can do to help this vulnerable group is to ensure that they are not taken abroad at all. As long as these children remain on Swedish territory, that is when we have the best chance to act and protect them and help them, she says.
– Of course we will do everything in our power to return them to Sweden. But it is much more difficult to do so when they have been taken abroad.
Reducing resources, does it go along with your words that you invest in the area?
– These services at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they are important. But when it comes to countries where we have difficulty getting the authorities to cooperate, this is incredibly, incredibly difficult work.