Asylum and Refugee resettlement in Iceland:

Transcription

1 Asylum and Refugee resettlement in Iceland: 2015

2 Ministers Council Ministers Council for Refugees and Asylum was established in autumn Following a governmental decision to spent 2 billion on assistance to refugees and asylum seekers in response to the refugee crisis, divided to the following tasks: Financial support to international organizations that work with refugees. and humanitarian Resettlement of quota refugees to Iceland. For procedures and services provided to asylum seekers, including action applications. to accelerated processing of asylum

3 New Foreigners Act submitted New bill on foreigners soon be submitted to the Parliament. Special emphasis international competitive legal and regulatory environment and ensuring that legislation is up to date in matters relating to human rights and International and European commitments (children s best interest, victims of trafficking, gender-based violence and/or torture).

4 Iceland has not experienced the unrelenting wave of asylum seekers as the other Nordic countries, which is not be surprising, given Iceland s geographical location. As a result we are rarely the original or preferred destination of those forced to leave their homeland in search for a secure future. Nevertheless, we have noticed a considerable surge in arrivals of people seeking international protection with a total of 354 individuals applying for international protection last year. This rise in number, albeit low in comparison to Norway, reflects almost a 100% increase from the previous year when 174 individuals sought asylum in Iceland - and is the highest number of people in one year in our modern day history.

5 This has put a strain on our asylum processing system and the ministerial committee established in September responded with allocations to improve the system with a view of speeding up the processing of applications. This includes increasing staff, minor legislative amendments and streamlining processes. We have also established a special reception center to accommodate those arriving in Iceland. The composition of the asylum seekers in Iceland differs from the other Nordic countries as this year, 34% of applicants come from Albania who along with their Balkan neighbors of, Kosovo and Macedonia, make up more than half of the asylum seekers in Iceland in 2015.

6 Asylum applications

7 Granted - Asylum or Protection Asylum Other protection Humanitarian Protection

8 COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Other; 83; 23% Albania; 108; 30% Pakistan; 9; 3% Belarus; 10; 3% Ghana; 11; 3% Iran; 13; 4% Syria; 29; 8% Kosovo; 15; 4% Afghanistan; 22; 6% Macedonia; 27; 8% Irak; 28; 8%

9 Asylum decisions 2015 Withdrawn applications; 47; 15% Rejected; 114; 35% Return; 80; 25% Protection granted; 82; 25%

10 Quote Refugees Year Municipality Country of Origin Total 1996 Ísafjörður Krajina Hornafjörður Krajina Blönduós Krajina Hafnarfjörður, Fjarðabyggð, Dalvík Kosovo Siglufjörður Krajina Reykjanesbær Krajina Akureyri Krajina Reykjavík Kosovo Reykjavík Colombia Reykjavík Colombia Akranes Palestinia Reykjavík Colombia Reykjavík Afghanistan Hafnarfjörður/Reykjavík Simbabwe, Uganda and more Reykjavík Syria Akureyri, Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður Syria 55 *2016 Syria 55 Total numer 455 * expected

11 OECD and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, have called on governments to step up efforts to help refugees integrate and contribute to the societies and economies of Europe. Both organizations stressed it made economic sense to help the millions of refugees living in OECD countries to develop the skills they need to work productively and safely in the jobs of tomorrow. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría: Difficult and costly task in the short term, but had a high payoff for all in the medium to longer term. "Migrants and refugees are not a burden. They contribute to growth and are a hope for the future.

12 The efficiency of the asylum system is key. How to build a know how? Asylum procedure.,,the terms asylum-seeker and refugee are often confused: an asylum-seeker is someone who says he or she is a refugee, but whose claim has not yet been definitively evaluated. On average, about 1 million people seek asylum on an individual basis every year. In mid-2014, there were more than 1.2 million asylum-seekers. Source: