Migration, identification and decentralisation - recent development in Sweden and SDG 2030
Photo by Alejandro Cartagena via Unsplash
The following post was recently published in Swedish in the green-alternative-liberal magazine Tidningen Syre (Newspaper Oxygen)
According to the new government agreement in Sweden between conservatives, liberals, and far-right populists, the state should find and deport all undocumented people in Sweden and those individuals who are not considered to have the right to be in the country.
The far-right Sweden Democrats still want "Sweden for the Swedes" while the new government needs support from the Sweden Democrats. Also, the conservative parties communicate to and want to get votes from nationalist, racist and authoritarian voters who see certain people as Muslims and Syrian refugees as less worthy. In practice, it is about introducing grossly arbitrary and discriminatory measures, hateful behaviors, and oppression by preventing human mobility and free identity creation, such as for example being a Swedish Muslim.
For the first time in modern history, Sweden has a government under the influence of a far-right party that does not believe in human rights and democratic values. The government's policy includes, among other things, proposals that private and public institutions should report undocumented people. The government is also communicating about the "paradigm shift" and "eradicating the shadow society". The inspiration comes from Denmark, where the results have been uncertainty, repressive measures and many refugees being mistreated.
After the refugee crisis in 2016, the contemporary Minister of the Interior Anders Ygeman (Social-Democrats) communicated that the state would deport everyone who had come to Sweden but had not yet approved their asylum application. Ygeman then spoke of around 80,000 people, while current Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard believes it applies to over 100,000. But even then it was clear that the government could only do a little about it, partly because there is a lack of resources.
There is not enough money for the Swedish police to “find everyone”. Proposals such as amnesty have been advocated in connection with unaccompanied minors from Afghanistan. Still, the previous government has yet to introduce it, nor will the new one.
At the same time, the government's policy is also based on the current system of international law and different rules. All sovereign nations have the right to decide who moves within the countries and migrates between them. So far, there is no official global citizenship, while human rights are universal but also international and based on agreements between and application within nations. But the government's policy still has many problems, and Sweden can still make better decisions regarding undocumented individuals in particular.
According to various calculations, around one billion people, i.e. almost every eighth person, lack one or more legal ID documents, such as a national passport or ID card. It is a situation mentioned in the UN's global goals for 2030. In goal 16, on institutions, peace and partnership, before 2030 every person should be able to have an official and legal ID document. This development is connected to a technological development based on decentralization, digitization and automation of various functions and systems.
Decentralized technology, such as the blockchain , cryptocurrencies and self-sovereign identity, makes it possible for basically every person to own their ID document in digital form, participate in the global economy and interact with private and public institutions. Even UN bodies and other international institutions such as the World Bank use the blockchain function as a decentralized database and system for transactions in connection with relations and work with people in refugee camps. That way, no person needs to be seen as illegal and creating global systems for decentralized citizenship and other ID documents is possible.
Suppose Sweden is to contribute to a safer planet. In that case, the government should take advantage of technological developments, among other things so that all people who move can identify and establish themselves and cooperate legally and transparently. This can be done by the government approving digital ID documents that the undocumented can use via various apps such as Bright ID. In the long term, Sweden should also recognize decentralized citizenships, which exists in various communities that include people who otherwise have no other option.
Security, freedom and community are something that all people need, but the government's current policies promote the opposite. Instead, like other institutions, Sweden should take advantage of technological opportunities that can make the world safer and facilitate economic, social and ecological cooperation between people as equal citizens.
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