SCENESETTER FOR DHS DEPUTY SECRETARY HOLL LUTE'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 STOCKHOLM 000449

SIPDIS

LONDON PLEASE PASS TO DHS DEPSEC HOLL LUTE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2019
TAGS: PTER PHUM PREL EUN SW
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR DHS DEPUTY SECRETARY HOLL LUTE'S
VISIT TO STOCKHOLM JULY 24-25

Classified By: CDA Robert Silverman for reasons 1.4 (B) & (D).

Introduction & Summary
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1. (U) Embassy Stockholm warmly welcomes you to Sweden.
Bilateral relations are close and collaborative, and you will
find good partners in Minister for Justice Beatrice Ask,
Minister for Asylum and Migration Tobias Billstrom, and
Minister of Defense Sten Tolgfors. Sweden's EU Presidency
priority in the area of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) is the
Stockholm Program -- a five-year work plan that will replace
the current Hague Program and will focus on the rights of the
individual while safeguarding EU security. The Swedes are
especially eager to "rationalize" the EU's ad hoc information
management systems and harmonize EU asylum policies so that
all EU Member States do their fair share in resettling
refugees.


2. (C) Sweden hosted a successful U.S.-EU Senior Level Group
meeting on JHA issues July 9-10, which some of your staff
attended. These meetings further cemented the excellent,
transparent dialogue we have with the Swedes on JHA issues,
including combating transnational crime, cybercrime, and
terrorism. There is one area where more cooperation would be
welcome: while Sweden has one of the most generous asylum and
refugee policies in the world, our bilateral discussions on
Guantanamo detainees have been frustrating. We hope your
visit, and your meetings with three key Cabinet leaders, will
help generate the political will necessary for Sweden to
resettle Guantanamo detainees. The Swedes want to have
concrete deliverables for the October 27-28 U.S.-EU JHA
Troika Ministerial and the U.S.-EU Summit in November. A
focus during your meetings on Guantanamo detainees,
trafficking in persons, and data sharing and privacy would
help lay the groundwork for success. End Introduction and
Summary.

Guantanamo Detainees
--------------


3. (C) Since 2004, the U.S. has requested Swedish assistance
with Guantanamo detainees multiple times, and we have made
four requests for the resettlement of specific detainees.
Each time, the Swedes denied the requests on procedural
grounds: under Swedish law, referrals cannot come from a
foreign government, but must come either through UNHCR or
through Swedish embassies abroad. In general, when
Guantanamo is raised, Swedish officials like to say that
according to the Constitution, only the Swedish Migration
Board (SMB) -- an independent government agency -- can make
decisions on resettlement. Government ministers may not
interfere in the SMB's decision-making process with respect
to an individual application. However, we assess that if the
Government decides at the political level to assist on
Guantanamo closure, then it can direct the SMB to include
Guantanamo detainees, as a group, among the classes of
persons to be considered for resettlement. The Government
could also indicate informally to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and its embassies overseas its support for their
referral of individual cases to the SMB for adjudication. In
other words, if there is political will, then a complicated
(and uncertain) process could begin. The urgent need now is
to generate the political will.


4. (C) We would recommend that in all three of your meetings
you consider raising these points:

-- Thank the Swedish Government for its support of the June
15 "U.S.-EU Joint Statement on the Closure of the Guantanamo
Bay Detention Facility," which was endorsed by the June 18-19
European Council;

-- Note that the U.S. understands and respects the procedures
the Swedish Migration Board must follow;

-- Urge the Government of Sweden to take steps necessary to
prepare the way for a formal application to the Swedish
Migration Board;

-- Highlight the enormously positive impact on bilateral
relations that would result from a Swedish decision to accept
Guantanamo detainees for resettlement;

-- Sweden's role as EU President means that its leadership is
more important than ever.

Data Sharing/Privacy
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STOCKHOLM 00000449 002 OF 003




5. (U) The Swedish Government has noted its appreciation for
DHS Chief Privacy Officer Callahan's visits here and it wants
to host a seminar in early October for U.S. and EU
representatives on the redress opportunities available under
U.S. law. The USG has suggested that the meeting include law
enforcement practitioners, as well as data privacy
specialists. Both sides hope this seminar would pave the way
for the completion of the High Level Contact Group's
principles in time for the October JHA Troika Ministerial.
The Swedes are actively seeking deliverables for their EU
Presidency and have demonstrated that they want a win-win
outcome with us on this issue. Minister Ask will be most
engaged on these issues.

Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
--------------


6. (U) Minister Ask declared TIP as a main priority for the
Ministry of Justice during the Swedish EU Presidency and she
has been quite vocal on the issue. In November 2008, she
visited Russia in an effort to increase cooperation with
third countries. TIP was a big topic of discussion at the
informal JHA Ministerial in Stockholm 16-17 July. A
ministerial TIP conference will be held in Brussels 19-20
October, and the Swedes are seeking active USG participation
there. That meeting will address the increased cooperation
within the EU and with third countries; participants will
likely include international organizations, EU members and
institutions, and other key players, including Russia, the
Western Balkans, and Canada. If you indicate USG interest in
participation in the conference, Ask will be delighted.


7. (U) As for Sweden itself, it is on Tier 1 in the
Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report.
Sweden fully complies with the minimum standards for the
elimination of trafficking. In 2008, the government
allocated USD 26 million to implement a two-year
comprehensive anti-trafficking action plan in Sweden and
select source countries. The action plan includes measures
to prevent sex trafficking, improve the victim assistance and
victim repatriation system, train law enforcement officials,
and improve screening of potential victims during the visa
application process.


8. (U) Migration Minister Billstrom has also voiced concern
on TIP issues, especially on the trafficking of unaccompanied
minors. Sweden's laws prevent the return of minors to
countries of origin unless it is demonstrated that the minor
will be cared for by family members at home. There are cases
of minors not returning to their country of origin and
instead being raised in foster care in Sweden.

Migration and Asylum
--------------


9. (U) Sweden will accept 1,900 UNHCR quota refugees this
year, making it one of the most generous EU Member States in
terms of refugee resettlement. In 2007, Sweden accepted
18,600 Iraqi asylum seekers, more than all EU members and the
U.S. combined. But the high influx of asylum seekers and
refugees is increasingly straining budgets and social
services in immigrant-dense municipalities. Billstrom is
unhappy that other EU Member States are not doing their
share, and in some cases are knowingly permitting asylum
seekers from North Africa and the Middle East to pass quietly
through their ports en route to Sweden. Accordingly, he is a
leading advocate for developing a Common European System for
Asylum, which he hopes will distribute refugees more equally
among EU Member States.

Transatlantic Declaration
--------------


10. (U) At the U.S.-EU JHA Ministerial Troika in April,
Attorney General Eric Holder and Minister Ask agreed to
explore the added value of adopting a "Transatlantic
Declaration." At the informal JHA meeting in July,
significant time was spent on discussing the content of the
declaration, which aims to enhance cooperation in JHA. The
declaration is intended to be adopted this October at the JHA
Troika Ministerial, just before the U.S.-EU Summit likely in
early November. The EU Commission is responsible for
drafting the text, but topics will likely include: MLAT, visa
waiver program, High Level Contact Group's progress on a data
protection agreement, counter-terrorism, Guantanamo update,
TIP, the Stockholm Program, cybercrime, corruption and
Spain's goals for its 2010 presidency.


STOCKHOLM 00000449 003 OF 003


Conclusion
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11. (U) You are the highest level USG official to travel to
Sweden since President Obama took office. Your interlocutors
will listen closely to what you have to say about the new
Administration's priorities. Therefore, your visit offers
the opportunity to deepen significantly U.S.-Swedish
relations on key JHA matters -- and to encourage the Swedes
to do more in leading the EU to help meet the President's
goal of closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within
the next half year.
SILVERMAN