Press release
07 December 2011
Ministry of Justice
Refugee and statelessness conventions celebrate 60th and 50th anniversaries
This year marks 60 years since the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and 50 years since the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness were signed. This is being commemorated with a high-level meeting in Geneva on 7-8 December, with the participation of more than 70 ministers. Sweden is being represented by Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy Tobias Billström, who by virtue of the Swedish Chairmanship of the UNHCR Executive Committee, will lead the meeting during the opening ceremony, when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Refugee Commissioner António Guterres and others will speak. Finland's former President and Nobel laureate Martti Ahtisaari is also participating as a special guest speaker.
"The meeting over the next few days is not just ceremonial, but is also an important starting point for the continued work. Sweden was among the first countries to sign the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which continues to be one of the cornerstones of human rights protection," says Mr Billström.
Contact
Linda NorbergPress Secretary to Tobias Billström
+46 8 405 57 96
+46 70 226 09 04
email to Linda Norberg
