Legal Family Definitions and the Right to Refugee Family Reunification. A comparative Study on Ethiopia and Sweden.

Abstract

This study is an evaluation on the right to refugee family reunification, aiming to find if and how the right is provided in Ethiopia and in Sweden. The main focus is to critically look into the question of which circle of persons are entitled to the right of refugee family reunification.

The right to refugee family reunification is first argued to be a human right. It is concluded that the family concept is not defined in detail on a global level. Still UNHCR, the main authority on the area, has expressed that the right shall be executed in a generous and flexible manner, taking the specific context of the refugee into consideration.

The next part presents findings from a field study in Ethiopia, investigating how refugee family reunification is handled there. It is found that for the purpose of migration a very open and generous family definition is used. It is also showed how legal issues regarding family relations are largely addressed by customary legal practices.

After that Swedish law and practice is briefed. It is showed that the family is defined as the nuclear family and that this is, in essence, the circle of persons allowed to reunite in Sweden.

Lastly the findings from Ethiopia and Sweden are compared to each other and to the obligations under international law. It is concluded that the Swedish family definition is better adapted to a typical Swedish family than to a refugee from another context. The human right is fulfilled materially in Ethiopia, but the very informal manner in which refugees are accepted is little transparent and predictable. Swedish laws formally restrict the human right; the restrictions seem to oppose the purpose of the right.

The concept of family varies from time to time and place to place, and this must be considered when the right to refugee family reunification is executed.