The Ethics Council

The Swedish Migration Agency has an Ethics Council appointed by the government. The council plays an advisory role and the Director-General can request statements from the council concerning ethical matters.

The ordinance (2019:502) with the statute for the Migration Agency addresses the Ethics Council as a special body of the authority. Section 16 of the regulation states:

It is the Director-General who requests the Ethics Council to give its opinion. The Ethical Council then gives a written answer. Questions and answers are published on the Migration Agency's website.

The role and mission of the Ethics Council

• To provide management and staff with support for making ethical assessments regarding practical issues.
• To assist management and employees in communicating aspects of the agency's activities that have ethical dimensions to the government and other decision-makers.
• To contribute to transparency in public administration.

Read more about the role and mission of the Ethics Council in Swedish here

Members of the Ethics Council

Cristina Grenholm (chair), born 1959, is a priest in the Church of Sweden, author and doctor of theology. She is Church Secretary at the Church of Sweden Office in Uppsala with responsibility for theological work at a national level. She has previously worked at Uppsala and Karlstad University. Cristina Grenholm is also a board member of the Christian Council of Sweden and a member of the Government Council for contact with the religious community.

Cristina Grenholm's mandate reaches from 4 June 2021 until 5 June 2024.

Alexandra Segenstedt, born 1980, is a lawyer, migration expert and senior policy adviser at the Red Cross and works with migration issues at both global, European and national levels. Alexandra has also been appointed by the government as an expert in two government investigations; "Legal ways to seek asylum in the EU" and "Residence permit due to practical impediments to enforcement" and has been the author of a number of publications. With her broad experience, Alexandra is often hired as a spokesperson and expert in panels, seminars and the media.

Alexandra Segenstedt's mandate reaches from 16 December 2021 until 5 June 2024.

Anna-Sara Lind, born 1977, is Professor of Public Law at the Department of Law at Uppsala University. Her research focuses on public law in a broad sense, how EU law affects legislative development within medical and social law and how freedoms and rights can be secured within a complex constitutional reality. She has been affiliated with the Centre for Research Technology and Bioethics since 2011. Anna-Sara Lind is a contributing organiser of the annual conference on the Impact of Religion-Challenges for Society, Law and Democracy at Uppsala University.

Anna-Sara Lind's mandate reaches from 4 June 2021 until further notice, but no later than 5 June 2024.

Cecilia Tengroth, born 1973, is Secretary General of the United Nations Association of Sweden. It is a non-profit organisation and a Swedish popular movement which spreads knowledge about the UN for a stronger and better UN. She is a trained lawyer with a focus on international law. She has previously worked at, among others, the Swedish Red Cross, the Swedish Defense University, the Ministry of Defense and Civil Rights Defender. Cecilia has published a number of publications in the field of international law and has also held a number of assignments as a board member in both independent and governmental organisations and councils.

Cecilia Tengroth's mandate reaches from 16 December 2021 until 5 June 2024.

Jonas Ivarsson, born 1976, is a professor of informatics. He began studying cognitive science and communication studies before defending his dissertation in the field of educational science in 2004. In 2013, he became a professor of education with research focusing on the role of various technologies in developing knowledge and competence. In 2019, he moved to informatics at the Department of Applied Information Technology at Gothenburg University. There, his role is to lead the emerging research on Artificial Intelligence. He has previously worked as deputy head of department and as deputy dean for research at the Faculty of Education. He has also been a member of the Gothenburg University Board and part of the university's coordination group for artificial intelligence and digitalisation. Jonas is an experienced research leader who is currently responsible for the project "Professional Trust and Autonomous Systems" with funding from the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation.

Jonas Ivarsson's mandate reaches from 16 December 2021 until 5 June 2024.

Ludvig Beckman, born in 1970, is a professor at the Department of Political Science at Stockholm University. He defended his dissertation, The Liberal State and the Politics of Virtue, at Uppsala University in 2000. His research is focused on
fundamental problems in the relationship between public power and individual
rights. Professor Beckman has published several articles and books, e.g. Frontiers of Democracy. The Right to Vote and its Limits.

Ludvig Beckman’s mandate reaches from 4 June 2021 until further notice, but no later than 5 June 2024.

Patricia Mindus, born 1976, is a lawyer and professor at the Department of Philosophy at Uppsala University. She has an interest in legal realism, democratic theory and migration. She leads research on citizenship and migration policy in the EU, with a political and legal theoretical perspective. She has developed the functionalist citizenship theory and is currently a Wallenberg Academy Fellow. As a president of Swedish IVR she leads Uppsala's higher seminar in jurisprudence and is section editor for IVR Encyclopaedia of Philosophy of Law. She has written an award-winning book about the founders of Scandinavian realism. Her latest book is about European citizenship after Brexit.

Patricia Mindus's mandate reaches from 16 December 2021 until 5 June 2024.

Questions regarding the ethics council can be directed to Johanna Erlandsson, email migrationsverket@migrationsverket.se.

Questions that the Ethics Council has answered (in Swedish)