A Seminar on "Syrian Refugee Admission: International Efforts and the Role of Japan"
（December 4, 2014）

The Sasakawa Peace Foundation is proud to present a seminar featuring Mr. Oskar Ekblad of the Swedish Migration Board and global thought leader on Syrian refugee resettlement.

Due to the prolonged and intensifying Syrian Crisis, more than three million Syrians have become refugees, having fled a horrifying situation in their country. In surrounding countries such as Jordan and Lebanon, camps and urban areas are overflowing with Syrian refugees. European and Asian countries are accelerating admission to provide protection and safe places for refugees, and in particular Germany has pledged to admit 28,500 refugees. It is said that there are many highly skilled Syrian refugees who are already contributing to their host countries as valuable human resources. It is now time for Japan to consider how it will react to the worst humanitarian crisis of the century.

At the upcoming seminar, Mr. Ekblad will give a presentation on the plight of Syrian refugees and the latest global response to admit them, in terms of relevant policy, plans and practices, in the government sector and civil society sector.

Details of the event are as follows:

Mr. Oskar Ekblad

Deputy Director, Head of the Swedish Resettlement Program
Swedish Migration Board
Chair of the UNHCR’s Core Group on Syrian Resettlement

Oskar Ekblad is the head of Sweden's Refugee Resettlement program and oversees the planning and implementation of the country's 1,900 person yearly quota. On behalf of the Swedish Government, he is currently acting as chair of the UNHCR Core Group on Resettlement and other Forms of Admissions of Refugees from Syria, a multilateral engagement by some 25 governments that seek to find protections in third countries for 130,000 Syrian refugees. During 2009-2010 he also chaired the Geneva based tripartite consultations on Resettlement (ATCR/WGR) between governments, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and NGO's.

Oskar has previously managed The Swedish Migration Board's section on Asylum Law where he oversees the execution of refugee law in Sweden's refugee status determination procedure as well as the Migration Board's training of status determination officers.

Oskar Ekblad has studied Law at Lund University, specializing in Humanitarian and Human Rights Law at the Lund University Raoul Wallenberg Institute.