Armed force to be made available for evacuation operation in Sudan

The Riksdag gives its consent to the Government to make an armed force comprising a maximum of 400 people available in Sudan.

In accordance with international law, the force will support and carry out an evacuation operation of Swedish and other citizens as well as equipment from Sudan, and it will be made available until 30 June 2023. The evacuation will be implemented in close cooperation with other countries and international organisations.

The security and humanitarian situation in Sudan is very serious. Extensive fighting with heavy artillery is taking place in Khartoum and in several other parts of the country. The is currently a great shortage of supplies and healthcare.

The proposal upon which the decision is based was submitted in the form of a committee initiative. This means that the proposal was initiated by a parliamentary committee, and that it did not originate from a government bill or a private member's motion, which is otherwise normally the case. A committee initiative makes it possible for the Riksdag to take a rapid decision in a matter. Before the committee presented the proposal, it received oral and written information from the Government on the matter, which recommended that the Riksdag consider the proposal in the form of a committee initiative.

The Riksdag took a decision on the matter even though it had been available for less than the normal two working days before it was considered in the Chamber.