Finland's shortfall of refugee quota can be 100 to 300 this year

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According to Arja Kekkonen of the Ministry of the Interior, Finland is taking at least 100 refugees fewer than stipulated in the planned quota of 750 refugees for the current year. Moreover, she feels that the shortfall could be as many as 300 refugees.
      However, the relevant ministries are making efforts in order to meet Finland's quota obligations in the course of December.
      "Finland would not be liable to sanctions even if it fell far short of its original refugee quota, but the situation is disgraceful", noted Kekkonen.
      The Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are negotiating with each other in order to decide from among the options put forward by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on what areas Finland's quota refugees should come from this year.
      Friday's Helsingin Sanomat quoted Mervi Virtanen of the Ministry of Labour and Ilkka Rentola of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as saying that disagreements between the Labour and Interior ministries had led to delays in making decisions early in the year.
      According to Arja Kekkonen, the Ministry of the Interior announced already in the autumn of 2005 that it opposed accepting certain nationalities as quota refugees. She says that the Ministry of Labour was not willing to look for any other options and hence did not prepare a new proposal.
      Consequently, the ministries were unable to submit a proposal on the issue by the summer. This caused concern even within the UNHCR, and at Midsummer the agency urged Finland to decide on the acceptance of at least those refugees that the ministries could agree upon.
      Even Liisa Murto of the Refugee Advice Centre and Niina Laajapuro of Amnesty International in Finland find the shortfall in Finland's refugee quota alarming.
     
The Ministry of the Interior's Kekkonen notes that the selection process of refugees has never faltered so badly before.
      However, Tero Mikkola of the Ministry of Labour finds the situation less dramatic, commenting that decision-making is sometimes slow.
      The 75 refugees that Finland has taken so far this year are so-called emergency cases, and Finland plans to bring in another 75 refugees in a similar predicament in the course of December.
      A delegation of the Ministry of Labour and the Directorate of Immigration visited Thailand last week, and made a proposal for settling 385 refugees from Myanmar in Finland.
      Another delegation is scheduled to leave for Turkey in two weeks to choose 100 to 150 Iranian and Iraqi refugees there, even though the Ministry of the Interior initially opposed accepting refugees from Turkey. As the country is seeking EU membership, it should take care of its refugees on its own, the officials said.
      Next year is also predicted to be difficult, as the issue of refugees for 2007 has not even been discussed as yet, says Arja Kekkonen of the Ministry of the Interior.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finland meets only one tenth of refugee quota for this year (1.12.2006)

Links:
  The Refugee Advice Centre
  Amnesty International in Finland
  The Directorate of Immigration

Helsingin Sanomat