Finland

Overview

Between 1 January and 31 July 2017, 25,556 refugees were submitted by UNHCR for resettlement to 22 countries in Europe, only 11% less than the total for 2016 and already 130% more than the average rate of 11,100 submissions per year during the last decade.

European governments return nearly 10,000 Afghans to risk of death and torture

European governments have put thousands of Afghans in harm’s way by forcibly returning them to a country where they are at serious risk of torture, kidnapping, death and other human rights abuses, Amnesty International said today in a new report.

Press release from the Ministry of the Interior and the Crisis Management Centre

The Ministry of the Interior has sent a Technical Assistance and Support Team (TAST) of three experts to the Commonwealth of Dominica through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to assist in the relief and recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria. The Crisis Management Centre (CMC Finland) assembled the team and is in charge of logistics. The operation is planned to last three weeks. The experts left for Dominica on Saturday, 30 September.

29,401 Total persons relocated
20,323 Relocated from Greece (30% of 66,400)
** 9,078** Relocated from Italy (23% of 39,600)

Press release 164/2017 25 September 2017

Finland allocates EUR 380,000 to the Red Cross to support its humanitarian aid in Bangladesh, along the border with Myanmar. More than 420,000 Rohingya have fled violence from Myanmar’s Rakhine state to Bangladesh in the past month.

Most of the Rohingya fleeing Myanmar are women and children. They are living in extremely difficult conditions and are in dire need of food, clean water, shelter, basic supplies, and healthcare.

International efforts in Afghanistan: Lessons from a whole-of-government response and the creation of Provincial Reconstruction Teams

Highlights

Compilation of available statistical data indicates that the arrivals to Europe through the Mediterranean in the first eight months of 2017 is lower when compared to the same period in 2016. As of 31 August 2017, national authorities in Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Spain registered 131,167 newly arrived migrants mostly from the Middle East, Africa, South and Central Asia which is in a sharp contrast to 297,255 recorded during the same period in 2016 (56% decrease).

Trends and key figures

European Commission - Press release

Brussels, 6 September 2017

In four progress reports adopted today, the Commission is calling on all parties to sustain and further accelerate the good progress made in managing irregular migration flows, protecting the EU external borders and supporting the frontline Member States under pressure.

Trends and key figures

A total of 11,581 Finns and 41 organisations are petitioning the Finnish Government to raise its refugee quota. The petition was submitted to Minister of the Interior Paula Risikko on Wednesday, 16 August.

“I would like to thank everyone who signed the petition for their support. This support is needed not only here, but especially in refugee camps, where the need for aid is now greater than ever before,” said Minister of the Interior Risikko.

Geneva – Some 19,088 migrants have returned home voluntarily with assistance from IOM, the UN Migration Agency, from 1 April to 30 June 2017, according to the IOM AVRR quarterly bulletin published today (18/08). These migrants have returned from 81 host and transit countries to 136 countries and territories of origin.

UNHCR Appeals For Support To Address Refugee Resettlement Needs In Africa

The vast unmet need for refugee resettlement from Africa and the opportunities for communities to engage in the sponsorship of refugees were two of the key themes discussed when representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), governments and NGOs from resettlement states and other inter-governmental bodies gathered in Geneva for the 2017 Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement (ATCR).

Representation at the ATCR

Key figures (October 2015 – 26 July 2017)

25,392 Total persons relocated
17,457 Relocated from Greece (26% of 66,400)
7,935 Relocated from Italy (20% of 39,600)

To date, She Decides, the international initiative of Lilianne Ploumen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, has raised €260 million ($300 million). ‘That’s great news for millions of women and girls in developing countries. Because it means they’ll retain access to family planning facilities like sex education, contraception, safe abortion and maternity care. So great strides have once again been made since the Brussels conference this spring, when countries and private organizations pledged around €180 million for the initiative,’ the Minister said.