The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman’s office reported that the Interior Ministry of Finland engaged in discriminatory practices when creating the nation’s 2025 quota refugee strategy.
The office discovered that when the ministry sent directives to staff working on the quota refugee policy, it gave preference to asylum applicants from nations with a majority of Christians.
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“The government has seriously undermined the rights of asylum seekers and immigrants through several legislative changes,” the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman’s office stated.
“The discriminatory instructions were meant to prevent refugees from Muslim-majority countries from coming to Finland,” the ombudsman’s report noted.
“It can be said that this instruction was intended to prevent Muslim refugees from Afghanistan and Syria from coming to Finland,” Non-Discrimination Ombudsman Kristina Stenman told Yle.
The ministry’s guidelines discriminated against refugees based on their national origin and religion, the Ombudsman claimed.
“The government has seriously undermined the rights of asylum seekers and immigrants through several legislative changes. The legislative changes are far-reaching and their consequences apply to the same groups of people. The human cost of the government’s migration policy is unreasonably high,” said the ombudsman’s office press release, which was published in Finnish and Swedish.
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The Interior Ministry to review the report
The Interior Ministry stated on Thursday that it is awaiting the Chancellor of Justice’s opinion on the issue and intends to examine the Ombudsman’s report. The ministry stated at the end of its article that it would not be commenting on the issue at this time.
Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen (Finns) told Yle in a message that she would not comment on the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman’s report on Thursday.
In November, the ombudsman’s office had already warned about the ministry’s preparations for quota refugees.
In the same month that the quota refugee plan was being prepared, Yle asked the Interior Ministry to furnish the email correspondence between a special assistant and a ministry official.
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The Justice Chancellor’s evaluation is on the way.
According to the emails that were made public, the foreign ministry had to step in early October to help the interior ministry’s political leadership with the quota distributions.
The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman began investigating the issue based on the evidence that was made public, and as a result, the report was released on Thursday.
According to the Ombudsman, its conclusions were supported by a wealth of information about the quota refugee plans provided by the Interior Ministry.
At the prime minister’s request, the ministry began fresh planning for quota refugee distributions.
The government’s earlier intention was essentially reversed when the interior ministry declared in late November that Finland would accept 500 quota refugees in 2025 as part of the UNHCR’s resettlement program.
She claims that the new policy preparations were necessary and important.
The ombudsman added that the justice chancellor is in charge of conducting a more thorough evaluation of the quota refugee preparedness procedure.
Tuomas Pöysti, the departing Chancellor of Justice, refrained from commenting on the issue on Thursday.
It was said that the office of the justice chancellor was evaluating “necessary further measures” in the case.
