Finland: Concerns about the state of asylum seekers

The country delegation was led by Ms. Krista Oinonen, the Director of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Main issues discussed

The CAT raised concerns about the closure of the Eastern border with Russia, that was preventing asylum seekers from entering Finland from Russia due to an instrumental entry of asylum seekers into Finland. They also noted concerns that children, including in the case of unaccompanied children, are detained while the asylum process is underway due to insufficient facilities or to keep a family together.

Experts raised further concerns regarding compliance with the principle of non-refoulement, including risks linked to the lack of suspensive effect the appeal process has for non- EU people applying for residence permits. Legislation, including the Aliens Act and Border Protection Act, continued to place asylum seekers and migrants at a high risk of refoulement. Most, if not all individual decisions the CAT dealt with regarding Finland for the current reporting period were about challenges to deportation and extraditions.

The CAT noted that special rights are granted to Sámi and Roma people, commending the work Finland has done to correct historical wrongs regarding the Sámi nation. However, noted with concern the pervasive discrimination that Sámi and Roma people still face leading to their mental suffering.

The CAT regretted the high level of mediation in cases of domestic violence, mediation is used in 90% of cases as it is the cheaper option. They noted that often the police had not completed preliminary investigations prior to the initiation of mediation, whereas the priority should be the judicial route until investigations have been completed.

The CAT raised concerns about the large increase in prisoners including remand prisoners leading to overcrowding. The delegation noted that a new prison is currently being built and will be finished in 2025 with facilities for prisoners and remand prisoners. The committee questioned steps taken to increase the use of alternatives to detention, which would decrease overcrowding.

The CAT’s recommendations are available here.

Follow-up recommendations:

The State party should provide information by 10th of May 2025 on the implementation of recommendations regarding:

• The detention of remand prisoners in police detention facilities.
• Asylum and non-refoulement.
• Hate crimes.
• Plans for implementing, within the coming reporting period, the remaining recommendations in the present concluding observations.

Watch here (part one and part two) of the dialogue with the CAT.