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Statement to the UN Committee against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment for the Consideration of the State Report of Finland

Centralising international protection applications and border closures

In November 2023, Finnish Government decided to centralise the reception of asylum seekers to certain border crossing points on the eastern border due to instrumentalization of migration and as the situation continued, all border crossing points on the eastern border were closed and the reception of asylum seekers was centralised to only airports and seaports. 

Since November 2023, when the Government decided to only keep one border crossing point open on the eastern border, the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman has considered that the border closure measures seriously jeopardise the right to seek asylum. The state has an obligation to safeguard real and effective access to the asylum procedure. 

The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman recommends that:

  • Finland stops the full closure of the eastern border in order to ensure the access to asylum procedure and the realisation of the human rights of asylum-seekers.
  •  The amended Border Guard Act is re-evaluated to ensure that the Act can only be implemented and interpreted in a manner fully in line with international and European human rights obligations. 

The Government Programme and the quality of the asylum procedure

The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman recommends that:

  • No legal changes should be introduced that strive to make the asylum procedure more efficient without regard to the quality of the procedure.
  • Legislative changes, that would make submitting or assessing subsequent applications more difficult, should not be introduced.
  • Plans to introduce a border procedure should be re-evaluated so that the fundamental and human rights of asylum-seekers are ensured . The border procedure should not be implemented in cases of children and other vulnerable asylum-seekers.

Detention of asylum-seekers

The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman recommends that:

  • Legislative changes should respect the principle of detention being a last resort. Particularly, if the detained individual is a victim of torture or otherwise in a vulnerable position, the reasonableness of detention should be carefully considered.
  • Foreigners awaiting deportation should be informed about the time of their deportation in advance.
  • All detentions should be documented so that the quantities and durations of detentions can be monitored. Statistics should be improved to include information about all detained minors and other detained vulnerable individuals.

Women prisoners and marginalised women lack gender- and trauma-sensitive services

The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman recommends that:

  •  Female prisoners should be provided with comprehensive and female-specific rehabilitation and the opportunity to deal with traumatic experiences under the guidance of professionals.
  • Gender- and trauma-sensitive approaches and women-specific services are required to ensure marginalised women's survival and humane treatment.
  • Public officials should be actively trained, both initial and in-service, on gender-based violence against women.

Victims of human trafficking 

The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman recommends that:

  • The Aliens Act should be amended so that more victims of human trafficking meet the requirements for granting a continuous residence permit. 
  • The right of victims of human trafficking to remain in Finland for the whole duration of the criminal procedure must be ensured.

Read the whole statement and rest of the recommendations here (PDF)

20.03.2024