Ministry of the Interior's follow-up report finds no discrimination in preparation of refugee quota

The Ministry of the Interior has submitted to the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman a follow-up report on the preparation of the allocation of the refugee quota. The report requested by the Ombudsman was also submitted to the Chancellor of Justice. As the matter is of major importance to society and of interest to many, the Ministry of the Interior will make the report available to the public.

The Ministry of the Interior's report clarifies in detail that the political leadership of the Ministry did not instruct or order public officials to discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion or other grounds, nor did public officials engage in discrimination when preparing the allocation of places in the refugee quota.

In the Ministry of the Interior's view, the preparatory work by public officials was carried out within the limits of the discretionary powers allowed by the Aliens Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. The decision on the allocation of the quota is prepared for decision-making by the Government, which means it is guided by the political views of the parties in Government. The Ministry of the Interior is also of the view that political guidance has been provided in line with normal practices. The public officials who prepared the decision and who are subject to liability for acts in office have not reported any discrimination in political guidance. 

In the preparation of the allocation decision, the aim was to implement the Government Programme, according to which the Government will also assess the allocation of the quota for cultural and ethnic groups persecuted in their country and for persons in particularly vulnerable positions in camps. The emphasis is based on the particularly vulnerable position of minorities and the resulting special need for protection during crises. The reference to minority religions would not prevent the selection of persons other than those belonging to those minorities in a situation where the UNHCR would not be able to propose those groups.

Individual persons are not selected in allocation

When allocating the refugee quota, a decision is made on the size of the refugee groups and the countries from which the groups are selected for the next year's quota. The decision does not yet concern specific individuals: in other words, individual persons are not selected or excluded from the selection procedure at this time.

The allocation decision is prepared in close cooperation with the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, but the decision is always subject to consideration and a decision at the national level. Finland is not bound by the UNHCR's proposal. It is very common for Finland, like other countries, to negotiate on the contents of the proposal with the UNHCR from its own premises.

Only after Finland has decided on the allocation of the refugee quota will the UNHCR determine the persons most in need of help and propose them to Finland under the refugee quota.

Government decision: Finland will continue to admit the same refugee groups under its quota

In October, the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman began to investigate, on her own initiative the preparation of the allocation of the 2025 refugee quota at the Ministry of the Interior. When the Ministry submitted its report to the Ombudsman on 5 November 2024, the Government parties were still conducting normal negotiations on the allocation. The political discussions and negotiations to find a compromise were suspended when the preparation of a decision on the allocation was restarted on 22 November 2024 at the Prime Minister's request.

The Government made a decision on the allocation of the 2025 refugee quota in its plenary session on 28 November 2024. Finland will continue to admit the same refugee groups as before, which means that the quota will be allocated to the same groups and in the same proportions as in 2024. Continuity benefits municipalities and wellbeing services counties in particular, as it helps to make the best use of previous experiences.

To dispel any doubt, it is good that a new allocation decision was prepared entirely from scratch. It is important that people are able to trust the legality of political decision-making.

The legislation on the reception of quota refugees will be reformed in the next few years. The EU legislative acts on migration and asylum adopted in June 2024 require national legislative amendments by June 2026. At the same time, the Ministry of the Interior will assess and develop the practices for making allocation decisions.

Ministry of the Interior's reply to the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman's request for further clarification and information on 17 December 2024 (pdf, in Finnish)

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