Minister of the Interior Ohisalo and Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto to meet with global migration governance

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the International Centre for the Development of Migration Policy (ICMPD) are important partners for Finland.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino and ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger will visit Finland on Thursday 24 October. In the morning, they will attend a conference organised by the European Migration Network (EMN) in Helsinki, which is one of the side events organised during Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU.

During the visit, High Commissioner for Refugees Grandi and Director General Vitorino will also have meetings with Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo and Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. Minister Ohisalo will also meet Director General Michael Spindelegger.

The purpose of the meetings is to further develop the cooperation between Finland and international organisations. At her meetings, Minister Ohisalo will focus on the implementation of the UN Refugee Convention, the reception of quota refugees, and support for voluntary return and reintegrations.

"International cooperation provides us channels for implementing sustainable, human rights-based migration policy through a wider range of instruments than Finland, as a single country, could have. UNHCR, IOM and ICMPD are important partners for Finland," says Minister of the Interior Ohisalo.

The meetings of Foreign Minister Haavisto will focus on matters relating to the monitoring of developments in the humanitarian situation.

"It is essential for us to seek solutions for the global refugee problem with our international partners," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto.

UNHCR is mandated to provide international protection for refugees and to seek solutions for refugee crises. Its activities focus on field work. UNHCR is one of the biggest humanitarian assistance organisations in the world and the main funding channel for Finland. In 2018, Finland’s contribution to UNHCR was EUR 20 million.

The International Organisation for Migration is an international agency specialising in migration issues and, from 2016 one of the Related Organization of the UN. Finland joined IOM in 1991.

Finland also cooperates with ICMPD, which is an independent intergovernmental research centre. ICMPD aims to promote sustainable migration policies.

Inquiries:

Ministry of the Interior:

Annikki Vanamo-Alho, Senior Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 488 678, annikki.vanamo-alho@intermin.fi
Jarno Lappalainen, Special Adviser to the Minister, tel. +358 400 536 973, jarno.lappalainen@intermin.fi

Ministry for Foreign Affairs:

Jeri Aalto, Special Adviser to the Minister, tel. + 358 50 472 0725, jeri.aalto@formin.fiLänk till en annan webbplats