Finland reverses controversial refugee policy, accepts half from Muslim-majority countries

Finland will take in 500 quota refugees next year as part of the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR’s resettlement programme, the Interior Ministry confirmed in a press statement released on Thursday.

The statement also revealed the allocation of the quota, meaning which refugee groups will be included.

“Finland will receive 150 Afghan refugees from Iran, 120 Congolese refugees from Rwanda, 100 Syrian refugees from Turkey and 50 Venezuelan refugees from Peru under next year’s refugee quota. In addition, Finland will receive 30 refugees who have been evacuated from Libya to Rwanda and 50 persons from any nationality or region who require evacuation in emergency cases,” the ministry’s statement said.

The decision represents a reversal in previous policy, as Finnish media had reported earlier in the autumn that Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns) and acting interior minister Lulu Ranne (Finns) had directed ministry officials to prepare to exclude quota refugees from Muslim-majority countries while increasing the quota for Christian-majority nations.

This led to Finland’s Non-Discrimination Ombudsman issuing a warning that such a move would likely be discriminatory on religious grounds before the ministry said last week that it would review its plans.

In Thursday’s press release, the ministry noted that this decision was made because of “suspicions surrounding the previous preparation” but declined to comment further while the investigation by the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman is ongoing. (yle)