European Reintegration Networking

Reintegration Policies and Approaches Within the EU: Finland

Summary in English 

September 2002

Finnish League for Human Rights
Unioninkatu 45 B 41
00170 Helsinki
tel. +358 9 4155 2500
fax +358 9 4155 2520
info@ihmisoikeusliitto.fi
http://www.ihmisoikeusliitto.fi 

Verfasser/in: Anniina Lavikainen, Perttu Salmenhaara

Contents

1. Immigrants in Finland

• Basic demographic information on Finland
• Asylum seekers and refugees
• Integration policy and practice
• Remigration of asylum seekers and refugees

2. Protagonists in the migration sector – implementation and execution

• Governmental bodies
• NGO´s
• International Organisations

3. Programmes to promote return of refugees and asylum seekers

• Voluntary return programmes
• Involuntary return programmes
  Asylum procedure in Finland
  Involuntary return

4. Projects affecting the countries of return

• Finnish development cooperation policy
• Examples of projects affecting the countries of return
  Afghanistan
  Bosnia
  Kosovo
  Somalia
  The Roma from eastern Central Europe
  Other
• Summary on chapter four

5. Good practices
6. Recommendations for national and European return migration policies
Sources

1. Immigrants in Finland

Basic demographic information on Finland

The population of Finland at the end of 2001 was approximately 5, 2 million, of which 99 000 were foreign citizens (1,8 percent of the population).

Immigration of foreigners is a fairly new phenomena in Finland. Until 1980, Finland was a country of negative net immigration almost every year. In the periods of positive net migration, people moving to Finland have mostly been Finnish citizens returning to Finland; for example remigrants from Sweden.

The amount of immigrants with foreign citizenship rose rapidly in the 1990s. The number of foreign citizens living in Finland was between 15 000 and 20 000 people from 1976 to 1990 (Tilastokeskus 2001, 2001), in 2001 there were 99 000 foreign citizens.

Foreign-born people living in Finland were altogether 145 000, or 2,6 percent of the total population (Tilastokeskus 2002, 2002). People with a mother tongue other than Finnish, were 109 000, some 2 percent of the population (ibid.). In 2001, 158 different nationalities were represented in the immigrant population. (2001).

These are the smallest percentages in comparison with any other EU member state. Immigration policy has been very strict in Finland, and even though it is to be loosened in the near future, there are no signs of a less strict refugee policy (sisäasiainministeriö 2001.)

Figure 1. Number of foreign citizens in Finland in 1976-2001 (Tilastokeskus, 2001, 2002).

Numbers of different nationalities

The largest nationality groups (see Figure 1) in 2001 were Russian citizens (22 700 persons), Estonians (11700), Swedes (8000), Somalis (4400), and British citizens (2400). The most spoken native languages were Finnish (4,8 million), Swedish (291 000), Russian (31 000), Estonian (11 000), English (7400), and Somali (6900). (Tilastokeskus 2002:6.)

Table 1. Ten largest nationality groups and number of all foreign nationals in 1993-2001 (Tilastokeskus 2001 & 2002).

Age structures

Since for the most part immigrants have migrated to Finland during the last ten years, the immigrant population in Finland consists mostly of first-generation immigrants. However, the number of children in many immigrant groups is large, and situation is changing rapidly. For example, among ethnic Somalis, one third are children under 10 years of age. Their native language is Somali, but they are Finnish citizens. (Tilastokeskus 2002.)

The age structure of immigrants is young, and therefore positive in demographic terms. The percent of working age population (15-64 years) in the case of immigrants in 2000 was 75 percent, whereas for the native population it was 20 percent. Minors under fifteen years of age were some 19 percent of immigrants, and 19 percent of native population. The biggest difference in age structure, however, was in the percentage of elderly people; only 6,5 percent of immigrants were over 65 years of age, whereas the amount was over 15 percent for native Finns. (Tilastokeskus 2001:8.)

In the case of refugees, the number of children was the largest, and the amount of working-age population the smallest. For citizens of Yugoslavia, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam and Bosnia-Hertsegovina,  the amount of minors under fifteen years of age were from 21 to even 40 percent. (ibid.)

Asylum seekers and refugees

Finland took the first refugees after the World War II, from Chile, between 1973 and 1977. Finland has had a governmental annual refugee quota from 1986, when the annual amount was 100 refugees. In the 1990´s, the quota was between 500 and 700. In addition, there was an extra quota for refugees from the area of the former Yugoslavia. The quota has been filled in practice only in 1996. (Valtioneuvoston… 2002, työministeriö 2002.)

Under administrative statistics, refugees count as quota refugees, former asylum seekers whose asylum application has been approved, and people who have gained residence permit as a result of family reunification with someone belonging to the first two groups (ibid.).

In 1990, the number of asylum seekers rose remarkably because of the civil war in Somalia. At the same time, remigration on ethnic Ingrian Finns was launched (Valtioneuvoston… 2002). The number of asylum seekers peaked in 1990-1993, and again in 1999-2000, when some 2000 – 3000 new application for asylum were received.

In the early 90´s, the largest applicant groups were people from Somalia and the Balkan area. In 1999-2000, the largest applicant groups were from countries in the Eastern Central Europe, representing the Roma minority. Applications of the latter group were almost categorically rejected, on grounds of “a safe country of origin”. (Ulkomaalaisvirasto 2002.)

Table 2. Asylum applications and decisions in 1990-2001 (Työministeriö 2002)

Most new refugee statuses have been admitted in 1992-1993; some 6000 people received a refugee status during these two years. After 1993, the amount of new refugees has been between 1000 to 1500 annually. (Työministeriö 2002.) In addition, in the spring of 1999, some 1000 Albanians from Kosovo were received, on the grounds of “need for temporary protection”.

The largest refugee groups in 2002 were Somalis (3600 persons), Iraqis (3100), and Iranians (2100). In Table 4, one can also see the length of residence for each nationality.

Compared to other European countries, Finland has received small numbers of asylum seeker children  who come without a supporter or guardian. The proportion of all asylum seekers has been from two to twelve percent starting from 1991. Altogether, children seeking for asylum, who have arrived alone, are some 1260. (Mikkonen ym. 2002, 15.)

Table 3. Refugees received in Finland in 1973-2002, by continent (työministeriö 2002)

Table 4. Refugees received in Finland between 1991-2002, by country of origin, from the ten largest nationality groups.  Peak year for each nationality is emphasized. (Työministeriö 2002.)

Integration policy and practice

Asylum seekers stay in reception centres until their application is processed. Average time for the processing is around one year (Streng 2002). During the process, asylum seekers take part in preparatory training in the reception centres. Minors are also allowed to go to school.

Those who are in Finland based on a need for temporary protection, such as the Kosovo Albanians, take part in preparatory education that helps them to re-integrate in their home country. There also exists an accelerated processing (30 days) for applications that are “manifestly unfounded”. In this case, the deportation is executed within 8 days of the verdict. Clearly, during this time, there is no possibility to give much education or training.

Figure 2. Asylum procedure in Finland

ASYLUM PROCEDURE ACCORDING TO THE ALIEN’S ACT,  in force from 10TH JULY 2000. After asylum hearing, asylum application can be processed in five different processings, of which four are accelerated:
Accelerated procedures (4)				Normal procedure
Repeated application	Dublin-decision	Safe country  of origin	Manifestly unfounded application
No time limit	No time limit	Within seven days	No time limit	No time limit
Decision from the Directorate of Immigration		Decision from the Directorate of Immigration		Decision from the Directorate of Immigration
Deportation can be executed immediately after a negative verdict from the Directorate of Immigration, although it is possible to appeal to Administrative Court of Helsinki in 30 days of notification of the decision, unless Administrative Court of Helsinki interrupts the execution before deportation.		Right to appeal to the Administrative Court of Helsinki within 30 days of the verdict. Deportation can be executed in 8 days, unless the Administrative Court of Helsinki interrupts implementation of the verdict.		Right to appeal to Administrative Court of Helsinki within 30 days of the verdict. The appeal postpones implementation of the verdict.
Source: Pakolaisneuvonta (Refugee Advice Centre) 7.8.2000.

So far, Finland has not had a coherent governmental immigration policy. Refugee policy has been a separate issue from other immigrant policies. Integration of immigrants and refugees into Finnish society has been the administrative objective from 1980s. In the beginning of  the1990s, rapid growth in the numbers of immigrants, and the alarmingly high unemployment rate for foreign citizens (over 50 percent in 1994 for example) proved the existing administrative structures and practices insufficient.

In 1999, the Act on Integration of Immigrants and Reception of Asylum Seekers (Laki 493/1999, or Laki maahanmuuttajien kotouttamisesta ja turvapaikanhakijoiden vastaanotosta, often referred as “Kotouttamislaki”) took force. The purpose of the act is to set clear objectives to immigrant integration policy and create cross-sectoral administrative cooperation with clear areas of responsibilities.

The Act on Integration obliges the municipalities to create an Integration plan (Kotouttamisohjelma), which includes public services that advance societal integration of immigrants. Immigrants who have registered themselves as unemployed job seekers, or are applying for livelihood subsidy (toimeentulotuki), are entitled and obliged to take part in planning and realisation of a personal integration plan, which is constructed in the context of the Integration plan of the municipality where the person lives. The plan lasts for a maximum of three years. A person who takes part in such a plan is entitled to integration subsidy (kotouttamistuki), which is comparable with, or a bit higher than, normal livelihood subsidy. In the case of asylum seekers, a person receives a residence permit and after that is entitled to a personal integration plan.

The objective of the Act on Integration is to integrate immigrants into Finnish society and especially the labour market. Municipalities are responsible for coordinating the measures and services, but the responsibility mostly lies on the shoulders of the labour administration.

The implementation of the Act on Integration has been unclear to some extent, however it should be noted that the starting point was not an easy one. The administration was unprepared for a quick influx of foreign citizens, especially in the case of the education system and the labour administration.

Immigrants in Finland have faced certain obstacles in social integration in the 1990s. In a comparison by nationalities, there exists a polarisation in labour market status. Western immigrants are among those who are doing well, and typical refugee nationalities are in the worst position, when the situation is grasped by indicators such as unemployment rate, labour force participation rate, type of employment, wages, and labour market sectors (Forsander 2000, 2002). Explanatory factors are many; discrimination, mismatch of human capital, shortages in immigrant education, structural factors and so forth (ibid, Paananen 1999, Jaakkola 2000).

The Act on Integration has sought to improve the situation, but it is still quite new, and its affect on actual practices and measures is therefore still limited. The areas of responsibility between different administrative sectors are somewhat blurred by the Act, which has produced multiple problems in the supply of Finnish language education, for example. This most affects the groups that have the weakest resources to study and act in the labour market, namely many refugees.

Discrimination in employment, and especially in recruitment is a severe problem in Finland. According to a new victim survey (Jasinskaja-Lahti et. al. 2002, 87, N = 36 962), every second immigrant who has applied for a job, have experienced ethnic discrimination in recruitment. Somalis had the worst experiences; no less than 81 percent of them had experienced discrimination in recruitment in Finland. The recruitment practices has been proven to be discriminative and ethnocentric in several studies (Paananen 1999, Forsander & Alitolppa-Niitamo 2000, Pitkänen 1999, Koistinen 1997).

In spite of these problems, geographical (intra-urban) ethnic segregation does not seem to be a problem in Finland (Vaattovaara 1998), unlike many other Western countries with a longer history of immigration (see for example Wilson 1996). This is however probably due to the fact that the number of immigrants is so far quite small.

Table 5. Unemployment rate for selected nationalities, foreign citizens and the whole population from 1994 to 2000

Remigration of asylum seekers and refugees

Following a recent change in the Act on Integration (HE 25/2001), Finland seeks to ensure that all refugees may return to their home country at will, and receive economic support for their return. The subsidy is supplied by the municipality where the refugee lives. This remigration support is available for refugees who obtain a permanent residence permit, (status A) and those, whose residence is based on the need for temporary protection (status B) (työministeriö 200x).

Remigration support is given primarily to a refugee or asylum seeker, who returns to his or her country of origin. The conditions for the support include that remigration is free-willed, security of the return (based on UNHCR´s monthly evaluation of the situation in different countries), proper travelling documents, a specific home address in the country of return, and a clear judicial situation in Finland (no unfinished court cases).

Remigration support includes reasonable travel costs, moving costs, support for settlement in the target country, and an escort for a disabled (vajaakuntoinen) person. (ibid.) Based on consultation with the Secretary General of the Finnish Abilis organisation (which deals with disability issues), it seems to be unclear what the term “vajaakuntoinen”, developed by the Labour Administration, actually means.

A remigrant who receives return support, does not have to move back permanently, but can move back temporarily. In this case, his or her residence permit, based on refugee status in Finland, is still valid. The longest continuous period for living outside of Finland is two years in this case. After two years, permanent residence permit is no longer valid.

The authority responsible for supporting free-willing return migration is the Ministry of Labour. In practice, Regional Employment and Development centres (TE-keskus) and social workers in the municipalities help those who are planning to re-migrate.

According to statistics, the remigration of refugees and asylum seekers has been quite small in comparison with the overall amount of refugees in Finland. However, when writing this, we had no comparable information from other EU countries. Between 1983 and 2001, Finland received some 20 000 refugees, whereas at the same time, only 263 registered return migrations took place (see table 6).

Table 6. Return migration of refugees (persons, whó have received return migration subsidy). (Työministeriö 2002)

Bosnia-Hertsegovina, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and Chile form the top three nationalities to return. In addition, almost 70 percent, (710 people of the Kosovo Albanians who arrived in 1999), have returned to Kosovo.  (Työministeriö 2002, ja IOM:n pruju.) It should be noted however, that the statistics show only those remigrations, that have taken place via official or administrative channels. Deportations are also not present in these statistics.

2. Protagonists in the migration sector- implementation and execution

  Governmental bodies

Affairs dealing with refugees and integration measures are the responsibility of the labour administration and municipalities, as stated in Act on Integration and Reception of Asylum Seekers (kotouttamislaki) In practice however, the areas of responsibility are to some extent unclear.

The key players in governmental organizations concerning the immigrant issues are the Ministry of Labour, the Regional Employment and Economic Development Centres, the National Board of Education, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Interior and the Directorate of Immigration.

The Ministry of Labour

“In Migration Affairs the Ministry of Labour is primarily involved in the integration of immigrants, the reception of asylum seekers and refugees, the placement of refugees in the municipalities, work permit issues, the promotion of employment for immigrants, return migration, issues concerning expatriate Finns, as well as related information and publishing activities. The activities of the Advisory Board for Ethnic Relations are co-ordinated by the Political Division.” (http://www.mol.fi/migration/pateng.html)

The Regional Employment and Economic Development Centres

“The Employment and Economic Development Centre helps to sustain Business Activities in Finland. The Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Ministry of Labour have jointly combined their regional forces in the Employment and Economic Development Centres (T&E Centre). Fifteen centres countrywide provide a comprehensive range of advisory and development services for businesses, entrepreneurs, and private individuals.” The tasks of T&E Centres concerning the immigrant issues are to place refugees in municipalities, to offer guidance to reception centres for asylum seekers, to give guidance for integration work made by employment offices and municipalities, to arrange regional translation services and to compensate the expenses of municipalities that occur when they receive asylum seekers, refugees and remigrants. ( http://www.te-keskus.fi/web/ktmyht.nsf )

The National Board of Education

“The National Board of Education supplies development, evaluation and information services regarding education to owners and managers of schools, teachers, policy makers and working life. Three main areas of operation are development of education, evaluation of education and support services.”(http://www.oph.fi/english/frontpage.asp?path=447) The main tasks of National Board of Education concerning the immigrant issues are to develop the education for immigrants and offer guidelines to regional and local authorities on how to organize immigrant education on different levels.

The Ministry of Education

“The Ministry of Education has overall responsibility for education, science and cultural policies. The Ministry promotes education, science, culture, sports and youth work in the country and emphasises their significance for the citizens and society.” (http://www.minedu.fi/minedu/ministry/index.html)

The Ministry of the Interior

“The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for the overall development of regional administration, state local administration and population registers, provides the basic legal and financial preconditions for the country’s self-governing municipalities, promotes the equitable and independent development of different parts of the country, maintains public order and security, supervises rescues services, deals with matters concerning Finnish citizenship, immigration and asylum and is responsible for guarding the country’s borders and carrying out checks on persons.” (http://www.intermin.fi/intermin/home.nsf/pages/ 505501af64dde8eb00256a860055e28e? OpenDocument )

The Directorate of Immigration

“The Directorate of Immigration (UVI) is an agency of the Ministry of the Interior and began operations on March 1, 1995. The functions of the Directorate of Immigration are as follows: to process and resolve immigration and refugee matters, to process and resolve matters concerning Finnish citizenship, to provide information services for the authorities and international organizations and to maintain a register of aliens.” (http://www.uvi.fi/englanti/ulkovi.html)

The reception centres

There are 14 reception centres in different parts of Finland. The reception centres receive asylum seekers that arrive in Finland. It is their responsibility to provide all necessary facilities during the time the asylum seekers spend in reception centres. The time spent in reception centres depends on how long it takes the authorities to handle the asylum seeker’s application. Asylum seekers live in the centres, where they attend in working and training activities and help in the daily duties of the reception centres.

In practice, integrating measures for refugees and asylum seekers are carried out in cooperation between public employment service agencies and municipalities. The funding of the employment service agencies is decided in Regional Employment and Economic Development Centres, and this funding sets the conditions for the agencies to buy education services from private adult education partners, as well as to carry out various kinds of work training and employment support measures. Lately the labour administration has sought to improve cooperation by networking with private education partners, as well as with employers.

In sum, public employment service agencies are a kind of a link between immigrants’ and refugees’ educational needs, and the competence demands in the labour market. The challenge to the agencies is to provide flexible services both to immigrants and employers, and at the same time, to be a thoughtful costumer for the adult training institutes that produce the actual services.

NGO’s

The Refugee Advice Centre (Pakolaisneuvonta) is an association established by NGOs. It gives legal assistance and advice to asylum seekers, refugees and other foreigners. The staff is composed of lawyers, law advisors, press secretary, and office workers.  The Refugee Advice Centre has the responsibility in organizing legal assistance for refugees and asylum seekers. Besides legal assistance, the association acts to improve the situation of foreigners, especially asylum seekers and refugees, in Finland. The association is asked to give their opinion as an expert in issues concerning the preparation of legislation concerning foreigners. (http://www.pakolaisneuvonta.fi/)

The Finnish Refugee Council (Suomen Pakolaisapu) is an association formed with the objective to help refugees in Finland and abroad. The main tasks in Finland are awareness training, education, publicity and influencing the Finnish refugee policy. (http://www.pakolaisapu.fi/)

The Finnish Red Cross Organization (FRC) (Suomen Punainen Risti) works with immigrants in the field of integration, and promotes tolerance. FRC is receiving the quota number of refugees coming to Finland and is working to reunite refugee families. FRC also campaigns for improvements in immigrant and refugee policy. The FRC maintains two reception centres in Finland. The FRC the representative of the UNHCR on Finland in issues relating to protection of the law of refugees. (http://www.redcross.fi/)

The Centre for the Victims of Torture (Kidutettujen kuntoutuskeskus) operates under the Helsinki Deaconess Institute (Helsingin Diakonissalaitos). The main task is psychological work for the immigrants. The Centre for the Victims of Torture is a polyclinic, which evaluates, treats and rehabilitates refugees and their relatives who have been traumatized due to torturing in their home countries. The activities take place at national level, but the clinical work is done in the area of southern Finland. (http://www.hdl.fi/maahanmuuttajat/kidutettujen_kunt.htm)

The Crisis Prevention Centre (Ulkomaalaisten kriisikeskus) operates under the Finnish Mental Health society (Suomen Mielenterveyseura). The objectives are to promote the mental well-being of immigrants and help their integration into Finnish society. The basic task is to support the public mental health services and also supplement them. Other tasks of the centre include education, consultation, work counselling, client work, and acting as an expert. (http://www.mielenterveysseura.fi/mielenterveysseura/ukk.asp)

Immigrant’s Support in Finland (Maahanmuutajien tuki ry) is an independent support and course centre for immigrants and immigrant organizations. The objective of this association is to ensure immigrant organizations and associations are full members of society. The means for achieving this goal are counselling, guidance and training of immigrants and their organizations. (http://www.maahanmuuttajientuki.fi/)

In Finland, we have had an Ombudsman for Foreigners/Aliens (Ulkomaalaisvaltuutettu) since 1991. In September 2001, the Ombudsman for Ethnic Minorities (vähemmistövaltuutettu) replaced this institution. The tasks of the new Ombudsman have been broadened. A victim of discrimination can, for example, claim his/her case through the Ombudsman. However, the Ombudsman has no decision-making authority and his/her main tasks are to negotiate, advise, raise public discussions and produce surveys. As previously, the Ombudsman is independent but in organizational terms he is under the Ministry of Labour. (Streng 2002)

There are several cultural and friendship associations (for example, Finland-Bosnia association, Finland-Chile association, etc). These associations work to inform about the country and its culture to Finnish people and improve the relationship between Finnish people and immigrants. Within municipalities there are immigrant units. In many areas there are multicultural associations and meeting points for immigrants. In the capital, Helsinki, there is an International Cultural Centre Caisa.

International Organizations

“The Regional Office of IOM [International Organisation for Migration] in Helsinki supports the governments of the Baltic and Nordic States in meeting the operational challenges of migration management through:

• assistance to migrants on their way to new homes and lives,
• assisted voluntary return for irregular migrants, including counselling to individual asylum seekers     and refugees,
• training of officials and administrative capacity building for national institutions,
• aid to migrants in distress,
• research related to migration management and other services for migrants.” (http://www.iom.fi/mission/index.htm)

3. Programmes to promote return

Voluntary return programmes

The activities of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) are the most important  factor in the field of return programmes for refugees in Finland. IOM has had several voluntary return programmes for refugees, in cooperation with governmental bodies, reception centres, local police, and NGOs. The work of the IOM is project- oriented, but help individual returnees as well. In Finland,  IOM has organized the following voluntary return programmes:

1. DRITA II (Comprehensive Support Programme for the Return and Reintegration of Kosovo Albanians in Finland, 2000) and DRITA III (Return and Occupational Reintegration of Kosovo Albanian Refugees from Finland, 2001)
2. RAFIN III  (Information, Counselling, Return and Reinsertion Assistance for Asylum Seekers Currently Residing in Finland)
3. IOM-RQA (Return of Qualified Afghans Programme, 2002 - ongoing).
4. Assistance for the return and reintegration of unsuccessful asylum seekers from Finland (2000, on-going movement assistance only)

In addition to these IOM programmes, there are both completed and ongoing voluntary return programmes financed by European refugee Find (ERF) through the Ministry of Labour. This year there are two programmes:

“Somalia today”-project. Refugee children who have come to Finland unaccompanied  can visit their home country.

Novi Krov- A support project for Bosnians returning home from Finland in the house building-project.

DRITA projects

There have altogether been two DRITA-projects: DRITA II and DRITA III. The background for these projects was the fact that Finland evacuated 1,032 Kosovo Albanians from Kosovo via the Humanitarian Evacuation Programme (HEP). The first DRITA-project was created for the needs of these evacuees. When the situation in Kosovo became more positive and politically more stable, the Finnish authorities wanted the project to become more repatriation-oriented. During the project, more components were included in the project in addition to original objectives: emergency services provided by Finland. The added components were all repatriation-oriented, varying from mental support services to legal advice and even visit to Kosovo.

The situation of the Albanians was also monitored after repatriation. The DRITA II project created the background for future repatriation projects, and gave valuable information to authorities on how to arrange repatriation. The Finnish Ministry of Labour and the European Refugee Fund funded the DRITA II project. The project was implemented by IOM Regional Office in Helsinki and IOM Pristina.

DRITA III project

The DRITA III project took place during 2001, and utilized the information from the DRITA II project as a basis to create and implement the new project. More emphasis was put on the issue of social integration. When implementing the previous DRITA-project it, was realized that the largest problem the returnees faced was the lack of employment opportunities. The overall unemployment rate in Kosovo was very high (65 percent).

To help the reintegration and return of Kosovo Albanians, the objectives in the DRITA III project were to:

1. provide training
2. disseminate information
3. organize assisted return
4. support in social reintegration

The means to achieve these objectives were pre-departure training, which included business training and a training course for women in first aid and the psychosocial reciprocity peer-group support training. The business training was organized in cooperation with a Finnish training institution. The training included basic skills in business activities (for example, business management, accounting, English language). During the training, participants designed individual business plans and received counselling in career-development. The other two courses were organized in cooperation with the Finnish Red Cross. The First Aid course was implemented according to Red Cross practises. The aim of the psychosocial reciprocity peer-group support training was to guide women who had experienced crises to help others with similar experiences, by supporting them in psychosocial matters in support groups.

Another component of the DRITA project was special support provided for vulnerable groups. The target group of this component was disabled or seriously ill evacuees and their relatives. The objective was to prepare persons belonging to the target group for the return to their homeland. Information was disseminated in “Look and See” visits to disabled and seriously ill evacuees about the situation concerning rehabilitation, health care, and pharmaceutical situation in the area they are going to return.

IOM assisted the returnees on their way back home, taking care of the technical details concerning the return.

There was great concern for the socio-economic situation in Kosovo. IOM used the contacts it had established during the previous DRITA project cooperating with different partners in Kosovo. The returnees had the possibility to apply for grants for opening a micro-enterprise. The applicants had to make a business plan in Finland. Third of the grants were reserved for women.

There was also support for the social integration for returnees in Finland as in Kosovo. Social support in Finland consisted of counselling on return-related matters, and the reintegration possibilities. Special psychosocial counselling was also provided to a specified target group. The target group of this special support were twenty families. The objective of the psychosocial support was to create a family-specific five-year integration plan. Social support in Kosovo consisted of helping the social integration of the returnees. The means to do this has required mapping out the organizations that provide social support in Kosovo.

There was also a transnational workshop organized, concerning the voluntary return of refugees. The purpose was for the participants to exchange ideas and share information on issues dealing with the subject. The DRITA III project was evaluated, and the results of the project were published, while at the same time giving other actors from abroad the possibility to present their projects.

Within the DRITA III-project more emphasis was put on sustainable repatriation. The DRITA III-project has helped returnees by creating new jobs in Kosovo with the help of entrepreneur courses  in which the participants have made their own business plans, and receiving start-up grants and employment subsidies.

During the DRITA III project, a lot of material was published including a handbook, brochure, and video about voluntary return. Material dealing with DRITA IIIproject was also published (a brochure  and Internet website).

RAFIN III-project

The background of this project goes back to year 1997 when Ministry of the Interior and IOM Helsinki office signed a decision in principle, with the objective to develop in cooperation, a procedure concerning voluntary return of asylum seekers from Finland. As a result of this, IOM started a project dealing with the voluntary return of asylum seekers in 1999. During the pilot project, the IOM assisted 300 returnees. The project continued in the year 2000, and was financed by EU and the Government of Finnish . A trans-national voluntary return project complemented the Finnish project. The results and experiences from the earlier projects lead a way to RAFIN III project. 

The RAFIN III project was carried out during the year 2001. The target group of the project was 1000 asylum seekers residing in Finland at the time, who all received counselling and information concerning the voluntary return. Out of these 1000 asylum seekers 100 received return assistance and 80 received reinsertion assistance. The other part of the target group was 60 government officials and practitioners in Finland who received training on voluntary return procedures. The project was financed by European Refugee Fund and the Ministry of the Interior, local police, and reception centres.

The RAFIN IIIproject consisted of different components. The components included disseminating information and counselling for the beneficiaries; travel arrangements; activities upon return to facilitate the reintegration process; training on voluntary return procedures; sharing information; and passing on the results both the national and international level.

The objective of the RAFIN IIIproject was to provide asylum seekers (those currently residing in Finland and waiting a decision on their application), a possibility to voluntarily return to their country of origin. The project aims at making the return to the country of origin a stable and successful process, and making the return a more human and honourable process instead of deportation from Finland.

The project succeeded in informing asylum seekers on voluntary return possibilities and services the RAFIN IIIproject provides. The information was provided by workers of reception centres and material distributed to asylum seekers. As a result of the project 143 asylum seekers residing in Finland returned to their countries of origin voluntarily. IOM has assisted in the voluntary return of returnees. All of them have received counselling concerning voluntary return.

IOM has assisted returnees in return procedures and helped ten returnees in obtaining a travel document. There has been a follow-up of return of 20 persons or they have received guidance in the country of origin for helping the reintegration process.  A workshop concerning the voluntary return issues was organized and there 60 officials and experts working with return related questions were informed and acquainted with the procedures relating to voluntary return. 

IOM has evaluated the results of the RAFIN IIIproject and are pleased with the overall results. The knowledge of different cooperative partners increased and more interest was shown towards voluntary return. IOM noted that absolute requirement is that voluntary return would be defined in Finnish law. While preparing the new Aliens Act, the Ministry the Interior expressed its interest in including a section on voluntary return, but despite of the interest there is no mention on voluntary return in a draft of new Aliens Act. One feature concerning the follow-up in the country of origin was that few people showed interest in assistance or follow-up from IOM. An exception to this feature were asylum seekers that belong to Roma minorities in Central and Eastern European countries.

Return of Qualified Afghans from Finland Project

This project is part of the global Return of Qualified Afghans Programme. The overall objective of this programme is to give qualified Afghan nationals currently residing abroad the possibility to return to Afghanistan, and with the help of their skills, to benefit the reconstruction process of Afghanistan. As of 20 September 2002, over 6,000 qualifed Afghans residing outside Afghanistan have registered for the RQA skills database. The project takes into consideration the local conditions in Afghanistan and focuses on those particular socio-economic sectors of Afghanistan where existing human resource gaps cannot be covered through the local labor market and requiring a specific gender balance.

The RQA-project has just begun in Finland, in July 2002. The project receives funding from the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and it will last 18 months. The target group in Finland is 30 qualified Afghans residing in Finland, interested in contributing to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. As of 21 September 2002 two RQA candidates from Finland have returned to work in Afghanistan. IOM-RQA Office in Helsinki also continues outreach to Afghan communities in Finland by holding  information meetings during August in different parts of Finland so that as many Afghans residing in Finland, as possible would have the change to become acquainted with the programme, and its possibilities.

The aim is that these qualified Afghans returning to their home country would help its reconstruction by working in short or long-term professional placements in sectors vital to the reconstruction and development efforts in Afghanistan and to start-up small-scale business enterprises to aid the economic development of the coutnry.  In the Finnish part of the project, IOM provides the returnees a roundtrip ticket to Afghanistan. The returnees are financially subsidised. They are paid an integration allowance and a monthly salary by IOM. The purpose is that with the financial aid, the returnee can cover his or her basic expenses while in Afghanistan. The returnees are provided with necessary pre-departure training and special emphasis is put on the recruitment and training of women in several professional fields.

Finland will pilot a new concept to the project: a self-employment/business start-up component. It means that Finland will support the start-up of small businesses. The means to achieve this objective is providing training on design and implementation of business plans and work ethics. Those Afghans who have shown interest in starting their own business and have been selected for the programme, will receive travel, integration and small business grant support. The purpose is that with the financial aid, the selected Afghans can aid the growth of the economy and provide jobs for local people in Afghanistan.

The IOM will provide information for the returnee candidates of the Afghan community in Finland in Finnish, Swedish English, and Dari. The candidates will receive information on the situation and conditions in Afghanistan from a wide range of perspectives, and will also hear about the experiences of those Afghans who have already returned to Afghanistan through RQA programme. The information will be passed along in three different ways: in community meetings, through an information telephone hotline, and via a monthly newsletter. The participants of RQA from Finland project have to be Afghans residing in Finland, and have to have at least a Bachelor’s degree or  equivalent in any professional field. By 21 September 2002,  25 Afghans from Finland have applied for the RQA Programme. 

There is cooperation between IOM-RQA offices in Helsinki and Kabul. The Kabul office identifies the needs for human resources in different sectors and institutions. IOM also receives requests from different Afghan bodies for candidates for specific jobs. The IOM-RQA office in Helsinki is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the implementation of the IOM-RQA programme within the framework.

Assistance to the return and reintegration of unsuccessful asylum seekers from Finland-project

This project took place in the year 2000. The original target group was 100 unsuccessful asylum seekers. The purpose was to provide asylum seekers with counselling and information concerning voluntary and independent return, and provide them information concerning the possibility to receive assistance for the re-integration process in their country of origin. The project was funded by the European Refugee Fund and the Finnish Government. The cooperative partners of the project were the Ministry of the Interior, the Finnish Red Cross, reception centres, and the Refugee Advice Centre.

The Aliens Act was reformed July 2000. Before July, and during the spring and summer, many asylum seekers from Poland had arrived in Finland. The flow of asylum seekers led to the reforming of the Aliens Act. The reform introduced the accelerated procedure in asylum applications. The accelerated procedure is explained in detail later in the chapter on involuntary return. After the implementation of the new act, there was an enormous increase in the number of applicants wanting to return voluntarily. IOM also cooperated with the Polish Red Cross, because it does not have an office in Poland.

The project succeeded, and exceeded the objective of helping 100 asylum seekers, by helping 1063 unsuccessful asylum seekers. The IOM also succeeded in creating a positive atmosphere concerning voluntary return. Overall, the different cooperative partners were well informed on voluntary return, and the procedures dealing with voluntary return. The authorities also received counselling and training. 

Somalia today -project

The target group of this project is Somali children who live in Finland without either their biological parents or guardians. The project is supported by the European Refugee Fund. In Finland, the labour administration directs money from European Refugee Fund to specified projects concerning the reception of asylum seekers, the integration of refugees and voluntary return.

The objective of the Somalia today -project is to increase the children’s knowledge about their home country with the look and see visit to Somaliland. The purpose is to raise youth’s interest to invest in building their own life and planning their future. The project also aims at giving the children a realistic impression on the possibility of return.

Those who have been chosen to participate in this project and visit Somalia are given preparation and training. The connections to the parents or relatives living in Somalia are established during the training period.  The visit is organized in cooperation with the Finnish Embassy in Kenya and ECHO. The visit lasts at least two weeks, during which the most time will be spent in Somaliland. In Somaliland the children become acquainted to local conditions and clarify the possibilities to return.

Novi Krov -project

European Refugee Fund supports this project in the year 2002. The objective of the project is to make it possible for Bosnians living in Finland to return to their home country. The target group is Bosnians who want to return to Bosnia, but their house has been partially damaged or completely destroyed, and they do not have sufficient income to rebuild or renovate their house.

The project includes support measures for return, which take place in Finland, and rebuilding-project in Bosnia. The measures in Finland include providing information on voluntary return; providing guidance to the returnees on a rebuilding course; follow-up on the successions of the returns; paying the building expenses in such cases that the returnee do not have a possibility to build their house by themselves. Also legal advice or counselling is provided to the returnees by request.

( http://www.mol.fi/erf/hankkeet2002.html )

Involuntary return of asylum seekers

The asylum procedure in Finland

When an asylum seeker arrives at the Finnish border, he or she leaves an asylum application with the police or Frontier Guard. The asylum application is sent to the Directorate of Immigration to be handled. After the asylum seekers have left the application with authorities, they are usually transported to a reception center. There are 14 reception centres in various parts of Finland. Three of them are state-owned, nine are owned by municipalities, and the Finnish Red Cross owns two.

If the identity of an asylum seeker or the travel route is unclear, the asylum seeker is taken into detention. The detention time can last from several days to a number of months. Every two weeks the district court decides on the continuation of detention. In early March of the year 2002, an amendment to the Aliens Act concerning the section on detention was implemented. All asylum seekers who are kept in detention should be kept in detention units separate from criminals. Before the amendment took effect, it was common that the asylum seekers were kept in detention on same premises with criminals: in police cells and prisons. Now there is a temporary detention centre on the premises of an old prison in Helsinki. There will later be a new separate detention centre. The new amendment to the Aliens Act concerning the section on detention is an improvement compared to the former situation. While the asylum seeker is kept in detention, the police attempt to discover the identity and route of the asylum seeker.

The asylum seeker will be asked to participate in an interview. Ideally, this should happen within few days after the asylum seeker has arrived to country and left his or her application. Unfortunately, things do not always work this well in practice. Sometimes, it takes months before the asylum seeker is asked for an interview. At this moment, there are two authorities carrying out these interviews: the police and the Directorate of Immigration. The Directorate of Immigration has been carrying out interviews with asylum seekers since 2001. Before this only police carried out the asylum interviews. It is likely that in the future, the Directorate of Immigration will be the sole authority carrying out asylum interviews. The Directorate of Immigration makes the decisions on asylum application, based on the interview minutes.

If the decision is positive, the asylum seeker receives either refugee status or a residence permit, according to the need for protection. After a favorable decision, the authorities will provide a home within a municipality, and the integration into Finnish society begins. A negative decision on asylum application can be made using either the accelerated procedure or the normal procedure in asylum seeking. (http://www.pakolaisneuvonta.fi/menettely.html).

The normal procedure

The normal procedure on asylum applications means that it usually takes about one year or more to reach a decision on an application. The Directorate of Immigration makes the decision based on the asylum hearing. If the decision on an asylum application is negative the applicant has the right to appeal to the Helsinki Administrative Court within 30 days after the asylum seeker has been informed on the decision. The appeal postpones the execution of the decision.  

The accelerated procedure

The amendment of the Aliens Act in July 2000, introduced the accelerated procedure on asylum applications. There are four different kinds of ways to handle an application under the accelerated procedure. If an asylum seeker fills out a completely new asylum application after receiving a negative decision on his or her first application, the accelerated procedure follows.

After the asylum hearing, there is no specific time within which the Directorate of Immigration (DI) has to make a decision concerning the application. If the decision which the DI makes is negative, it means that the asylum seeker must be turned back immediately after he or she has received the decision. The asylum seeker has, however, the right to appeal to the Helsinki Administrative Court within 30 days after he or she has been informed about the decision, but the decision can be enforced immediately if the court does not stop the execution of the decision.

The accelerated procedure used the same way as in previous case deals with applications under the Dublin agreement. This means cases where the asylum seeker has already left an asylum application in some other Schengen country, or has entered Finland via Schengen country. After the asylum hearing, the Directorate of Immigration makes the decision, which, if negative, is executable immediately after the asylum seeker has been informed about the decision. The right to appeal to the Helsinki Administrative Court is the same as in the case of reapplication.

The accelerated procedure is also used if the applicant comes from so called “safe country of origin”, or if the asylum application can be assumed to be made on a “manifestly unfounded” basis. If the asylum seeker comes from safe country of origin, the DI must make the decision on his or her application within seven days after the asylum hearing. If the decision is negative, the asylum seeker has the right to appeal to the Helsinki Administrative Court within 30 days from the moment the asylum seeker has been informed about the decision. The negative decision on an application is executable within eight days after the applicant has received the decision, if the court does not stop the execution.

When an asylum application can be assumed to be “manifestly unfounded”, the Directorate of Immigration has no time limit within which to make a decision about the application after the asylum hearing. If the decision on an application is negative, the right to appeal to the Helsinki Administrative Court is the same as in the case where the applicant comes from a safe country of origin. The appeal has to be made within 30 days after receiving the negative decision and it can be enforced within eight days. (Pakolaisneuvonta, brochure, 2000)

For those asylum seekers who have received a negative asylum decision, IOM tries to offer another possibility who will be deported from Finland. IOM tries to make the way back home a more human and dignified, because under the normal procedure, when asylum seeker is deported he or she is transported from Finland escorted by police officers back to the country of origin. IOM can inform the unsuccessful asylum seekers of the possibility of returning voluntarily of the country of origin with the assistance of the IOM.

Involuntary return

When an asylum seeker receives a negative decision on their application, he or she is deported from Finland unless the asylum application has been handled under the normal procedure, and the asylum seeker appeals the decision. The appeal stops the execution of a negative decision.

4. Projects affecting the countries of return

Finnish development cooperation policy

Remigration projects which have affect on the countries of departure, are usually carried out in cooperation with the Department of Development Cooperation Policy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The objectives and motives of the Finnish development cooperation policy have been outlined in the decision in principle of the government, following the general development cooperation strategy of OECD 1996.

The objective of the Finnish development cooperation policy is to support local empowerment by creating favourable circumstances and preconditions for the actions and functioning of local NGOs and private companies, as well as for the self-help of individuals.

Development cooperation policy is engaged, for example as bilateral cooperation between states, or through international organisations such as UNHCR, and development funds in cooperation with Finnish NGOs. Often, it seems that these different forms are used together.

The Finnish development cooperation funding does not reach the standard set by the United Nations, which would be 0,7 percent of GNP. With its 0,31 GNP percentage, Finland is behind the European Union average, level with Ireland, and having only Italy and Greece behind.

In the next chapters, several projects affecting the countries of departure are quickly reviewed. Most of the projects themselves have already been introduced in chapter three. Not all projects presented here necessarily link directly to remigration projects; some are cooperation development programmes, affecting the same areas where the remigration projects are targeted at.

Example projects affecting the countries of return

Before moving on to country-specific projects, it is helpful to review the RAFIN 3 project, which was presented in chapter three. It aimed to improve the reintegration of migrants by monitoring the process in the country of return, via locally operated governmental and non-governmental organisations. The aim was to provide the migrants with consultation, advice on the possibilities of, and alternatives for remigration, and to surround them with organisational and social networks in the country of return. The general point of the project is to give the remigrants a humane alternative of remigration, in cases, where their asylum applications have been turned down and they would otherwise be deported in a more authoritarian way. The procedure which was used in RAFIN 3 has also been in use also after the project ended in December 2001.

Afghanistan

The Return of Qualified Afghans (RQA) project was presented in Chapter 3.

Other projects in Afghanistan in which Finland is involved, for example include minesweeping, a financial contribution of some 850 000 euros (in a UNHCR project targeted at children in Afghanistan), and a contribution of some 150 000 euros in the United Nations´ OCHA unit’s project for coordinating humanitarian aid in Afghanistan.

Kirkon ulkomaanapu (Church´s Foreign Aid, KUA) has cooperated in projects in Afghanistan with KUAs from other countries, by sending food, winter clothes, tents, and blankets to Afghanistan. The Finnish KUA has made a contribution of 350 000 euros. The funding has been collected from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Congregation of Espoo, and private donors.

The Finnish Red Cross has directed financial aid, partly from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Afghanistan since 1987. The FRC has also been active during the latest crises situation, by cooperating with local Red Cross organisations, as well as by sending financial aid and aid workers to the locations in Afghanistan.

Bosnia-Hertsegovina

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has five continuing or recently established projects in Bosnia.

Between 1999 and 2000, a project for developing a social security and social service system for the deprived, (such as elderly people, the disabled, and remigrants), was established. The project was carried out by a local NGO, the Independent Bureau for Humanitarian Issues, or IBHI. This project was followed up by an on-going project, which started in 2001 and will end in 2003. The budget for the second phase is just over 2 million euros; Finland is responsible for 1,26 million euros.

Between 1999 and 2001, there was a project which sought to improve the working conditions of local advise centres for refugees, by supplying office equipment, such as telephones, and providing consultation, training and guidance to the employees in these centers. The project was carried out via two other remigration projects.

The Finnish Constructor batalion of the international SFOR peace keeping force in Bosnia has had several small projects, in which the basic infrastructure was repaired and rebuilt, in order to support remigration and employment in the area. The Finnish CIMIC company of SFOR forces has been acting as a link between local authorities, peace keeping forces and international aid organisations in Bosnia.

Between 2000 and 2003, Finland is taking part in a project, which develops the educational sector in Bosnia. The objective is to raise the professional competence of the Bosnian education sector to meet the European norms. The whole project has a budget of 12 million euros. The Finnish contribution is 2,02 million euros, and is carried out in cooperation with the University of Sarajevo, and a Finnish university (which one was not specifically mentioned in the document used.)

A project to improve the equality of men and women in Bosnia is taking place between 2001 and 2004. It was proceeded by a pilot project between 1999 and 2000. It is carried out in Bosnia by IBHI. The aim is to raise women’s rights as a part of civil and human rights in Bosnia, and create gender-wise equal administrative structures as well as those in the civil society, to the target municipalities. The authorities responsible are the Foreign Ministries of Finland and Bosnia-Hertsegovina. The budget for this project is 1,51 million euros, and the contribution of Finland is approximately 1 million euros.

In 2002, the Suomi-Bosnia-Hertsegovina Association received funding from the European Refugee Fund ERF (via the Finnish Ministry of Labour), for a support project of a house-building project in Bosnia. The objective is to help those who would be willing to move back, but whose houses have been severely damaged or destroyed.  The support project contains planning, information, and coordination for those who are thinking of returning to Bosnia, where their home was prior to the war. The activities of the project take place in Finland.

Kosovo

Up to the present, Kosovo has been the main region of remigration from Finland, following the temporary refugees status of Kosovo Albanians (see chapter one). Due to the large numbers of remigrants to Kosovo, the remigration process has been more coherent and exhaustive than in the case of Bosnia for example.

The Ministry of Labour and the IOM office in Helsinki carried out DRITA 2 and DRITA 3 projects in 2000 and 2001 (see chapter 3). In the part carried out in Kosovo, the employment and social integration of remigrants, and the mapping of the possibility of return for special groups, were in focus.

Finnish Refugee Aid organization (Suomen pakolaisapu) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have, in cooperation with a Finnish NGO, Devaid r.y., engaged an education and acitivity center for women in Kosovo. First, women groups from Kosovo were searched for, and an NGO called Mundesia was founded. This organisation did the actual set-up work for the center. The center has provided computer training, as well as a discussion group, which has 600 women participating since it started.

The Finnish Refugee Aid has also founded a handiwork shop Zgijm in Mitrovica with a local organisation for the disabled, Handikos. The project started in 1999, and by July 2000 the shop was popular enough to be left to the management of  Handikos as a for-profit enterprise. (ibid.)

In addition, Finland has been taking part in theWater and Sanitation Institution Building project in Kosovo, or (WASIB project), which aims to improve the expertise of local professionals and students. The partners in Kosovo were the local association of water and sanitation sector SHUKOS and the University of Pristina, whereas the Finnish partners were a private company in water business, Kemwater Oy, and Finnish experts. (.)

Somalia

The situation of Somalia is quite different in comparison with countries in the Balkan area. In Bosnia and Kosovo, the factor that caused people to flee, the civil war, has ended, whereas in Somalia, the power vacuum which was left after the displacement of the former dictator Siad Barre, still exists, and has not been replaced by a sovereign state, which creates great economic, political, and social uncertainty in the country.

The Government of Finland does not have bilateral development cooperation with Somalia, or any remigration projects .  Possible returns have taken place outside the official channels.

Finland has taken part in a UNICEF project, as well as in a World Food Project in Somalia. The Ministry of Labour has admitted 25 000 ERF-euros for the Save the Children (Pelastakaa lapset) organisation for a project which arranges a trip to Somaliland for Somali children.

The Roma from Eastern Central Europe

Between 1999 and 2001, almost 4000 citizens belonging to the Roma minority, from countries in Eastern Central Europe, applied for asylum in Finland. The largest applicant groups arrived in 1999 and 2000 from Poland and Slovakia.

The applications of the Roma people were taken through the accelerated procedure, the Directorate for Immigration appealing to the definition of “a safe country of origin”. In June 2002, a new group of Roma people, this time from Romania, applied for asylum. The whole group has already been deported. Usually the Directorate for Immigration has executed the deportations in cooperation with IOM, but this time they used their own charter plane without informing the IOM.

For example in the case of the Roma from Poland, the IOM office in Helsinki assisted their return and grounds for reintegration by getting in touch with local authorities. The IOM was also trying to develop networking and coordination between NGOs and authorities in Poland, in order to ease the reintegration of the fled Roma. In the case of the Roma from Romania, this was not possible. It remains to be seen if the accelerated processing of asylum applications will be linked with this kind of management in the future.

Other

According to our findings, besides one environmental project in Yugoslavia, between 2002 and 2004, Finland has taken part in neither development cooperation, nor remigration programmes in countries from  which Finland has received the largest numbers of refugees so far. The Finnish Red Cross is currently directing financial aid to the Red Cross of Yugoslavia. The funding is used for health care programmes for the elderly and the disabled.

Summary on chapter four

The development cooperation department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a central role in the remigration and development cooperation projects arranged by Finnish organisations. The most central NGO actor during the last years has been International Organisation for Migration, and its Scandinavian & Baltic Office in Helsinki. In addition, IOM has, in cooperation with the authorities, executed the unavoidable deportations in a more humane way. However, deportation is still always a coersive measure.

The motives for remigration projects and development cooperation that affect the countries of return, are mostly determined by the Finnish development cooperation policy, which very much stresses the empowerment of local actors as an objective. Therefore many of the projects have focused on mapping the field of local actors, and on developing cooperation and networking between them, as well as supporting them in various ways. From the perspective of migrants, the question concerns:

• building and maintaining a functioning and safe physical infrastructure (such as water, plumming, minesweeping)
• supporting the conditions and networking of local social support organisations (existing local NGOs, new NGOs, cooperation between authorities and NGOs)
• supporting educational infrastructure (professional skills of education staff)
• the conditions for employment (support for new small enterprises).

The planning of projects which affect the countries of return, is often carried out in cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, authorities in the country of return, and NGOs from Finland, as well as from the country of return. As a truly trans-national organisation, IOM has been able to use its existing international network of local offices, using them as central points for networking in the country of return. The Red Cross has also a similar kind of structure, and it is able to efficiently use its´ international network in carrying out its aid programmes.

The projects have often received funding from the Finnish development cooperation budget, and/or from European Union or European Refugee Fund. In many projects, mostly in Bosnia, Finland has been one of several participating foreign country.

The contact with enterprises in the projects have been self-made, meaning that in order to support the employment of remigrants, they have been given small grants for starting up businesses. A good example is the Zgijm handiwork store in Mitrovica, Bosnia. In one project, a Finnish company offered its expertise in water and sanitation education in Bosnia.

According to our interview in the IOM office in Helsinki, in the case of individual remigrants there is no follow-up system or practice whatsoever. For these reasons, we can not present much helpful information on the possible obstacles or failures which occurred in the remigration processes. However, in chapter five we introduce some positive preconditions for successful return migration.

5. Good Practices

The IOM Helsinki office gave us the following examples of good practices:

• Employing the return migrant in the country of return. This is important in terms of re-integration.
• Preparatory measures. The building of projects is made easier when the numbers and needs of returnees has been surveyed.
• Cooperation between IOM-Helsinki and the local IOM office in the country or area of return. Finding an NGO partner in the country of return is important as well.
• Creating networks around the return migrant, consisting of different kinds of organisations.
• Temporary return migration, which seeks to advance the re-building process such as the Return of Qualified Afghans. In Africa, a new project is starting, which takes a step further: it engages the potential of highly educated refugees without physical return migration.

In the DRITA-project, several recommendations or good practices were found (based on Keskinen 1999). Firstly, refugees who are planning to re-migrate should receive proper information concerning the conditions in the country of return, from several different sources. Secondly, those who returned to Kosovo were very interested in the life and conditions of those who still were in Finland. Refugees form transnational communities, which makes it important to support the flow of information both ways, from the country of return to the refugee host country (Finland in this case), and vice versa. This supports the social, psychological, and even economical well-being and life management of both those in the country of return, and those in the host country.

6. Recommendations for national and European refugee return migration policies

Firstly, we would like to present our concern on the situation of the asylum seekers, whose applications are processed in the accelerated procedure. Please pay attention to this chapter, since it questions the current European return migration policies, and comes up with a new kind of an approach.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published it´s latest report on Finland on the 23^rd of July 2002. It mentioned two special concerns, of which the one that is relevant here, concerned the asylum application system. Report of ECRI (2002) speaks for itself (boldings and italics added):

• “From June 1999 onwards Finland received a number asylum applications from persons of Roma origin, mainly of Slovak but also of Czech and Polish nationality. […] The arrival of the Roma asylum seekers provoked a wave of negative media coverage and also a political discussion which led to the amendment of the Aliens' Act in July 2000 and the introduction of a new "accelerated procedure". This procedure […] provides that an asylum seeker whose application is considered manifestly unfounded, or who is deemed to come from a safe country of origin or of asylum, can be removed from the country 8 days after he or she has received the negative decision of the Directorate of Immigration. There is a right of appeal within 30 days of the negative decision, but this appeal does not have suspensive effect. Thus, […] under the new system, unless the Administrative Court has issued a stay of deportation, upon the request of the asylum seeker, within the 8 day limit, that person may be removed from the country while his or her appeal is still pending before the Administrative Court.
• […] ECRI notes that serious concerns have been voiced as to whether the Aliens Act as amended is in compliance with the requirements of an effective remedy as required by Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Moreover, concerns have been expressed that the safe country of origin concept has in practice led to "group decisions" being taken on asylum applications rather than individual decisions based on the specific circumstances and experiences of each asylum seeker. […] It has also been commented that four out of five asylum applications are now submitted to the accelerated procedure, and that the more complicated procedures for the various forms of accelerated procedure and the shorter time limits may hinder asylum seekers from accessing sufficient legal assistance. Generally, it has been commented that the new system represents a weakening of the rights and position of asylum seekers in Finland.
• […] As regards the amendments as such, ECRI stresses the need to ensure that the right of asylum seekers to lodge an appeal against a negative decision on their application before removal from the country, and to remain in the country pending the outcome of the appeal, should be respected in both legislation and practice. Furthermore, ECRI stresses […] the principle that each asylum application should be judged on an individual basis and not on the basis of assumptions about the situation of groups of persons in a given country. This is particularly pertinent in relation to the situation of Roma/Gypsies, given the well-documented cases of racism and violence suffered by members of the Roma/Gypsy community in a number of European countries.

The fact that the deportation of the Roma asylum seekers from Romania was suddenly executed in the summer of 2002, without any consultation with NGOs, is not a positive development from a human rights point of view. In short, the asylum seekers, whose applications have been turned down in the accelerated procedure, should not be deported without undergoing a normal consultation process with specialized NGO’s.

(Common European) rules should be negotiated on proper conduct in these situations, and what rights asylum seekers have. The interests of the administration may, in this case, contrast with the interests of the individuals seeking asylum. In addition, these types of situations would be helpful in supporting the integration of the Roma in their home countries, which would also follow the policy of the government in Finland.

At least some of the future Roma asylum seekers coming from “safe” countries of origin could be engaged in some way to advance the integration of the Roma in their home countries. Basically, the question concerns empowerment through their own resources, just as it is done in the case of Bosnian return migrants (support for new enterprises, networking between local NGOs and authorities, etc.). Sending these people back immediately in charter planes, without any social re-integration support, neither improves the situation, nor does it follow the outspoken public policy of the Finnish government. The potential of these key persons in Roma communities must be realized.

At present, the return migration of refugees and asylum seekers from Finland is often organised in cooperation with municipalities, reception centers, and IOM Helsinki. In the municipalities, the responsible officers are social workers, who are not specialized. The action is based mostly on limited projects and on a group level. The special measures developed and used in projects are not available for individual returnees.

Based on such a policy, it would be possible to produce multiple and individual return migration processes, which would support, as much as possible, re-integration in the country of return. A national policy would give solid ground for building a “return migration set”, which would offer effective tools for building these individual return programmes. In addition, it would strengthen and stabilize cooperation between different partners, such as between the Ulkomaalaisten kriisikeskus, the IOM, and Finnish authorities.

This policy may be lacking because return migration from Finland has so far been very rare. However, if these things would clearly be stated and financed, it would be possible to construct a comprehensive, individual system, and via networking, a new, mores specialized division of labour. The latter would mean in practice, that the work now done by social workers in municipalities would be externalized to specialized bodies such as the International Organisation for Migration, and Ulkomaalaisten kriisikeskus. In this situation, the individual background, education and other individual factors could be better taken into consideration.

The problematic limits of the concept “return migration”: Suggestion for a theme to be discussed in Bonn meeting

Last, we would like to stress the importance to state clearly, what is ment by return migration, and what is the position of the asylum seekers, who yet have not received a residence permit. The crucuial question here is, does the responsibility of the host countries reach these people, and should their return therefore be assisted.Moreover, the question is not only about responsibility, but also about more comprehensive administration of migration patterns. According to Christer Svan´s speech in the Swedish workshop in September, this issue has already been a subject of discussion inside the Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket).

This issue was however more or less ignored in the Swedish workshop. We strongly feel that this is one of the themes that should be discussed in the meeting in Bonn in November.

Sources

This bibliography should not be considered as an exhaustive list of all sources of information used during the preparation of the report.

ECRI - European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (2002) Second report on Finland. http://www.coe.int/t/E/human_rights/ecri/1-ECRI/2-Country-by- country_approach/Finland/Finland_CBC_2.asp#TopOfPage (30.9.2002).

Forsander, Annika (2000) Immigrants in the Finnish Labour Market – Is There Ethnic Segmentation? In Elli Heikkilä (ed.) Muuttoliikkeet vuosisadan vaihtuessa – halutaanko niitä ohjata? Siirtolaistutkimuksia A 24. Turku: Siirtolaisinstituutti, 240 – 266. [Publication of the Institute for Migration, Turku]

Forsander, Annika (2002) Luottamuksen ehdot. Maahanmuuttajat 1990-luvun suomalaisilla työmarkkinoilla. Väitöskirjan käsikirjoitus. Moniste. [Conditions for Trust. Immigrants in the Finnish Labour Market of the 1990´s. Script to a doctoral thesis, brochure.]

Forsander, Annika & Alitolppa-Niitamo, Anne (2000) Maahanmuuttajat ja työhallinto – keitä, miten ja minne? Työhallinnon julkaisu 242. Helsinki: työministeriö. [Immigrants and the labour administration – who, how and where? Labour administration´s publications 242. Helsinki: Ministry of Labour.]

Valtioneuvoston selonteko 5/2002 (2002) Valtioneuvoston selonteko kotouttamislain toimeenpanosta. [Government´s evaluation of the implementation of the Act on Integration.]

HE 25/2001 Valtioneuvoston esitys kotouttamislain muutokseksi. [Government´s proposal for reforming the Act on Integration.]

IOM Helsinki (no date) IOM-helsinki promotes return to Kosovo through employment initiatives. Press release.

IOM Helsinki (no date) Suomeen tulleiden turvapaikanhakijoiden vapaaehtoisen paluun avustaminen ja uudelleen asettumisen edistäminen. Tiedonta, neuvonta ja paluujärjestelyt (RAFIN III). Moniste. [Information sheet of RAFIN III.]

IOM Helsinki (2002) Return of Qualified Afghans from Finland. Capacity-building for reconstruction in Afghanistan. A brochure.

IOM-RQA Helsinki (2002) RQA Finland News. August 2002.

Jasinskaja-Lahti, Inga & Karmela Liebkind & Tiina Vesala (2002) Rasismi Suomessa. maahanmuuttajien kokemuksia. Helsinki: Gaudeamus. [Racism in Finland. Experiences of Immigrants.]

Keskinen, Sinikka (1999) Final report of the DRITA-projects. Helsinki: Ministry of Labour.

Koistinen, Leena (1997) Polkuja perille. Turun seudun työvoimapalvelut ja maahanmuuttajien työllistyminen 1994-1996. Työhallinnon julkaisu 175. Helsinki: työministeriö. [Employment office services and employment of immigrants in the Turku area in 1994-1996. Labour administration´s publications 175.]

Laki 493/1999 Laki maahanmuuttajien kotouttamisesta ja turvapaikanhakijoiden vastaanotosta. [Act on Integration of immigrants and reception of asylum seekers.]

Mikkonen, Anna et. al. (2002) Yksin Suomessa. [Alone in Finland; missing information about publication details]

Paananen, Seppo (1999) Suomalaisuuden armoilla. Ulkomaalaisten työnhakijoiden luokittelu. Tilastokeskuksen tutkimuksia 228. Helsinki: Tilastokeskus. [At the mercy of Finnishness. Classification of foreiggn recruits. Helsinki: Statistics Finland.]

Pakolaisneuvonta (2000) Turvapaikkamenettely Suomessa. Moniste. [Asylum procedure in Finland. A brochure.]

Pitkänen, Maarit (1999) Matkalla menestykseen? Maahanmuuttajien työ- ja koulutusprojektin loppuraportti. Helsinki: työministeriö. [Towards success? Final report of the employment and education project for immigrants.]

Sisäasiainministeriö (2001) Ulkomaalaislakityöryhmän mietintö. Sisäasiainministeriö julkaisu 12/2001. [Memorandum of the Aliens’ Act working group.  Ministry of the Interior.]

Streng, Joonia (2002) Rasismi Suomessa 2001. Rasistiset ilmiöt, lainsäädäntö ja etnisten vähemmistöjen asema. Tutkimusraportti. Helsinki: Ihmisoikeusliitto. [Racism in Finland 2001, research report. Helsinki: The Finnish League for Human Rights.