The Government of Finland has suspended the deportation of rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan until the security situation in their country is normalized.
This is said in a statement on the website of the Finnish Interior Ministry.
“Finnish authorities are closely monitoring the security situation in Afghanistan. In July, Finland was one of the first to act on this and in practice suspended the return to Afghanistan,” said Interior Minister Maria Ohio.
It is also noted that the Finnish Immigration Service will continue to accept applications for migrants, and new information about the situation in the country will be taken into account when assessing asylum conditions.
“No one can be returned to an area where he or she would be subjected to the death penalty, torture, persecution, or other inhuman or degrading treatment,” the statement said.
The government decided last week that Finland could accept 170 people from Afghanistan. This quota includes Afghans and their families who worked for the authorities.
As a reminder, six EU member states last week warned the European Commission not to stop deporting rejected Afghan asylum seekers arriving in Europe despite the Taliban offensive. Since then, three of the six — Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands — have changed their position.
