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Summary: A compilation of extracts featuring child-rights issues from the reports submitted to the second Universal Periodic Review. There are extracts from the 'National Report', the 'Compilation of UN Information' and the 'Summary of Stakeholders' Information'. Also included is the list of accepted and rejected recommendations. Finland – 2nd Session - 2012 Scroll to: Summary of Stakeholders' Information Accepted and Rejected Recommendations 14. The Report finds that international human rights policy must focus especially on the rights of women, children, persons with disabilities, members of sexual and gender minorities, and indigenous peoples. Special attention will be attached to the status of Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, and to recognising discrimination on multiple grounds. The rights of persons and groups in vulnerable situations, designated as the focus of Finland, will be promoted in a pervasive manner with respect to various human rights issues. 21. The Government aims to strengthen governmental coordination of issues concerning children, young adults and families, and to increase child impact assessments in all policymaking. It has engaged in long-term work to enhance implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, especially through improved implementation of recommendations made to Finland by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. A project is developing a mechanism for monitoring this implementation. The rights of the child are a cross-cutting theme in Finnish human rights policy and development policy. 34. The objective of the Action Plan to combat long-term homelessness is to eradicate long-term homelessness by 2015 and to enhance measures for preventing it. The focus is on securing housing for young persons, persons in psychiatric or substance abuse rehabilitation, and prisoners who are homeless on release. The Action Plan is based on the “housing first” principle, where housing is secured by an individual rental agreement and other support is tailored individually according to the resident’s needs. The Action Plan will be implemented through broader international cooperation, mostly at EU level. A 2010 peer review report (www.peer-review-social-inclusion.eu) found Finland to be one of the leading countries in adopting programmes to secure housing for the homeless . 42. Government integration policy specifically focuses on ways of improving the employment rate of immigrants, promoting integration training and improving the status of immigrants in vulnerable situations (young persons, women, asylum-seekers). 44. A Government bill to approve the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and for an Act implementing provisions falling within the scope of legislation (bill 141/2011) was submitted to Parliament in December 2011 and is currently under consideration. 47. Finland signed the new Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure on 28 February 2012. 83. Measures to reduce domestic violence and violence in close relationships also have a direct impact on combating domestic violence against children. An expert group analysing violence against children and sexual abuse of children has compiled information on domestic violence against children. In its 2009 report the working group analysed how sexual abuse of children should be studied in a coordinated way in partnership with various authorities. 84. An expert working group appointed by the National Institute for Health and Welfare is analysing violence against children and sexual abuse of children. The mission of the working group is to formulate guidelines regarding the quality of studies related to violence against children and sexual abuse of children, and to monitor and improve these studies. 85. In its national Internal Security Programme for 2008–2011 the Government sought to develop a “Children’s Affairs House” to provide comprehensive assistance to children and young adults falling victim to sexual and physical violence. 86. Corporal punishment of children was banned in Finland in 1984. A joint study, Participation Rights of Children 2009 to 2010, carried out in the Nordic countries by UNICEF Finland, asked children about human rights and their views on the use of disciplinary violence. The study found that 30 % of secondary school children in Finland approve of the use of disciplinary violence. 87. The National Action Plan against Disciplinary Violence covers the years 2010 to 2015 and seeks to halve the physical disciplinary violence experienced by children in all population groups by the year 2012. The Action Plan contains 16 proposals on measures emphasising support for parents. 88. The objective of the Action Plan is to strengthen the dignity of the child and to increase mutual respect of parents to prevent disciplinary violence. The Action Plan seeks to continue and accelerate the positive developments of the last two decades in Finland with a view to consistently reinforcing negative attitudes towards disciplinary violence among both children and adults, and steadily reducing the disciplinary violence suffered by children. A further objective is to reduce disparities between various regions and population groups with respect to both the prevalence of disciplinary violence and attitudes towards it. The Action Plan also seeks to regularize follow-up studies on disciplinary violence. 89. Data on domestic violence against children can be extracted from the police information system. The Police College has issued the following publications: “Violence against children and young adults that has come to the attention of the police” (2008) and “Sexual abuse of children in reported offences” (2009). 90. Finland has been involved in work to combat violence against children initiated by the UN (UN Violence Study), and has also been active in Council of Europe campaigns to combat disciplinary violence against children. 91. Finland supports in particular the work of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, with a view to criminalising and preventing all forms of violence against children globally. 104. A project to review provisions governing the detention of foreigners was launched at the end of 2011. Its objectives include a ban on the detention of unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers. The project will also analyse alternatives to detention and improvements in detention statistics. 105. The Ombudsman for Minorities has identified the detention of asylum-seekers as particularly problematic in cases involving single-mother families or other families with children, and has stressed the need for precise regulations in this field. 106. Non-governmental organisations have also called attention to the situation of unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers in cases of family reunification. Under current legislation, the age of the child is defined according to the time when the decision is issued. A residence permit may not be denied for this reason, however, if processing of the application has been significantly delayed for reasons that are not due to the applicant or sponsor, and this person has assisted in determining the facts of the case. Non- governmental organisations have also called for the best interests of a young asylum-seeker to enjoy paramount consideration, even if the applicant has attained the age of 18 years. 132. Finland’s success is largely explained by the school system (uniform comprehensive school for the entire age group), the professionalism of teachers and the autonomy of schools. Nearly three quarters of persons aged between 25 and 64 years have earned at least a secondary level diploma, i.e. by completing the Finnish Matriculation Examination or a vocational diploma, and one third have been in higher education. Only the core curricula are nationally prepared. The decentralised education system is based on locally formulated and implemented curricula that can respond to the individual needs of school students. High quality special needs education and a principle of early intervention ensure that no student is ever “abandoned”. 142. In December 2011 the Government adopted a Child and Youth Policy Programme for 2012–2015. This will help to realise the objectives imposed in the Government Programme for reducing poverty, inequality and exclusion. Every four years the Government adopts a Young Adult Policy Programme under the Youth Act (72/2006) with a view to improving the growth and living conditions of persons under 29 years of age. Policy on children and young adults will focus in coming years on strengthening participation, equality and everyday life management among children and young adults. Ensuring that children and young adults are heard is a top priority. Child and young adult impact assessment must be more comprehensively integrated into policymaking. 143. In addition to national measures, Finland also works to address child poverty internationally by such means as including the rights of the child and the principle of the best interests of the child in poverty-reduction strategies, budget support and other development policy and development cooperation programmes, both nationally and at European Union level. A 2011 study on child poverty as a challenge for foreign policy gives the Government new tools for addressing child poverty. 153. Human rights education covers all sectors of society, i.e. both pre-school and school education, and the need to ensure the human rights skills of various professional groups including not only education and training staff, but also police, border guards, the judiciary, and officials in central and local government. The general situation is reasonable with respect to fundamental and human rights education for staff in the public sector, but room for improvement remains in the standard of knowledge of human rights and fundamental rights. 158. Finland’s new Development Policy Programme emphasises respect for and implementation of human rights, democracy and responsibility. The starting point is a human rights-based approach to development. Particular emphasis is given to the rights of women, children, ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities and indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons with HIV/AIDS, and sexual and gender minorities. 3. CEDAW and CRC encouraged the ratification of CED and CRPD. Furthermore, CRC recommended that Finland ratify OP-CRC-SC, OP-CAT, OP-CRPD, and OP- ICESCR . 4. CRC recommended that Finland ensure that its legislation and administrative regulations conform fully to the Convention and to OP-CRC-AC and that it consider drafting consolidated legislation encompassing all rights under CRC. 6. CRC was concerned that children might not be aware of the complaints procedure of the Parliamentary Ombudsman and at the insufficient resources provided to the Office of the Ombudsman for Children. CRC recommended that Finland raise public awareness, especially among children, about the different complaints procedures within national mechanisms and ensure that the office of the Ombudsman for Children is provided with the necessary resources to guarantee its independence, efficacy and accessibility. 16. CEDAW was concerned that media and advertising are increasingly becoming pornographic and that the over-sexualized depiction of women strengthens the existing stereotypes of women as sex objects, and girls’ low self-esteem. It requested Finland to take proactive measures to ensure that media production and coverage are non-discriminatory and promote positive images of girls and women. 17. In 2011, CRC remained concerned at reports of widespread sexual and gender-based harassment against girls and bullying, including on the Internet and via mobile phones. 18. CEDAW noted with concern the lack of a gender perspective in early childhood education. It requested Finland to introduce gender-sensitive curricula and teaching methods that address the structural and cultural causes of discrimination against women. 19. In 2009, CERD noted that Finland has adopted measures to combat racist and xenophobic attitudes among the young through the projects for the promotion of multiculturalism and anti-racist works and awareness-raising measures directed at both teachers and students. However, CERD remained concerned at the persistence of racist and xenophobic attitudes among many sectors of the population. In 2011, UNHCR stated that there had been an increase in incidents of racist and xenophobic crimes. UNHCR recommended that Finland strengthen its efforts in the fight against discrimination, racism and xenophobia and its work to achieve tolerance and respect for foreigners and members of national, racial and ethnic minorities. CERD made similar recommendations . 23. CRC remained concerned at the prevalence of discrimination against children with disabilities, immigrant and refugee children and children from ethnic minorities, such as Roma children. CRC urged Finland to strengthen efforts to combat all forms of discrimination. 28. UNHCR stated that the amendment to the Aliens Act stipulated that a foreigner may be kept in detention for a maximum of 6 months subject to extension up to 18 months in exceptional cases. CAT was concerned about information regarding the frequent use of administrative detention with regard to asylum-seekers and irregular immigrants and the length of their detention. CAT was also concerned that the Aliens Act allowed for preventive detention not for a crime already committed but if a person is suspected of the possibility of committing a crime. CAT recommended that Finland: consider alternatives to the frequent detention of asylum-seekers and irregular immigrants, including minors and other vulnerable persons; establish a mechanism to examine the frequent detention of such persons; consider increasing the use of non-custodial measures, use detention as a last resort and ensure that administrative detention of unaccompanied children not be practiced.60 UNHCR made similar recommendations. 35. In 2008, CEDAW remained concerned about the high incidence of violence against women, including a high number of women killed in domestic violence. and sexual harassment. CEDAW was also concerned that the policy on violence against women is couched in gender-neutral language, which undermines the notion that such violence is a clear manifestation of discrimination against women. CEDAW regretted that the number of shelters, many of which have been established and are operating on the initiative of NGOs, is insufficient to meet the needs of women, both in numbers and in their mode of operation. While welcoming the adoption of the Programme on the Prevention of Violence Against Women in 2010, CAT recommended that Finland redouble its efforts to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against women and adopt legislation with a view to increasing the number of shelters for victims with appropriate funding and specialised staff. In 2008, CEDAW made similar recommendations in accordance with Finland’s reaffirmed commitment made during the universal periodic review. CRC recommended that Finland seek technical assistance from the various UN bodies and non- governmental organizations to study violence against children. 38. In 2011, the ILO Committee of Experts requested Finland to specifically prohibit in the legislation the use, procuring or offering of a child less than 18 years for the production and trafficking of drugs. 39. CRC recommended that Finland provide a framework for prohibiting use of child labour by Finnish companies engaged with businesses abroad and multinational companies headquartered in Finland by establishing an effective monitoring system of their supply chains. 40. CRC encouraged Finland to prioritize elimination of all forms of violence against children, including by ensuring implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations study on violence against children, paying particular attention to gender. 41. While welcoming the National Action Plan to eliminate corporal punishment of children for the period of 2010-2015, CRC remained concerned that corporal punishment continues to be tolerated and used, particularly in the home. CRC recommended that Finland ensure full implementation of the laws prohibiting corporal punishment in all settings. 44. CAT was concerned that fundamental legal safeguards were not always ensured for persons deprived of their liberty, in particular for those having committed “minor offences”, including juveniles. It recommended that Finland ensure that all persons deprived of liberty are provided with fundamental legal safeguards from the very outset of detention, such as access to a lawyer, notifying their family of their detention and being examined by an independent doctor. CAT also recommended that Finland allocate the funds to equip places where persons are interrogated and where pretrial investigations occur with the necessary audio- and video-recording equipment. 47. CRC recommended that Finland ensure that all children under the age of 18 be duly heard in judicial and administrative proceedings affecting them, including in cases of custody in accordance with the maturity of the child and in a child-friendly manner. 48. CRC was concerned at the high number of children who live with parents having problems relating to substance abuse and at the very long duration of custodial disputes. It was also concerned that the number of children placed in institutions was increasing. CRC recommended that Finland ensure that children in need of alternative care be placed in family-type and foster family care and not in institutions, avoid successive placement of children in public care and the provision of effective, well-publicized, independent and impartial complaints mechanisms for children without parental care. 49. UNHCR stated that the 2010 amendments to the Aliens Act introduced stricter family reunification criteria for minors, if the refugee was not yet self-reliant, and left open the option of new restrictions.93 UNHCR recommended that Finland provide safeguards for the rights of family reunification for persons granted international protection and that all limitations on the rights of unaccompanied children and adolescents to family reunification be abolished. 56. CRC remained concerned that the number of children and families with children living in poverty had more than doubled in 10 years and that the amount of child benefits and parental benefits had de facto been reduced. 59. CEDAW expressed concern at the deteriorating mental health situation of girls, including depression, eating disorders and increased alcohol and drug consumption and particularly at the high suicide rate among girls. 111 Additionally, CRC was concerned at the insufficient mental health services for children and at the lack of medical personnel permanently based in schools, including staff to provide children with psychological counselling. 60. CRC was concerned at the shortcomings of early childhood education, such as a lack of professionals and the reported low quality of day care/pre-primary education. CRC recommended the drafting of a new general act on early childhood care and education and that the coverage and quality of early childhood education programmes be improved. 61. CRC welcomed the amendments to the Basic Education Act in 2010, introducing enhanced or special support in learning, but remained concerned that, despite the excellent academic achievements of children, a high number of children were not satisfied with their schools. 62. In 2011, CRC was concerned at the difficulties faced by different groups of children in vulnerable situations, including Roma children, in the education system, including the high rate of non-attendance, poor achievement, high number of children in special education classes and the high dropout rate. CERD, in 2009, recommended that Finland strengthen its efforts to increase the level of education of members of Roma communities, by raising awareness about the possibility for Roma children to receive instruction in their mother tongue, and by further promoting the recruitment of Roma teachers. 64. CRC was concerned at the shortcomings of early-childhood education, such as a lack of professionals and reported low quality of day care/pre-primary education. CRC recommended the drafting of a new general act on early-childhood care and education and that the coverage and quality of early childhood education programmes be improved. 65. CRC welcomed the amendments to the Basic Education Act in 2010, introducing enhanced or special support in learning, but remained concerned that, despite the excellent academic achievements of children, a high number of children were not satisfied with their schools. 66. In 2011, CRC was concerned at the difficulties faced by different groups of children in vulnerable situations, including Roma children, in the education system, as well as the high rate of non-attendance, poor achievement, the number of children in special education classes, and the high dropout rate. CERD, in 2009, recommended that Finland strengthen its efforts to increase the level of education of members of Roma communities, by raising awareness about the possibility for Roma children to receive instruction in their mother tongue, and by further promoting the recruitment of Roma teachers. 69. While welcoming the amendments to the Act on Services and Assistance for the Disabled in 2009 and the Disability Policy Programme for 2010–2015, CRC remained concerned about the insufficient supply of health-care services for children with disabilities in some municipalities and the lack of Finland’s financial commitment in this respect. CRC was also concerned that children with disabilities face limited mobility due to obstacles in the physical environment and public transportation, and thus the level of segregation of students with disabilities is high. CRC recommended that Finland establish a holistic legal and policy framework to guarantee the equal right of children with disabilities to access good-quality health-care services, public buildings and transportation and to obtain education in mainstream schools and improve the capacity of teachers to teach children with disabilities and special needs. 71. In 2011, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of the indigenous peoples noted that education in the Sami language is guaranteed by law within the Sami homeland and that municipalities receive increased subsidies for teaching in the Sami language within the homeland area. However, there is no legislation or policy that guarantees education in the Sami language outside the core Sami area, where the majority of Sami students live. The fragmentation of Sami settlements and shortage of Sami teachers presents a problem for education in Sami language and culture, and there is also a shortage of education material, especially in the Skolt and Inari Sami languages. Some measures have been taken to facilitate long-distance learning, but these programmes have experienced problems primarily due to a lack of funding. CRC made similar observations. 75. CRC was concerned that children who belonged to the Roma minority did not receive health services, including mental health services in Romani. It was also concerned at the insufficient level of educational services and recreational activities in Romani. 76. UNHCR noted the 2011 Integration Act which concerned all immigrants and focused on the initial stage of integration and the new Act on Reception of Asylum-Seekers that specified standards for accommodation of unaccompanied children and established additional conditions for the appointment of a guardian for them . 77. CEDAW was concerned that immigrant women might be particularly vulnerable to poverty and various forms of violence, including domestic violence and female genital mutilation, and obtaining employment in jobs that are commensurate with their level of education, experience and qualifications. 78. Noting the amendments to the Aliens Act in 2010 providing for family reunification of unaccompanied children, CRC remained concerned at the practice of detaining children who sought asylum in Finland. Furthermore, CRC was concerned that asylum-seekers aged 16 and above were accommodated in adult units of reception centres and that mental health services, therapy and psychiatric care for unaccompanied minors were insufficient. CRC recommended that Finland, when in doubt as to the age of an asylum-seeker, give him/her the benefit of the doubt, treat him/her as a child, and introduce the possibility for asylum- seekers to appeal the outcome of the age determination. Summary of Stakeholders' Information 11. JS1, as a follow up of the recommendation regarding elimination of discrimination put forward during the UPR, noted that the greatest direct discrimination was experienced by children from various linguistic and ethnic minorities or children with disabilities. Discrimination against the Roma is often indirect and continuous. It recommended that Finland strengthen its efforts to fight against all forms of discrimination, including discrimination against children with disabilities, immigrant and refugee children, and children from ethnic minorities. 17. JS2 referred to studies indicating cases of bullying in schools because of sexual orientation and gender identity of students. JS2 indicated that the Criminal Code was recently amended to incorporate bias against sexual orientation as ground for increasing the punishment for common crimes. Similarly, incitement of hatred, defamation or insulting sexual minorities was specifically criminalized. Gender identity was, however, not included in these reforms. JS2 indicated that there was no systematic follow up on how hate crime cases related to sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression were dealt with by the prosecutors or decided by courts. Moreover, there were no guidelines or instructions on how police, prosecutors or courts should handle hate crimes or other criminal offences against sexual orientation. 19. AI noted significant problems in relation to the administrative detention of irregular migrants and asylum-seekers, including those whose claims had been dismissed. Despite Finland’s expressed commitments to end the detention of unaccompanied minors and to develop alternatives to administrative detention, AI was concerned that insufficient consideration continues to be given to the necessity and proportionality of each decision to institute and/or continue someone’s detention. The only immigration detention facility has been frequently overcrowded. As a consequence, at any one time approximately 50 per cent of those detained for immigration purposes were held in police detention facilities where their contact with the outside world was restricted and men, women and children were held together. Asylum-seekers being detained included pregnant women, persons with serious medical conditions, persons suffering from mental illness or trauma related to torture or ill-treatment and women who have suffered serious violence. AI recommended that Finland reduce the resort to detention of asylum-seekers and migrants solely for immigration purposes and end the detention of all children solely for immigration purposes and the use of police facilities for immigration detention purposes. 22. AI noted some positive steps with respect to the recommendations put forward to Finland regarding violence against women. A National Action Plan to reduce violence against women came into force in 2010. However, AI was concerned that the institutional infrastructure was not in place as the Government has yet to set up a high-level unit to co- ordinate measures to prevent violence against women, with sufficient personnel and funding. AI recommended that Finland allocate sufficient funds to ensure the effective implementation of the Action Plan. In respect to the recommendations regarding domestic violence against women and children, JS1 stated that the current criminal code and sanctions prescribed insufficient means for preventing violence against the children within a family. 25. JS1, while referring to the existence of traditional honour violence in some national minority cultures and immigrant communities, stated that the police and social workers should be trained to recognize honour violence against girls and women and help the victims. 26. JS1 stated that according to a survey, the most common reasons behind child protection measures are substance abuse of parents or children. The professionals in social welfare and health care services and at schools should be trained on how to identify and intervene in domestic violence and substance abuse in families with children. 27. JS3 expressed concern about occurrences of sexual violence, maltreatment, and abuse experienced by juveniles that live in juvenile institutions. JS3 indicated that while children were protected from sexual exploitation and abuse by legislation, implementation of legislation in foster care institutions was difficult because of the lack of resources. The monitoring of private and municipal foster care institutions had been limited. The professionals working in those institutions did not have enough information about sexual abuse or how to intervene in those situations. 28. MTAR stated that circumcision of underage people for non-medical reasons should be strictly banned. The authorities strictly condemn the circumcision of baby girls, but they allow the medically unnecessary circumcisions of baby boys. 34. JS3 noted that a large number of children were annually placed in substitute care in foster families or foster care institutions away from their families. Improvements in preventive care are necessary to limit the need of placement. JS3 recommended, inter alia, that more resources are allocated to child protection to support families as early as possible to avoid having to put children and juveniles into institutional care. 35. JS2 stated that the legal right to parental leave was not fully fulfilled for families of LGBTI people. The spouses of biological mothers or fathers were entitled to paternity leave only if second-parent adoption had been approved, which might take more than half a year since the birth of the child. 36. JS2 stated that same sex couples living in a registered partnership were not allowed to adopt children together. Trans women can become legal parents of their biological children born after the legal gender reassignment only if living in a registered partnership with the mother of the child and even then only through internal adoption i.e. adopting one's biological child. MTAR stated that as surrogacy has been banned, gay couples did not have any chance of getting children of their own, which put them on an unequal position with other couples as the legislation allowed artificial insemination to be used for both heterosexual and lesbian couples. 39. MLCW stated that child poverty has grown.64 JS1 referred to a 2011 study indicating that the poverty of families with children tripled between 1990 and 2009. JS1 stated that social exclusion of children and young people was increasing and that poverty was not the only explanatory factor. The cycle of social exclusion was linked also to decreased time spend with the family that may result in disturbed behaviour among children and young people. The current resources for school health care are not sufficient to tackle the ill-being of children and young people. MLCW stated that reducing child poverty and social exclusion should be a key concern for policy making. 40. MLCW stated that children should be protected against the negative effects of the widespread alcohol use and misuse, and that Finland needs to strengthen the regulation and undertake actions for reducing alcohol consumption and change harmful drinking habits. 42. JS2 reported that intersex children have been exposed to non-medically based surgery, which might cause in later serious mental or physical complications. 43. JS2 noted that considerable local variation was found in the level and quality of treatment and support for transgender people, especially gender variant children and transgender teenagers. The services should be equally efficient and of high quality throughout the country, but no state authority had taken adequate responsibility for ensuring this. 44. MLCW stated that legislation did not provide for compulsory basic education for asylum seeking or refugee children that were not constantly living in the municipality. The law should be amended to provide equal rights and access to basic education for every child living in Finland. Specific attention should be made to make sure those children representing different ethnic backgrounds or with special needs are treated with equality. 45. JS1, while noting the incorporation of human rights in the values of basic education and in the content of teaching of the history and philosophy, stated that teachers received no systematic training in human rights issues and lacked adequate skills to teach them. It urged Finland to introduce human rights education, including on the right of the child as a mandatory part of teachers training and other professionals working with and for children. 47. JS1 stated that Roma children were often moved to the special education classes and their rate of non-attendance was high and they also dropped out of school more frequently than the average. 52. JS1stated that special attention should be paid to needs of children and young people with intellectual disabilities. Also, children and young people who used sign language in their daily communication often felt excluded not only in school but also within the family if the parents did not have skills to use sign language. 59. JS1 stated that Swedish speaking children’s rights to their own language was not always realized during urgent care proceedings and open care or psychiatric care serviced for children and young people were not always available for Swedish speaking children and their families. 64. JS1 highlighted that an amendment of the Aliens Act that came into force in 2010, weakened the child’s right to family. According to the Act, issuing a residence permit to a family member of a minor applicant required the applicant to be a minor on the date of the decision of the authorities, not the date of the application. Also, as of January 2012, it would be no longer possible to leave an application for family reunification in Finland as it should be done in the family member’s country of origin. In practice this change would mean that family members have to arrange several times their – often expensive and even dangerous travel – to the Finnish Embassy, often situated in another country. If they finally get a residence permit their travel costs would no longer be paid by the Government owing to new Act on Integration of 2011. Additionally, various documents were required and the processing times of the applications for family reunification were very long.
Wednesday 23 May 2012 - 14.30 p.m. - 18.00 p.m.