Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatović expresses her concern about the situation on Finland’s eastern border in her letter to Interior Minister Mari Rantanen.
BRUSSELS Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatović the interior minister expresses his concern about the situation on Finland’s eastern border Mari Rantanen in the letter he addressed.
The commissioner’s concern concerns the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in connection with the temporary closure of the eastern border.
According to Mijatović, it is important that the member states of the Council of Europe react to the possible instrumentalization of refugees “in a way that is fully consistent with human rights obligations”.
Obligations related to human rights must be observed even in challenging situations, Mijatović states. This is especially emphasized in the resolution issued by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 2021.
Even the reprehensible actions of another state do not nullify Finland’s international obligations, the letter states. Such rights include, among others, the prohibition of refoulement, the protection of the right to life, and the prohibition of inhumane treatment and mass deportations.
It affects the application for asylum
According to the human rights commissioner, decisions to limit access to the border can especially affect the right to apply for asylum, the implementation of the ban on refoulement, and the ban on mass deportations.
– The complete closure of the eastern land border raises concerns about whether real and effective access to legal means of entry to seek asylum will be realized in accordance with jurisprudence, Mijatović states.
Mijatović hopes for more information on how people arriving at the border receive appropriate information about the possibility of applying for asylum and how the border guards are instructed to react when a person expresses their intention to apply for asylum at the border.
He also hopes for information on how Finland ensures that persons in a vulnerable position are identified at the border.
The frost causes concern
Mijatović also expresses his concern about the weather conditions, which can pose considerable risks to the health and life of those arriving at the eastern border.
– The conditions can quickly lead to people stuck at the border becoming very vulnerable, even if they weren’t that way when they arrived there.
According to the human rights commissioner, it is crucial to ensure that a humanitarian crisis does not arise on the eastern border.
The Strasbourg-based Council of Europe is an organization that was founded in 1949 and focuses on human rights, cultural diversity and social problems.