Helsinki, Finland, August 16, 2006 – Finland's Ombudsman for Minorities, Rainer Hiltunen, opposes all the Directorate of Immigration decisions to deport Somali residents who have committed robberies and violent crimes in the Helsinki area.

In accordance with the Aliens' Act, Hiltunen has sent his statements regarding the proposal to deport 19 Somalis to the Directorate of Immigration. In each one of the statements, Hiltunen reached the same conclusion: deportation should not take place.

In July, the directorate decided on the repatriation of eight Somalis back to Somalia, regardless of the opinion of the ombudsman. In five other cases the directorate dismissed the motion for deportation by the police.

In 15 other cases, the deportation proposal is still pending.

The statements by the Ombudsman for Minorities do not bind the Directorate of Immigration in any way. Instead, the directorate makes decisions at its own discretion.

Hiltunen reached the conclusion to object to each one of the deportation decisions after a three-part evaluation process.   Firstly, Hiltunen assessed whether the crimes committed were serious enough to warrant deportation, which they were.   Secondly, he contemplated whether deportation was a reasonable punishment given the present life situation of the convicted Somalis. Most of them arrived in Finland with their parents or other relatives in the 1990s, when they were in their early teens.

Some of them have since started their own families in Finland, whereas they have hardly any ties to Somalia. "In this light, repatriation would be unreasonable", Hiltunen believes.

The rest of the deportation decisions Hiltunen ended up resisting because of the present disturbances in Somalia. Most of the convicted Somalis would be sent back to central and southern parts of Somalia, which would be against the recommendations of the UNHCR.

The Directorate of Immigration uses a similar set of criteria in making its deportation decisions.   Jaana Vuorio, director of the Legal and Country Information Unit at the directorate, points out that according to the Supreme Administrative Court, not all those from the southern and central parts of Somalia are in need of protection.  

Furthermore, Vuorio notes that according to a Supreme Administrative Court ruling, a person who was nine years of age or older when arriving in Finland, can later be deported to his or her country of origin.  

"Our decision is in line with the Supreme Administrative Court policy", Vuorio concludes.

The recent deportation decisions have not come into effect yet, and so far none of the convicted young Somalis have been repatriated.

Source: Helsingin Sanomat, Aug 16, 2006