UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and Save the Children Finland, today launch a joint assessment report on Finland’s relocation of 126 unaccompanied minors from Greece in 2020 and 2021 as part of the voluntary EU solidarity mechanism.
Unaccompanied Afghan children in Athens prepare to board their relocation flight to France. © UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis
The report concludes that the relocation took place in a successful and child-sensitive manner, which can help inspire other countries as well as provide valuable lessons learned for further improvements in future relocation activities.
The assessment has been carried out by UNHCRs Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries and Save the Children Finland with support from the Finnish Migration Services. It is based on review of the relocation framework and Finnish legislation, interviewing authorities and case workers, and importantly, including also the voices of relocated children themselves via focus group discussions at the group homes where they are accommodated.
The relocated group includes both boys and girls in ages 13 to 17, and while the majority of children are from Afghanistan, also children from other countries, including Syria and Somalia, have arrived in Finland via relocation. Many children expressed that the hardest part of the relocation process was the long waiting time between receiving the information of going to Finland and the actual travel, for some lasting several months. Another common message from the children was the importance of learning the Finnish language in order to be best prepared for a successful integration.
In the report, UNHCR and Save the Children provide eight concrete recommendations to strengthen solidarity mechanisms more generally, as well as more specifically the relocation of children. This should also be seen in the context of Finland’s Child Strategy from February 2021. The recommendations include e.g. ensuring timely and adequate information in child-friendly language prior to relocations as well as strengthening the prioritization of language learning quickly after relocation.
“Finland’s relocation of unaccompanied children is a strong and important measure of solidarity and European responsibility-sharing, and in addition, the Finnish process has clearly taken into the account the special vulnerabilities of children, which can serve as a good practice and inspiration to others. We are looking forward to continuing our constructive dialogue with all relevant authorities in order to strengthen future relocation efforts even further“, says Henrik M. Nordentoft, UNHCRs Representative to the Nordic and Baltic Countries.
”Children who are displaced from their home countries are in a particularly vulnerable position. The longer their journey is, the bigger is the risk for them to face violence, abuse and neglect, which may have significant negative effects on the wellbeing and development of the child. Relocation is a proven mechanism to help children to travel more safely and in a supported way to a country where the child hopes to live in. We strongly recommend Finland and other European countries to continue relocation activities more permanently”, says Hanna Markkula-Kivisilta, Secretary General of Save the Children Finland.
Strong solidarity and responsibility-sharing remain essential in building a better, more sustainable and fair EU asylum system – and relocation between EU member states is one of the important elements, as also proposed in the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, which is being negotiated by EU member states to ensure a better and more predictable European asylum system.
UNHCR and Save the Children hope that Finland, and other countries, will continue the commitment to the voluntary solidarity mechanisms, and that the assessment of the relocation of unaccompanied children to Finland and our joint recommendations will be considered for future relocations.
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