Finland passes temporary law banning migrants from entering border with Russia

Finnish lawmakers on Friday approved a controversial bill to allow border agents Deny entry to third-country migrants attempting to enter the country from neighboring Russia And Reject their asylum applications.

The temporary law is valid for one year. The introduction comes as Helsinki says Moscow is behind the influx of migrants Reaching the border.

The government's bill, which aims to implement temporary measures to reduce the number of migrants entering the Nordic country, will see Finland “Mixed combat” by Russia. He believes Moscow is sending undocumented migrants across the border between the two countries.

Measured Vote in favor of 167 legislators, the minimum required for its approval in Eduskunda or Parliament., 200 seats. Among the 31 legislators who voted against were members of the Left Alliance and the Green Party.

Prime Minister's center-right government, pushing for national security Peter Orbo He said the law was necessary to counter Russia's moves to deliberately send migrants to the EU's northern border, the Russia-Finland border, the EU's external border.

Including academics, jurists and human rights groups, it clashes with Finland's constitution, international rights established by the United Nations and EU promises and international treaties signed by Finland.

Michael O'FlahertyThe Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe has previously expressed concern about the bill and urged it not to pass.

“The Commissioner stresses that the relationship between national security and human rights is not a zero-sum game” said a European Council report in June. “If the (Finnish) bill is passed, It sets a worrying precedent to other countries and the global asylum system.”

Finland closed its 1,340-kilometer land border with Russia last year, allowing more than 1,300 migrants without documents or visas — an unusually high number — to enter the country in three months, just months after the country became a member of NATO.

Most of the migrants who arrived in 2023 and earlier this year came from the Middle East and Africa, including Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

(Associated Press)