UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi visits Finland
Press release 188/2016
11 October 2016
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi will visit Finland on Friday, 14 October 2016.
During his visit, Grandi will meet, among others, President Sauli Niinistö, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen, and representatives of the Ministry of the Interior. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees will also pay a visit to the reception centre for asylum seekers in Helsinki.
The discussions will focus on the global refugee and forced migration situation and topical asylum issues. Matters relating to the high-level meetings on migration, organised in conjunction with the UN General Assembly, will also be reviewed. Other matters to be discussed during Grandi's visit include cooperation between UNHCR and Finland and the role of innovations in humanitarian action.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is a UN refugee agency, which bears global responsibility for the humanitarian assistance and protection of refugees and for the resolution of refugee crises. UNHCR is one of the biggest humanitarian aid agencies and channels of funding for Finland's contribution to humanitarian action. Finland's funding to the agency in 2015 totalled over EUR 20 million.
Filippo Grandi has served as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees since 1 January 2016 and this is his first visit to Finland.
The global refugee and forced migration situation is at an unprecedented level. To date, 65 million people have been forced to leave their homes. Of the 21 million refugees crossing international borders, 90% live in emerging market countries, such as Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran and Ethiopia. Currently the largest number of refugees come from Syria (4.9 million), Afghanistan (2.7 million), and Somalia (1.1 million). The humanitarian needs and developmental challenges are enormous and require more and more intense international cooperation.
Inquiries: Pasi Rajala, Special Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, tel. +358 400 464393, Claus Jerker Lindroos, Directore, tel. +358 40 132 1416, Unit for Humanitarian Assistance and Policy