MFA: The Ministry for Foreign Affairs appointed a working group to assess the need to amend the Act on the Making of Decisions Concerning the Provision of and Request for International Assistance

On 20 August 2021, the President of the Republic made a decision, supported by Parliament, to send a Defence Forces’ unit to safeguard the relief effort at Kabul Airport.  The decision was made under the Act on the Making of Decisions Concerning the Provision of and Request for International Assistance. This was the first time that this Act was applied after its entry into force (July 2017). 

When the decision was prepared, it became evident that the wording of the Act does not recognise an international situation of significance where a decision must be made on Finnish authorities’ activities abroad without a request from outside the country. It was also found that the provisions applying to procedures in urgent cases requiring military force laid down in the Act should be reassessed.

Based on the lessons learned from the evacuation operation in Afghanistan, the working group will prepare a proposal for amending the Act. If necessary, the working group will examine whether other legislative amendments are required. It will provide information on the progress of its work to the relevant ministerial committees and parliamentary committees.

In addition to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the working group consists of representatives from the Office of the President of the Republic, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Defence. The term of the working group will run from 11 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

Inquiries:

Kaija Suvanto, Director General, Legal Service, tel. +358 295 351 159.

The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi.