Increased Finnish role stressed in Int’l crisis management

The Parliamentary Committee on Crisis Management in its report proposed that the level of ambition in Finnish crisis management should be raised.

This requires commitment to more active and diverse participation, enhanced effectiveness, and deeper cooperation between those involved in crisis management, said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a press release on Wednesday.

The committee was tasked to produce an uptodate overview of developments in and needs of international crisis management and of the environment where Finland participates in crisis management as well as to present recommendations for future participation in crisis management, and for measures that would improve its effectiveness.

Finland’s participation in military crisis management has been on the decline. As for civilian crisis management, the objective has already been to raise the strength of Finland’s civilian crisis management force to at least 150 specialists.

“In future, the most important decisions relating to crisis management will be related to our capacity to respond to the changes and needs in the operating environment. The parliamentary committee has a clear common message. The report conveys a strong political will to maintain the high profile in crisis management that Finland has in international contexts as well as to ensure sufficient resources for both practical participation in crisis management tasks and the development of activities,” said State Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs Johanna Sumuvuori.

The committee made five recommendations, according to which Finland should continue active and diverse participation in crisis management, set quantitative and qualitative objectives for participation, select geographic focus areas based on the development of the operating environment, enhance the effectiveness of crisis management, and strengthen the comprehensive approach to crisis management, both nationally and internationally (coordination between crisis management, development cooperation, humanitarian assistance, and mediation).