Mr. President,
Norway commends Finland’s commitment to comply with international obligations and to promote human rights and transparency making Finland in our view a leading Human Rights supporter.
Concerning the rights of indigenous people, we commend Finland for the Government commissioned study (published in 2017) in support of the discussion about Sami rights. We understand that there are still outstanding issues surrounding the process to secure Finland’s ratification of ILO Convention No 169. We recommend that Finland engages the Sami people in the ratification process.
Thank you.
Advance questions
1. In 2015, the Government Bill that would have improved the access of health care services among exposed groups of undocumented migrants failed to pass. How is Finland ensuring the health of undocumented minors, pregnant women and persons with chronical diseases?
2. The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman, GRETA and several NGOs have raised concern that Finnish authorities fail to identify victims of human trafficking. How can Finland assure that victims of trafficking are identified as such?
3. Although the new anti-discrimination law which came into force on January 1st 2015 extended the mandate and the scope of the National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal, the tribunal cannot award compensation to victims. Is this something you will look into in the future?