The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) in co-operation with the Finnish Non-Discrimination Ombudsman will hold a roundtable meeting in Helsinki on Thursday 7 May 2015. Event participants will discuss what has been done so far by the Finnish authorities as the follow-up to the recommendations of the latest ECRI monitoring report on Finland published on 9 July 2013.
In this report, the fourth on Finland, ECRI reiterated a number of concerns, such as discrimination against immigrants in various fields, including employment, and the risk of racial profiling of visible minorities by the police. ECRI also recommended that the authorities take steps to ensure that politicians and other participants of the political discourse act responsibly when dealing with matters relating to vulnerable groups such as migrants.
The meeting in Helsinki will be divided into four sessions focusing on:
- ECRI report’s main findings;
- anti-discrimination legislation and the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman;
- discrimination in access to employment: problems and perspectives;
- combating racism and intolerance in political discourse.
Opening statements will be made by Rainer Hiltunen of the Office of the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman, and Miroslaw Wyrykowsky, ECRI’s Vice-Chair. Reetta Toivanen, Member of ECRI in respect of Finland and the Deputy Member, Anna Rastas, will also contribute to the seminar.
Ronald Craig of the Office of the Norwegian Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud, Kristina Stenman of the Ministry of Employment and Economy, Krista Oinonen of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Matti Välimäki of the Centre for Parliamentary Studies of the University of Turku, will be among the speakers.
The roundtable discussion will also bring together NGOs and members of socially vulnerable groups, as well as minority groups. It aims at contributing to the national debate on combating racial discrimination and intolerance in the country and raising awareness among the general public about these issues.
The roundtable discussion is open to media representatives. It will take place from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm on Thursday 7 May 2015, at the Congress Paasitorni in Helsinki (Paasivuorenkatu 5 A).
See also:
Finland and the Council of Europe