Strasbourg, 25/9/2012 – “The Finnish Government has started a timely reform of the national equal treatment legislation. It is now crucial to ensure accessibility of the protection framework to all victims of discrimination and avoid unnecessary fragmentation of equality bodies” said today Nils Muižnieks, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, releasing a report based on the findings of his visit to Finland carried out on 11-13 June.

The Commissioner welcomed the new National Action Plan on Fundamental and Human Rights, but pointed out that it lacked measures for human rights education. “The recently created independent Human Rights Centre and Human Rights Delegation should aim to fill in some of the gaps of the National Action Plan. It is important that these two bodies, which are going to constitute a National Human Rights Institution together with the Parliamentary Ombudsman, are provided with adequate resources and means to fulfil their extensive mandates.” (more...)

Finland and the Council of Europe