Current affairs

The three-year term 2022-2024 is Finland’s first full membership in the Human Rights Council. Finland will continue its long-term work to promote universal human rights.

Adopted in June 2013, Protocol No. 15 to the European Convention on Human Rights will enter into force on 1 August 2021. Its entry into force will reduce the application period to four months and also introduce other changes to the right to submit applications to the European Court of Human Rights. The shorter application period is, however, subject to a transition period, which ends on 1 February 2022.

On 13 July 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a decision, which annuls the Court’s previous judgment concerning Finland in the case of N.A. v. Finland relating to the return of an asylum-seeker to Iraq in its entirety.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) deemed on 27 May 2021 the complaint made against Finland to be manifestly ill-founded and decided to not investigate it.

On 4 February 2021, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted its Views on the primacy of the best interests of the child in a matter concerning asylum. The Committee found that there had been violation of Articles 3 (primacy of the best interests of the child), 19 (protection of the child from violence) and 22 (right of the child to protection and humanitarian assistance; refugees and asylum seekers) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) opens a call for proposals for international non-governmental organisations (INGOs). The application round will run from 15 February to 26 March 2021.

Finland is seeking membership of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in 2022–2024. The campaign slogan: ”A Diverse World, Universal Human Rights”, underscores the universal nature of human rights. The election will take place at the UN General Assembly in October 2021.

Joint Letter from the Foreign Ministers of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Ms. Marija Pejčinović Burić

Merja Lahtinen, Desk Officer at the Unit for Human Rights Policy, worked as Team Leader for Finland’s Presidency of the Council of Europe. The Presidency of the Council required considerably more involvement than the every-day membership work at the Council. According to Lahtinen, the Presidency gave her unique expertise for her career.

Press points of Foreign Minister Timo Soini at the press conference of the Council of Europe