Finland will sign a protocol prohibiting discrimination

The Protocol No. 12 on general prohibition of discrimination will be opened for signature at the 50th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights on 4 November in Rome. Justice Minister Johannes Koskinen will sign the protocol on Finland´s behalf.

The protocol will enhance the convention´s provision on prohibition of discrimination which requires only that rights acknowledged elsewhere in the convention and other protocols be honored without discrimination. According to the Protocol No. 12 all legally acknowledged rights must be guaranteed without any kind of discrimination. After the ratification of the protocol alleged discrimination can be submitted, more extensively than before, to the European Court on Human Rights.

The protocol must be ratified separately. The Finnish Parliament is expected to ratify the protocol next spring.

The European Convention on Human Rights was signed on 4 November 1950. Due to its effective control mechanism its role in promoting human rights in the member states of the Council of Europe is significant. The convention was adopted in Finland on 10 May 1990.

More information: Päivi Pietarinen, Legal Officer, Justice Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel: +358-9-13415727