Finland ratifies the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol

On 11 May 2016, Finland deposited its instrument of ratification concerning the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol with the Secretary General of the United Nations. The Convention and its Optional Protocol will thus enter into force for Finland on 10 June 2016.

The States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities shall promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities. The ratification of  the Convention strengthens the status of the rights of persons with disabilities as legally binding human rights and reinforces the duty of the state to promote these rights. The guiding principle of the Convention is the elimination of discrimination. The Optional Protocol establishes an individual communications procedure and an inquiry procedure at the Committee’s own initiative .

At the national level, a focal point will be designated and a coordination mechanism established for the implementation of the Convention. In addition, an independent framework will be designated to promote, protect and monitor the implementation of the Convention at the national level. The ratification of the Convention and the Optional Protocol was prepared in a working group led by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The ratification has required changes to legislation, including the Municipality of Residence Act and the Social Welfare Act, as well as most recently to the Act on Special Care for the Mentally Handicapped.

The Convention and Optional Protocol were adopted in the UN General Assembly in December 2006 and entered into force internationally in May 2008. There are currently 164 parties to the Convention and 89 parties to the Optional Protocol. The Convention is one of the most rapidly ratified human rights treaties in the world.

Further information: Legal Officer Satu Sistonen, Unit for Human Rights Courts and Conventions, tel. +358 (0)295 3517 89.