UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour visits Finland

Press release 277/2004
25 November 2004

The new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour will visit Finland 2 December as part of a round trip to the Nordic Countries. Louise Arbour is the fourth United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She started as High Commissioner in the beginning of July 2004. Before being appointed to her current post she was a member of the Supreme Court of Canada since September 1999. Before that she acted as Chief Prosecutor for The International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda. As the High Commissioner she coordinates the promotion and protection of human rights in the United Nations.

During her visit she will have discussions with the President of the Republic Tarja Halonen and Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja. The discussions will deal with Finland's membership in the United Nations Human Rights Commission on Human Rights in 2005-2007. She will also meet members of the Parliament and representatives of NGOs and attend a seminar "Contemporary Challenges and Finnish membership in the U.N. Commission on Human Rights" in the Parliament.

The former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello visited Finland in December 2002. He was killed by a car bomb in Baghdad in August 2003.

Further information: Head of Unit Johanna Suurpää, The Unit for Human Rights Policy of the Foreign Ministry, tel. 09 160 56551, and First Secretary Satu Suikkari, tel. 09 160 55068.