Situation in Finland’s neighbouring areas and rights of Indigenous Peoples on agenda at UN Human Rights Council’s session

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will hold its 57th session from 9 September to 11 October in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Council has again a broad agenda for the autumn session, covering not only current global crises but also the situation in Finland’s neighbouring areas.

The independent UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katzarova, will present her report and recommendations to the Council. Due to the serious human rights situation in Russia, Finland will again present a resolution together with its partner countries and work to ensure that the Council will continue to address Russian human rights violations.

The Council will hold dialogues on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Commission of Inquiry collecting evidence of human rights violations and war crimes will submit their reports to the Council.

An independent expert group set up by the Council this spring will give its first report on Belarus. Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will give a speech on behalf of the Nordic and Baltic countries during the dialogue with the expert group.

The autumn session will focus on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, which has traditionally been an important theme for Finland. For the first time, representatives of Indigenous Peoples, such as the Sami Parliament, may participate in dialogues concerning Indigenous Peoples. Finland will continue to work consistently to promote the participation of Indigenous Peoples in matters concerning them in the UN.

At the session, Finland will receive recommendations on the truth and reconciliation process concerning the Sámi people and participate in the related dialogue. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Fabián Salvioli, visited Finland and Sweden in spring 2024 to examine the truth and reconciliation process. The recommendations for Finland are based on Salvioli’s visit to the country.

Finland will present a joint statement on the rights of women with disabilities at the session and organise two events. An event organised in cooperation with the Finnish Evangelic-Lutheran Mission (Felm) and the Abilis Foundation will discuss the state of civil society and the role of women in promoting peace and security. Finland cooperates with The Reckoning project to organise an event dealing with Russia’s violations of international law in Ukraine, Syria and Chechnya.

In connection with the session, Finland will bring the I was born a girl art exhibition to the UN headquarters in Geneva. The exhibition presents Finnish artist Minna Pietarinen’s art on women’s and girl's rights. The exhibition has been curated by Peppi Stünkel.

The Human Rights Council is the UN’s most important intergovernmental body protecting and promoting human rights. Finland’s three-year membership of the Council will continue until the end of 2024. The promotion and protection of universal human rights are Finland’s priorities at the Council. Ambassador Heidi Schroderus-Fox, Finland’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, is serving as one of the Council’s Vice-Presidents.(Link to another website.)

The Council’s 57th session is the last regular session during Finland’s membership term. Between October and December, the Council meets as usual in various compositions, such as working groups, and may convene special sessions. Finland will participate as a member of the Council in these meetings until 31 December 2024.

Learn more:

• Finland in the Human Rights Council(Link to another website.)
• Permanent Mission of Finland in Geneva(Link to another website.)
• Human Rights Council website(Link to another website.)
• The 'I was born a girl'- exhibition(Link to another website.)