Human rights are an essential element of Finland’s foreign policy
Highlighting the issue of human rights on international forums is an important element of Finland’s foreign policy. Finnish policies emphasise the rights of women and girls, the rights of indigenous peoples, defending minorities, economic and social rights and cooperation with civil society.
This has not always been the case. The changes in the post-Cold War era have been rapid and significant.
Twenty years ago, on the initiative of the then foreign minister Tarja Halonen, the Unit for Human Rights Policy was set up in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Finland had joined the European Union at the beginning of 1995 and, as in other EU states a specific unit was needed to focus on human rights.
“The purpose of the Unit for Human Rights Policy was to ensure that human rights would be considered in all areas of foreign and security policy. At that time it was a new idea for many that human rights could play a role in security and trade policy”, says the Unit’s first director Ann-Marie Nyroos who is today Finland’s ambassador in Copenhagen.
As a Council of Europe member state Finland became party to the European Convention on Human Rights in the early 1990s, and the Advisory Committee on International Human Rights was set up in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Advisory Committee which was led by Peter Stenlund consisted of NGOs and researchers. “We wanted to promote, on a larger scale, openness on the human rights policy and cooperation with civil society”, says Ann-Marie Nyroos.
The long-term policy of human rights
The 1990s is seen as the golden age of promoting human rights. Finland started to strengthen its practices concerning the human rights policy and to take a stand on human rights issues on a country-specific basis - depending on the attitudes and actions of the government in a specific country.
“Especially the human rights situation in China and the related UN Resolution caused disagreement within the European Union and Finland. This was politically a big and sensitive issue", recalls Nyroos.
The principles, priorities and practices of the human rights policy were written down, for the first time, in the report submitted to the Foreign Affairs Committee in 1998. Apart from the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples, also the rights of women and children were then defined as priorities.
As to minorities, the rights of the Roma were highlighted as well as the manifold discrimination faced by minority girls and women.
Nyroos underlines that Finland has a high profile in promoting women’s rights globally. “In addition to adopting the gender perspective in UN Resolutions, it was challenging to take into account sexual rights and to identify domestic violence as a violation of human rights.”
Conventions and actors in the field of human rights must be defended
The universal nature of human rights is put to test today more than before. Nina Nordström, current Director of the Unit for Human Rights Policy emphasises the inviolability of human rights related legislation. “When fundamental rights are questioned, it is important to defend the powers and resources of organisations that promote international law and human rights”.
As an example she gives the Council of Europe which is needed also because there is a trend to question human rights even in some European Union countries. Finland is making preparations for holding presidency of the Council of Europe, scheduled to start at the end of 2018.
Nina Nordström is delighted that progress has been made in strengthening human rights in different areas of foreign policy. “The greatest achievement is development policy which is based on human rights. Many positive things have happened in other areas, too, and a lot remains to be accomplished”, she says.
She takes up support to human rights defenders and human rights in business as increasingly important topics.
Modern expert unit
Coded as POL-40 in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Unit for Human Rights Policy is, first and foremost, an expert unit which besides international organisations handles equality issues and immigration related human rights issues, for example.
Three Ambassadors work in the Unit: Rauno Merisaari deals with matters relating to human rights and democracy; Anne Lammila handles equality related matters; and Riitta Resch is launching Finland’s nomination campaign for the United Nations Human Rights Council for 2022-24.
Johanna Suurpää, Sofie From-Emmesberger and Erik Lundberg have also acted as Directors of the Unit.
The International Human Rights Day is celebrated on 10.12.
Rauno Merisaari
The writer is Ambassador for Human Rights and Democracy appointed to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.