Nina Nordström and Päivi Kairamo to promote Council of Europe work against corruption and terrorism

New Finnish chairs were appointed to two committees of the Council of Europe in the same week of November. Ambassador Nina Nordström, Finland’s Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe, was elected President of the Statutory Committee of the Council of Europe anti-corruption body, GRECO. Ambassador Päivi Kairamo will again chair the Council of Europe Committee on Counter-Terrorism (CDT) in 2022.

Anti-corruption work strengthens the rule of law

The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) is an organ of the Council of Europe that upholds the rule of law. It monitors compliance with the organisation’s Criminal and Civil Law Conventions on Corruption through country inspections of member States, submitting recommendations to address observed shortcomings in their anti-corruption efforts. Finland has been subject to country inspections on five occasions, most recently in 2017.

 

The role of the Statutory Committee, comprising representatives of GRECO member States, includes approving the programme and financial framework of GRECO and publicly reminding member States should they fail to implement recommendations made by GRECO.

“The Council of Europe strengthens the European rule of law. Preventing corruption is an essential part of this,” explains newly elected Committee President, Ambassador Nordström.

Combating terrorism with respect for human rights

Ambassador for Counterterrorism Cooperation Päivi Kairamo has been elected Chair of the Council of Europe CDCT Committee on Counter-Terrorism for 2022.

The CDCT is responsible for coordinating counterterrorism work at the Council of Europe. The Committee negotiates and prepares legal instruments on counterterrorism, together with recommendations and guidelines for preventing and combating terrorism.

“The CDCT plays an important role in setting international counterterrorism standards, while also respecting human rights and the rule of law,” Ambassador Kairamo explains.

The main legal instruments for counterterrorism work at the Council of Europe are the Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism and its Additional Protocol, which requires the criminalisation of such conduct as travelling abroad for the purpose of terrorism and any funding, organising or other facilitating of such travel.

 

The Council of Europe

• The Council of Europe is an intergovernmental organisation that focuses on promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
• Founded in 1949, the organisation has 47 member States - for example making it more extensive than the European Union.
• The basic function of the Council of Europe is to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The most important instruments in this work are binding agreements and supervision of their enforcement.