Supporting Human Rights Defenders Together : Guidelines of the Finnish Foreign Service

Supporting human rights defenders is a key part of the implementation of Finland’s human rights-based foreign policy. The guidelines on supporting human rights defenders are intended especially for Foreign Service employees in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and in Finland’s missions abroad. Additionally, the guidelines can be of use to other authorities and to representatives of the private sector and civil society. The guidelines describe the activities and status of human rights defenders around the world. They give a number of practical examples from projects supported by Finland and encourage active efforts to support human rights defenders by providing many examples. The guidelines illustrate the challenging, and in many cases dangerous, environment where an increasing number of human rights defenders daily operate. The Foreign Service published its first guidelines on supporting human rights defenders in 2014. The first guidelines were based on the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and were mainly intended for Finland’s diplomatic missions and consulates. The updated guidelines take into account, on the one hand, developments in the field of human rights defenders’ activities and, on the other hand, the recommendations outlined in an independent report in 2017. The 2021 Government Report on Human Rights Policy outlines in more detail the premises and priorities of Finland’s human rights policy.