Utrikesminister Tuomiojas tal vid Europarådets ministermöte

Europarådets utrikesministermöte
Strasbourg
12-13 maj 2004




tal på engelska

Mr.Chairman, ladies and gentlemen,

Topical political questions

The enlargement of the Council of Europe is approaching its completion. The criteria that candidate states have been required to meet prior to accession have served as a main incentive to democratic reform.With the accession of the new Member States completed, the Council will have lost this instrument. The Council should therefore turn its attention to enhancing its capacity for internal monitoring. It is essential that performance of Member States against treaty obligations and accession commitments be monitored with sufficient elements of independence and openness. The conclusions drawn from the monitoring should form the basis for future programmes of assistance.

Many states continuously need support to meet the European standards for democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Recent experience from Kosovo shows that ethnic hatred persists as the main factor for instability. We condemn all forms of incitement and violence and urge all parties to settle their controversies through peaceful dialogue. We render our full support to the efforts of the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Mr Harri Holkeri, UNMIK and KFOR to ensure security to all ethnic groups and respect for human rights to all Kosovars alike.

The Council of Europe has at its disposal many instruments for conflict prevention. The Commissioner for Human Rights Mr Alvaro Gil-Robles deserves special attention for his role in paving the way for democratic stability through enhancing human rights.

I would like to reiterate what I said earlier on the Forum for Roma and Travellers. It was three years ago that President Tarja Halonen made the original proposal to establish a consultative body for Roma in Europe. Considerable progress has been made since thanks to your governments' willingness to find practical solutions.

In today's Europe the Roma and Travellers continue to face discrimination and social exclusion in many of our countries. The momentum for concrete action is there. Based on the significant work done so far, I am convinced that we will resolve the remaining open issues together and, finally, see the Forum established in the near future.

Mr Chairman,

The European Court on Human Rights

The European Court on Human Rights is a unique creation. The right of individual application has proven to be of real importance for Europeans throughout the decades. The increasing case load of the Court has made the need for reform acute. Finland is fully prepared to study which measures can in fact best reduce the work load, without compromising the credibility of the Court. A major problem underlying the work load is processing of numerous unmeritious cases and repetitive cases.

The proposal in front of us contains several very positive elements. For instance, the Commissioner for Human Rights would be entitled to intervene as third party. The Commissioner´s experience may help enlighten the Court particularly in cases which concern structural weaknesses.

The right of individual application lies at the core of the Council of Europe human rights system. This right is highly esteemed by European citizens, non-governmental organisations and human rights defenders. Finland has not supported proposals to amend Article 35 by adding a new inadmissibility criterion, because such a new criterion would curtail the right to individual application. Moreover, in light of numbers, a new criterion would not have much, if any, alleviating impact on the Court's work load. Thus, an extremely important principle seems to be at risk of being undermined for the sake of marginal or non-existent benefits.

Therefore, the preferred option of Finland is to leave Article 35 unamended and, instead, look at alternatives that would stand a better chance of alleviating the Court's work load - without compromising the essential foundations of the entire system. A separate filtering mechanism has been mentioned as one such alternative.

However, the reform process of the Court in its entirety is of utmost importance for Finland. It is now essential to make sure that the reform process can be concluded successfully and without any further delay. Extensive consultations have taken place to find a solution which is acceptable to all parties. In the present situation, Finland must study which of the options now in fact available would provide the best solution from the human rights perspective. We need to study how to best maintain the essential elements of the individual right of application in this situation.

The compromise solution on Article 35 which was reached in recent negotiations does, to a certain extent, restrict the right of individual application. At the same time, however, it provides essential guarantees in the form of the requirement that all cases must have been duly examined by a domestic tribunal. Facing the choice between the existing realistic options, and with a view to safeguarding a successful conclusion of the Court reform process, Finland is ready to look for a solution acceptable for all.

Mr.Chairman,

Transparency and good governance

Openness and transparency promote our legitimacy in the eyes of the 800 million Europeans.
In the European Union, transparency and good governance have been advanced for years. By now, we have a sound legal basis to enable transparency in those EU affairs where secrecy is unwarranted. The Charter on Fundamental Rights of the European Union also contains a provision on the right to good governance.

In the Council of Europe there is need, as well as will, for ever more openness and transparency. Efforts are being made to improve the ability of the Council to adapt to the development of the democratic concept. Nothing could be more natural to this organisation, which, by its nature, is a guardian for effective democracy throughout Europe. I find it logical that the Council, while striving for greater political visibility, should provide the civil society and the great public with an open insight into its proceedings.

Openness shows that we are capable of facing any challenge, and transparency shows that we truly believe in what we are doing and how we are doing it.

Thank you.













































ihmisoikeudet