On 25-29 September 2023, the Head of the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office Vytautas Valentinavičius together with Chief Specialists of the same division Milda Balčiūnaitė and Greta Bylaitė visited the Finnish National Human Rights Institution, which is formed of the Human Rights Centre (HRC), its Human Rights Delegation and the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
On the first day of the visit, the representatives of the Human Rights Division had an opportunity to meet with a national cooperative body made of representatives of the civil society and human rights experts – the Human Rights Delegation, which helps to intensify information flow between the different actors and addresses issues of a far-reaching significance and principal importance.
During the meeting with Sirpa Rautio, Director of the Human Rights Centre and other representatives of the centre, the importance of the mandate of the Finnish National Human Rights Institution in the areas of human rights protection and dissemination, as well as the implementation of the assigned functions, were discussed. The significance of the Human Rights Delegation as a pluralistic structure in implementation of the functions of the Finnish National Human Rights Institution as efficiently as possible was also highlighted.
During the visit, experts from the Human Rights Centre and representatives of the Human Rights Division also had an opportunity to share good practices, which encompassed human rights monitoring and assessment practices, conducting of research, international and national inter-institutional cooperation, public education and awareness raising on human rights. A meeting was also organised with Iisa Suhonen, the Principal Legal Adviser and OPCAT coordinator of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s Office of Finland. During the meeting, good practices were shared and the implementation of the NPM functions and the peculiarities of the Finnish penal system were discussed.
The representatives of the Human Rights Division also had a field visit to Helsinki’s oldest prison and a chance to talk to its employees about ensuring the human rights of convicts.
The meetings were also organised with the Deputy Ombudsman of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s Office Maija Sakslin, the Ombudsman for Older People Päivi Topo, the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman Kristina Stenman and the Ombudsman for Children Elina Pekkarinen, which among other issues encompassed a discussion on the implementation of the functions of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings.
Following the programme of the study visit, a meeting was also held with Hanna Rönty, the Senior Specialist of the Ministry of Justice of Finland. It discussed the pre-assessment of national legal acts carried out by the ministry, in order to ensure that they are harmonised with national and international human rights standards.
Moreover, the representatives of the Human Rights Division had the opportunity to meet with one of the most active non-governmental organisations in Finland – Finnish League for Human Rights and discuss its activities, projects, fundamental human rights problems in Finland and their possible solutions as well as cooperation with the Finnish National Human Rights Institution.
The study visit ended on Friday, 29 September, with a trip to the day centres established and supported by the non-governmental organisation Deaconess Foundation, which works for the human dignity and provides free and necessary help and services to the most vulnerable groups of the Finnish society. First, representatives of the Human Rights Division visited the Breikki drug replacement therapy unit, offering opioid substitution treatment mainly to adults living in the capital region. Afterwards, they went to STOA Cultural centre and met with the activist from the Finnish Roma Association. The last meeting took place at the Al Amal Centre for undocumented migrants, which supports the capacity of such people during a particularly demanding situation and provides them with the information they need to face the next stage in their lives as fully empowered individuals and regardless of their immediate circumstances.
It should be highlighted that the study visit to the Finnish National Human Rights Institution was organized implementing the project under the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Public Administration of the Nordic Council of Ministers, which offers financial support to civil servants and other staff in the public sector to carry out study visits, internships, training or network activities in the region.
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