Finland's National Human Rights Institution presented with A status

Date of article: 20/03/2015

Daily News of: 20/03/2015

Country: Finland

Article language: en

The Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Human Rights Centre received A status at the UN headquarters in Geneva on Wednesday 11 March.

The document signifying this status was presented at the 28th annual conference of the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC). The A status was accredited for years 2014 - 2019.

A status human rights institutions are independent and autonomous statutory bodies that safeguard and promote human and fundamental rights. Their position, duties and composition are specified in the Paris Principles, a set of criteria adopted by the UN in 1993.

Finland's National Human Rights Institution consists of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Human Rights Centre and its Human Rights Delegation.

The A status entitles the Human Rights Institution to participate and take the floor in sessions of the UN Human Rights Council and to vote in the ICC meetings. The Finnish Human Rights Institution now is one of 72 similar institutions with A status in the world.

The document was presented by ICC Chairman Lawrence Mushwana, and it was received by Parliamentary Ombudsman Petri Jääskeläinen and Director of the Human Rights Centre Sirpa Rautio. The ceremony was also attended by Secretary General Päivi Romanov from the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman and Human Rights Centre expert Kristiina Kouros.