Consultations begin for government statement on equality and non-discrimination

In July, the Government appointed a working group to prepare a government statement to Parliament on promoting equality and non-discrimination in Finnish society. The preparations have now progressed to the consultation phase.

The first consultations will be held with Ombudsman for Equality Rainer Hiltunen, Non-Discrimination Ombudsman Kristina Stenman, Ombudsman for Children Elina Pekkarinen and Ombudsman for Older People Päivi Topo. In addition to the ombudsmen, the working group has requested oral consultations with a total of 21 civil society organisations, labour market organisations and researchers. The working group has also requested written consultations from around a hundred parties to support its work. The people and organisations to be consulted have been asked to highlight the issues they consider most important for promoting equality and non-discrimination in Finnish society. 

The government statement will include proposals on how to promote action against racism both in Finland and internationally. The Government will discuss measures related to the statement at an internal seminar on Wednesday 16 August. 

The Chair of the working group is State Secretary Risto Artjoki. The goal is to finalise the statement before the start of the upcoming parliamentary session.

Inquiries: Risto Artjoki, State Secretary, Chair of the working group, tel. +358 9 1602 2006, Prime Minister’s Office