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20.3.2023 | Permanent Secretary Minna Kivimäki will visit Brussels on 20-22 March 2023 to exert influence on EU decision-making. She will meet, among others, representatives of the European Commission. Items on the agenda include topical and future transport and communications initiatives and projects.

20.11.2023 | The United Nation’s independent Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education Farida Shaheed will visit Finland on 20–29 November. This is the first country visit to the Nordic countries under the mandate of the Special Rapporteur established in 1998. The aim of the visit is to assess how educational rights are observed in Finland.

11.9.2023 | The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will hold its 54th session from 11 September to 13 October in Geneva, Switzerland.

29.11.2022 | On Tuesday 29 November, the European Commission will hold via video conference a High-Level Forum on legal pathways to protection. The Forum will discuss the resettlement of refugees, ways to promote admittance, and work-based complementary pathways to protection for refugees. Minister of the Interior Krista Mikkonen will represent Finland at the meeting.

15.11.2022 | On 24 November, high-level European decision-makers will convene at the Finnish Nature Centre Haltia in Espoo to explore solutions forests can offer in the pursuit of good living environments. Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s guests at the Into the Woods event will be President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, European Commissioner for Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch.

2.11.2023 | According to a recent evaluation, Finland's development cooperation has promoted the rights of vulnerable populations in partner countries. The commitment to the human rights-based approach has been strong. However, there are still challenges in monitoring and reporting the implementation of this approach and its links to risk management.

16.6.2023 | The UN Human Rights Council convenes for its 53rd Regular Session from 19 June to 14 July in Geneva, Switzerland.

15.11.2022 | On 24 November, high-level European decision-makers will convene at the Finnish Nature Centre Haltia in Espoo to explore solutions forests can offer in the pursuit of good living environments. Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s guests at the Into the Woods event will be President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, European Commissioner for Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch.

28.11.2022 | According to a recent evaluation, Finland’s influencing towards the EU’s development policy has been relevant and successful. However, the evaluation identified deficiencies, too, such as gaps in the strategic guidance of activities at different levels.

7.11.2022 | Finland’s human rights record will be examined in the Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on 9 November. The review gives UN Member States the opportunity to ask Finland questions about our human rights record and give Finland recommendations. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will head Finland’s interministerial delegation.

30.5.2023 | On 30 May 2023, Minister of the Interior Krista Mikkonen will attend an informal meeting of EU civil preparedness ministers in Brussels on CBRN threats (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear). The coordination meeting was convened by Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič and the Swedish Minister of Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin.

7.9.2022 | Prime Minister Sanna Marin will speak at the plenary session of the European Parliament on Tuesday 13 September. Her visit is part of the “This is Europe” series of debates, where the European Parliament invites leaders from different EU Member States to discuss their visions for the future of the EU.

21.3.2024 | Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen at the FIIA (Finnish Institute of International Affairs) Forum on 20 March 2024.

26.2.2023 | Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 to 27 February. He will deliver Finland’s address to a High-Level Segment of the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council on 27 February.

24.3.2023 | Superintendent Pekka Kokkonen, Head of the Police Dog Training Centre of the Police University College, has been appointed to serve as Senior Police Coordinator in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

9.11.2023 | Former President of the Republic of Finland, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ambassador and State Secretary of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Martti Ahtisaari passed away in Helsinki on 16 October 2023 at the age of 86. He was born on 23 June 1937 in Vyborg.

10.10.2022 | Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Brussels on 10 October and speak at a meeting of the EU Heads of Mission. Minister Haavisto will also meet EU High Representative Josep Borrell and Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib.

16.5.2023 | The Council of Europe has long been monitoring Russia’s alarming situation of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. For many years, the Council tried to exert influence over Russia by keeping the country as a Member and within the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). However, Russia launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was the last straw, and the Council decided to expel Russia only three weeks later.

26.1.2023 | On 9 January, Director General Kauko Aaltomaa, who is on leave of absence from the Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior, took up his duties as Head of Mission of the European Union Capacity Building Mission in Somalia (EUCAP Somalia). EUCAP Somalia is a civilian crisis management mission under the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy. Its tasks include promoting maritime security in Somalia and supporting the building of the country’s police and judicial administrations.

31.10.2022 | On 31 October 2022, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) gave Finland recommendations in relation to the eighth periodic report of Finland on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).