ACFC visit to Finland

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From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 09:26:35 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: ACFC visit to Finland

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Nicola Markes-Goerlach
<[email protected]>

ACFC visit to Finland


The Minorities Unit of the Council of Europe would like to share the
following press release with you for circulation to your subscribers.
Thank you.

Nicola Markes-Goerlach
Council of Europe
Directorate of Human Rights
Minorities Unit
F-67075 Strasbourg-Cedex
[email protected]
 
Tel:   00 33 - (0)3 90 21 44 33
Fax:  00 33 - (0)3 88 41 27 93

------------------ 
The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities visits Finland

STRASBOURG, 20.08.99 - A delegation of the Advisory Committee on the
COUNCIL OF EUROPE's Framework Convention for the Protection of
National Minorities will visit Helsinki on 23-24 August 1999 in the
context of the monitoring of the implementation of this convention in
Finland. The visit is the first country-visit conducted by the
Advisory Committee since its establishment in 1998. The Committee is
composed of 18 independent experts elected by the Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Finland submitted its first state report under the Framework
Convention in February 1999, and the delegation of the Advisory
Committee will be in Finland in order to seek further information. The
delegation will meet representatives of the Government and other
relevant sources, including the Parliamentary Ombudsman,
representatives of NGOs and other experts. On the basis of this and
other information, the Advisory Committee will subsequently adopt an
opinion on how Finland has implemented the various articles of this
new human rights convention of the Council of Europe. 

The delegation visiting Finland will be headed by the President of the
Advisory Committee, Professor Rainer HOFMANN (Germany), and it will
also include the following ordinary members of the Advisory Committee:
Ms Mirjana DOMINI (Croatia), Mr Andreas JACOVIDES (Cyprus) and Ms Eva
SMITH-ASMUSSEN (Denmark).

In addition to the report by Finland, the Advisory Committee has
received state reports for analysis and opinion from the following
countries: Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland,
Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Malta, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia
and the United Kingdom. State reports are made public. 

Note for Editors:
Opened for signature on 1 February 1995, the Framework Convention for
the Protection of National Minorities is the first legally binding
multilateral instrument for the protection of national minorities. It
has been ratified by Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,
Liechtenstein, Malta, Moldova, Norway, Romania, Russia, San Marino,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, "the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia", Ukraine, the United Kingdom as well as Armenia.

It has also been signed by Albania, Greece, Iceland, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Sweden. 

The Convention entered into force on 1st February 1998.

The Framework Convention sets out the principles to be respected and
implemented by the States Parties to combat discrimination, to promote
full and effective equality between national minorities and the
majority, to promote the conditions necessary to preserve and develop
the culture and safeguard the identity of national minorities, their
language, religion and tradition as well as a wide range of principles
in the area of education, effective participation, media and
transfrontier contacts etc and aims to guarantee respect for a certain
number of fundamental freedoms.

Non-member states may also be invited to accede to the Framework
Convention.

Under the Framework Convention, the States Parties are required to
submit, within one year after the entry into force of the Convention
in the country concerned, a report containing full information on
legislative and other measures taken to give effect to the Convention.
These reports are made public and submitted to the Advisory Committee
for analysis and opinion. After the Advisory Committee has adopted its
opinions, the Committee of Ministers will adopt its conclusions and
possible recommendations, which shall be made public.
A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe
promotes democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops
common responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 41
member states.

Press Contact

Christiane Dennemeyer, Council of Europe Press Service
Tel. +33 3 88 41 25 63 - Fax. +33 3 88 41 27 89
E-mail: [email protected]

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