Committee o n E conomic, Social and Cultur al Rights

List of issues in relation to the sixth periodic report of Finland *

I.General information

In view of the fact that the Covenant is directly applicable in the State party’s legal order, please provide examples of cases where it has been invoked in national courts of law.

II.Issues relating to the general provisions of the Covenant (arts. 1-5)

Article 1 – Self‑determination

Taking note of the submission in 2009 of the final report by the joint research group on land rights in Northern Lapland and the report of the working group to examine the relationship of the draft Nordic Sami Convention with domestic and international law (E/C.12/FIN/6, paras. 4 and 9-12), please provide information on recent progress achieved during the reporting period to fully protect the rights of the Sami people to their lands, territories and resources to maintain and develop their traditional culture and way of life, including reindeer herding, within or outside the homeland areas.

Article 2, paragraph 2 – Non‑discrimination

Please provide updated information concerning the process of adopting comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation which would afford the same level of protection and access to an independent equality body with regard to different grounds of discrimination in line with article 2 of the Covenant (E/C.12/FIN/6, paras. 12-16).

Please provide information concerning discrimination faced by Russian and Somali-speaking communities in enjoying their economic, social and cultural rights. What specific measures have been adopted in these areas during the reporting cycle and what results have been achieved? For example, what concrete results have been achieved following the establishment of a Group of Experts on Somali issues?

Article 3 – Equal rights of men and women

Please provide information on recent measures taken to combat discrimination in the workplace on the basis of pregnancy and family leave, including cases of non-recruitmentandnon-renewal of fixed-term contracts as a result of pregnancy, or the reassignment of duties and responsibilities after maternity or family leave.

Please provide information on the impact of the most recent Government Action Plan for Gender Equality in improving the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by women, including Roma and immigrant women. What follow-up and monitoring mechanisms are in place to effectively implement gender equality policies and programmes throughout the State party?

III.Issues relating to the specific provisions of the Covenant (arts. 6-15)

Article 6 – The right to work

Please provide information on measures taken to address youth employment, including the adoption of a long-term comprehensive strategy.

Please provide information concerning employment in the informal economy in the State party. Please also clarify what measures are in place to guarantee just and favourable conditions of work and access to social protection in the informal economy.

Article 7 – The right to just and favourable conditions of work

Please provide information on discrimination faced by women concerning the right to equal pay for work of equal value. What has been the impact of the Equal Pay Programme in this regard?

Please provide information on cases concerning discrimination in the workplace, including against migrant workers, examined by the occupational safety and health authorities, the police, the courts and other competent bodies under the Equality Act and the Anti-Discrimination Act. Please also clarify the nature of such cases and their outcomes, including compensation paid to individual employees.

Please provide information onwhether measures taken to combat sexual harassment at the workplace by the State party have been sufficiently effective. Please also provide information on the number of cases of sexual harassment where such acts have been sanctioned.

Article 9 – The right to social security

Please provide updated information concerning changes in the social security system referred to in paragraphs141-142of the State party report. Please also clarifywhat social assistance schemes are available for persons working in the informal economyas well asfor non-nationals, including asylumseekers, refugees and migrants.

Article 10 – Protection of the family, mothers and children

Please provide updated information on the cases of human trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labour during the reporting period, including the number of cases brought before the courts and the outcome of court cases in terms of remedies provided to victims and sanctions imposed against perpetrators.

Please provide updated statistics concerning acts of violence against women, including domestic violence. What concrete results have been achieved through the various measures adopted by the State party, such as the Action Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and the Action Programme to Prevent Intimate Partner and Domestic Violence?

Please provide information on cases of child abuse during the reporting cycle, and how the recommendations in the report by the Parliamentary Ombudsman referred to in paragraph 213 of the State party report have been followed up.

Article 11 – The right to an adequate standard of living

Please clarify how the poverty line is determined and where it currently stands in relation to the cost of living. How many individuals live below the poverty line? In addition to families with children and single-parent households, please provide information on steps taken to protect other groups affected by poverty.

Please provide updated data on the extent of homelessness, disaggregated by sex, region and ethnicity. Has the goal of the Government Programme to Reduce Long-Term Homelessness to halve the figure of homelessness by 2011 been achieved?

Article 12 – The right to physical and mental health

Please clarify the legal framework and safeguards in place concerning involuntary hospitalization and the use of involuntary medical treatment, including electroconvulsive therapy.How frequently are decisions for involuntary hospitalization and involuntary treatment reviewed by an independent body?

Please provide information on the access to healthcare of undocumented foreign nationals in the State party. How is their right to medical treatment guaranteed beyond urgent or life-threatening cases? Please also clarifythe situation of adult asylumseekers and their right to access healthcare.

Please provide further information on the trend of alcohol consumption in the State party during the reporting period, as well as on the types of “alcohol-related harm to society” referred to in paragraph307 of the State party report. To what extent have the measures adopted by the State party been effective in reducing the consumption of alcohol, particularly among adolescents?

Articles 13 and 14 – The right to education

Please provide statistical data on school dropout rates at primary and secondary levels of education, disaggregated by gender and ethnicity. What has been the concrete impact of measures adopted by the State party in reducing dropout rates (E/C.12/FIN/6, paras. 342-343)?

Please provide information on equal access to education by Roma, Somali, migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking children. Please also provide information on the impact of the programme for the support and development of the primary education of Roma children (E/C.12/FIN/6, para. 330).

With regard to the school curricula, please indicate what measures are being taken to teach the culture and history of the Sami and of national minorities in schools in a holistic manner throughout the State party.

Article 15 – Cultural rights

Please provide information on the availability of media outlets (newspapers, television and radio) in languages other than Finnish, including Russian and other ethnic minority languages.

Please provide information on the impact of measures taken to revive Sami languages, such as Anar, Skolt Sami and Northern Sami (E/C.12/FIN/6, para. 333).

Please provide information on the measures taken by the State party to ensure affordable access to the benefits of scientific progress and its applications for everyone, including disadvantaged and marginalized groups. Please also indicate the measures taken for the conservation, development and diffusion of science and culture and to encourage and develop international contacts and cooperation in the scientific and cultural fields.