By Kyran Lorio
In Finland, human rights are represented in the Finnish constitution. The constitution covers the citizens’ rights to freedom of speech, religion, association, and assembly. Finland’s constitution is very similar to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, with relating topics of equality, liberty, and security. In the Finnish constitution freedom of expression and belief are protected by Article 12. Because of this, most media outlets in Finland are free from political pressure and censorship and are fully independent. Religious freedom is also guaranteed for citizens in the constitution, however, there have been several incidents of perceived threats to religious communities and hate speech directed to Muslim and Jewish populations.
The Finnish president speaking to the parliament.
Equality in Finland has long been viewed as a national priority and various groups within the population have full political rights and opportunities. Finland was one of the first nations to establish women’s suffrage, granting them the rights to vote and compete in parliamentary elections in 1907. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of gender equality in Finnish working life, with men receiving a higher salary than women and many companies not having a gender equality plan. Employers in Finnish workplaces with also often provide more training for men than women. Ethnic minority groups in Finland also have full political rights with the indigenous Sami people of Finland having their own legislature, and inhabitants of the Finnish Aland Islands having their own parliament.
Sami parliament of Finland
The Finnish constitution also separates the courts from the other branches of the government by providing for an independent judiciary. In the Finnish government corruption is not a significant problem, although Finland is behind in implementing corruption prevention. Recently, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) advised Finland to improve the detection policies for corruption within law enforcement and government agencies, but as of 2020 Finland only has one of fourteen GRECO anticorruption recommendations implemented.
Finland: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report | Freedom House
Constitution of Finland – Ministry of Justice (oikeusministerio.fi)