Bodies for the promotion of equal treatment (Article 13 Directive 2000/43)

• Author: Hiltunen, Rainer
• Pages: 50-56

50

7 BODIES FOR THE PROMOTION OF EQUAL TREATMENT (Article 13 Directive

2000/43)

a) Body/bodies designated for the promotion of equal treatment irrespective of

racial/ethnic origin according to Article 13 of the Racial Equality Directive

The office of the Ombudsman for Minorities was created in preparation for transposing

the directives in 2001, and later amended in 2004. In conjunction with replacing the old

Non-Discrimination Act with the new Non-Discrimination Act in 2015, the name and

scope of work for the Ombudsman was changed by the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman

Act; accordingly, the official name of the body is now the Non-Discrimination

Ombudsman.

The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman supervises compliance with the Non-Discrimination

Act with regard to all grounds of discrimination mentioned in the act (origin, age,

disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, nationality, language, opinion, political

activity, trade union activity, family relationships, state of health or other personal

characteristics), although not in relation to employment. Compliance with the provisions

on equality in working life in individual cases is supervised by the occupational health and

safety authorities, which are not considered to be equality bodies.

The National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal does not have responsibility for

the tasks specified in Article 13 of the Racial Equality Directive, and should therefore not

be considered as a ‘body for the promotion of equal treatment’ in accordance with the

said provision. The tribunal is an independent and impartial judicial body, the decisions of

which are binding and can be appealed against.

b) Political, economic and social context of the designated body

Equality is frequently expressed in public debates as an important value in Finnish

society. Equality itself is therefore seldom questioned, but what constitutes equality

seems to develop over time and is therefore an issue of debate in society. For example,

in relation to sexual orientation, the public discussion has – after same-sex marriage was

approved – progressed to whether the Evangelical Lutheran church should perform

marriages for same-sex couples.

The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman is generally recognised as an expert authority on

equality and minority issues in Finland and is therefore often invited to speak as an

expert in parliamentary committees, in the media and at public events, such as seminars

and training events.

The level of financing of the Ombudsman has remained stable in the state budget since

2015, when the budget was increased due to the expansion of the mandate and tasks of

the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman has criticised the level of resources as insufficient,

given that the number of cases brought to the Ombudsman has quadrupled in the four

years following the expansion of the mandate.

c) Institutional architecture

In Finland, the designated body does not form part of a body with multiple mandates,

but the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman does have tasks that are not directly connected

to its position as the equality body, as required by the Racial Equality Directive. These

tasks are to act as National Rapporteur of Human Trafficking (as recommended in

Directive 2011/36/EU) and as the body for Monitoring Removal from the Country (as

required by Directive 2008/115/EY). The main task of the Non-Discrimination

Ombudsman is to supervise compliance with the Non-Discrimination Act and to carry out

other tasks given to equality bodies in the Racial Equality Directive.