GENEVA (14 April 2021) — The UN Human Rights Committee has issued its findings on Finland and Kenya which it examined during the latest online session.

The Committee commended the positive aspects of how Finland and Kenya are implementing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and made the following respective recommendations.

Finland: The Committee called on the State party to address the increased cases of violence against women, particularly in the context of COVID-19. The Committee remained concerned about the rise in hate speech and crimes against vulnerable and minority groups. It also called for measures to protect the rights of the Sami people, including the revision of the Sami Parliament Act in line with the Committee’s Views adopted in November 2018.

Kenya: The Committee called upon the State party to urgently tackle electoral violence, including against women, and to address other barriers to political participation ahead of the 2022 elections. It also called for action to stop forced evictions that have continued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Committee also adopted List of Issues Prior to Reporting, including topics about climate change, corruption, digital space and inequality, to prepare discussions with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Fiji, Grenada, Iceland, Malawi, Nepal, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, and United Republic of Tanzania in upcoming sessions.

The Human Rights Committee’s complete findings (also called concluding observations) on Finland and Kenya are now available online. The Committee is due to hold its next session from 28 June to 23 July.

ENDS

For more information and media requests in Geneva, please contact:
Vivian Kwok at +41 (0) 22 917 9362 / vkwok@ohchr.org or UN Human Rights Office Media Section at +41 (0) 22 928 9855 / media@ohchr.org

Background: The Human Rights Committee monitors States parties’ adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which, to date has been ratified by 173 States parties. The Committee is made up of 18 members who are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are independent assessments of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty.

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