Council of Europe: Finland must improve measures in minority protection
On February 1st, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted its third resolution on the implementation by Finland of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The stalemate in the negotiations between the government and the Sami parliament on the issue of land rights in the Sami Homeland and the situation of the Sami languages were two out of three issues that the Committee of Ministers lifted as in need of immediate action. Improving existing consultation of persons belonging to national minorities in order to ensure that national minorities, including those of numerically smaller minorities, can have a real impact on the decision-making process was the third issue.
