Distr.

GENERAL

CRC/C/15/Add.132
16 October 2000

Original: ENGLISH

Concluding Observations of the
Committee on the Rights of the Child : Finland.
16/10/2000.

CRC/C/15/Add.132.
(Concluding
Observations/Comments)

Convention Abbreviation: CRC

COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE
CHILD

Twenty-fifth session

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES
PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE
CONVENTION

Concluding observations of
the Committee on the
Rights of the
Child: Finland

1. The Committee considered the second periodic
report of Finland (CRC/C/70/Add.3), submitted on 18 November 1998, in its 643rd
and 644th meetings (see CRC/C/SR.643 and 644), held on 19 September 2000, and
adopted at the 669th meeting, held on 6
October 2000, the following concluding observations.

A.
Introduction

2. The Committee welcomes the timely submission
of the State party's second periodic report, the additional information provided
and the written answers to the list of issues (CRC/C/Q/FIN/2) submitted by the
State party. The Committee notes with appreciation the constructive efforts made
by the delegation to provide additional information in the course of the
dialogue.

B. Follow-up measures
undertaken and progress achieved by the State party

3. The Committee commends the State party for
its overall progress in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child
and reiterates its satisfaction at the comprehensive social security system and
the wide range of welfare services for the benefit of children and their
parents, in particular free health care, free education, extended maternity
leave, parental leave for both the mother and father, and an extensive day-care
system (see CRC/C/15/Add.53, para. 3). It also welcomes the efforts of the State
party to reduce the impact on children of the economic recession of the first
half of the 1990s and the fact that the basis for determining the welfare of
children has been maintained.

4. The Committee welcomes the recent adoption of
new laws, as well amendments to domestic legislation to bring it into conformity
with the principles and provisions of the Convention. It takes note in
particular of the government law on criminalization of the purchase of sexual
services from minors and possession of child pornographic material, and the
amendment to the Penal Code regarding sex tourism which criminalizes offences of
sexual abuse committed abroad by Finnish citizens, as recommended in the
Committee's previous concluding observations (see CRC/C/15/Add.53, para. 29);
the revised Alien's Code of 1999 which aims at facilitating family
reunification; and the law promoting the integration of immigrants into society
and establishing procedures for receiving asylum-seekers. The Committee also
welcomes the fact that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has prepared a
national programme to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of
children.

5. The Committee welcomes the establishment in
1998 of an Assistant Parliamentary Ombudsperson on child issues with the task of
supervising the implementation of the rights of children within the country.

6. The Committee notes with appreciation that in
1997 the Government issued policy guidelines for promoting tolerance and
combating racism. It also takes note of the activities promoting the health and
welfare of ethnic minorities within the Government's national programme for the
organization of social welfare and health care services for 1998-2001, that
immigrant children enjoy equal access to education and that measures have been
taken to facilitate teaching in the immigrants' own languages.

7. The Committee welcomes the national
equalization system for child welfare, which improves children's access to
appropriate services when needed, irrespective of the economic situation of the
municipality. It also notes with appreciation that the Association of Finnish
Local and Regional Authorities adopted in January 2000 a programme on child
policy with the aim of promoting the implementation of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child in the municipalities. In addition, it takes note with
satisfaction of the action programme for social welfare and health, which takes
into consideration, inter
alia, the issue of mental problems
affecting children and young people.

8. The Committee commends Finland for being one
of the first countries to ratify ILO Convention No.182 concerning the
Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child
Labour and that it is one of the major donors to the ILO International Programme
for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC).

9. The Committee welcomes Finland's signature of
the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 7
September 2000 during the Millennium Summit Treaty Event held at United Nations
Headquarters and takes note of the fact that the State party is taking measures
in order to ratify the Optimal Protocols in the spring of 2001.

C. Factors and difficulties
impeding further progress

10. The delegation of responsibilities to local
and regional authorities may enhance the involvement of local communities but,
at the same time, it seems to hamper the full and equal implementation of the
principles and provisions of the Convention owing to local and regional
differences in its interpretation, its application and budgetary
allocations.

D. Principal subjects of
concern

1. General measures of
implementation

Coordination

11. The Committee remains concerned at the
absence of a focal point for children within the Government and of mechanisms,
both at the central and local levels, for coordinating visionary policies
relating to children and for monitoring the implementation of the Convention
(see CRC/C/15/Add.53, para. 11).

12. The Committee encourages the State party to
consider taking further steps to establish a focal point for children within the
Government and coordination mechanisms between the various ministries, as well
as between central and local authorities, in order to establish a better
coordinated policy and action for the realization of children's rights.

Implementation at local level

13. The Committee notes that, owing to the
extensive decentralization of decision-making, administration and delivery of
services in the State party, there is a significant delegation of powers from
the central level to the municipalities. However, not all the municipalities
provide the same level of social policies and services for the most vulnerable
groups in society, in particular poor families, single-parent families, and
disabled, refugee and minority children.

14. The Committee recommends that the State
party undertake an evaluation of the implementation of all aspects of the
Convention by municipal authorities and that every effort be made to ensure that
the Convention is effectively implemented at municipal level. It also reiterates
its recommendation to establish an integrated monitoring system or mechanism to
ensure that children in all municipalities benefit to the same extent from basic
social services (see CRC/C/15/Add.53, para. 23).

Budgetary allocations

15. The Committee is concerned that the extent
and standard of welfare services provided by local authorities to low-income
families or families with children with disabilities is unequal in the various
municipalities across the country, partly as a result of significant differences
in the financial resources available to the municipal authorities, in the
priorities set by those authorities and in the systems used to assess needs and
grant assistance. These disparities have the effect of providing either unequal
access to or different levels of welfare assistance to children, particularly
those with disabilities, depending on where in the country they reside.

16. The Committee urges the State party to
consider ways to guarantee all children equal access to the same standard of
services, irrespective of where they live, for example by establishing
nationwide minimum standards and allocations of resources for the implementation
of the Convention's provisions, in particular in the areas of health, education
and other social welfare services, and in conformity with article 2.

Data collection

17. While acknowledging new initiatives in the
compilation of statistics, such as the 1998 report on child statistics in
Finland and a special report in 2000 on the living conditions of children which
in an innovative way examines Finnish society from the child's point of view,
the Committee notes that a regular and large-scale collection and analysis of
data and indicators on children's issues needs to be further developed in order
to assess the extent to which the Convention has been implemented, in particular
at the local level.

18. The Committee recommends that the State
party continue developing a comprehensive system of data collection consistent
with the Convention. This system should cover all children up to the age of 18
years, with specific emphasis on those who are particularly vulnerable,
including child victims of abuse or ill-treatment; children with disabilities;
children from low-income families; children in conflict with the law; and
immigrant and minority children. It further encourages the State party to use
indicators and data in the formulation of policies and programmes for the
effective implementation and monitoring of the Convention.

Ombudsperson

19. Although an Assistant Parliamentary
Ombudsman has been appointed to supervise the implementation of children's
rights, the Committee takes note that discussions on the establishment of a
national ombudsperson continue and that the State party shall make final
decisions in that regard based on the experience with the Assistant
Parliamentary Ombudsman.

20. The Committee invites the State party to
seriously consider the establishment of an independent national ombudsperson for
children, taking into account the positive experiences in other Nordic
countries, and not to let purely financial considerations determine the
decision.

Dissemination of the principles and provisions
of the Convention

21. While noting the efforts of the State party
in disseminating information about the Convention, including the publication in
the Sami language of the text of the Convention, the Committee expresses its
concern that the principles and provisions of the Convention are not
disseminated at all levels of society. In addition, the Committee notes that the
training and retraining of professionals working with and for children is not
systematic.

22. The Committee recommends that the State
party develop more creative methods to promote the Convention, including through
visual aids such as picture books and posters, and that it incorporate the
Convention in the school curriculum. It further encourages the State party to
consider translating the Convention into the Roma language and into other
minority languages and making the Convention available in the languages of the
main immigrant groups. The Committee also recommends further systematic training
and/or sensitization of professional groups working with and for children, such
as judges, lawyers, law enforcement personnel, teachers, school administrators
and health personnel, with a particular focus on municipal board members and
authorities.

2. General
principles

General principles

23. The Committee notes that the State party has
made efforts to include the principles of the best interests of the child and
the right of the child to be heard in recent revisions to leglislation, such as
the Act on the status and rights of persons using social welfare
services.

24. The Committee invites the State party to
continue to take all necessary measures to better reflect in its legislation and
its policies the general principles of the Convention, in particular
non-discrimination (art. 2), the best interests of the child (art. 3), the right
to development (art. 6) and respect for the views of the child (art. 12).

Best interests of the child

25. While acknowledging the State party's
significant efforts to respect the principle of best interests of the child, the
Committee is concerned that municipal authorities in particular do not always
take this principle into full consideration and, further, that the best
interests of unaccompanied child asylum-seekers and refugees are not always a
primary consideration.

26. In light of article 3 of the Convention, the
Committee recommends that the State party consider the full implications of the
principle of best interests in the context of the above situations and that
further efforts be made to ensure that this principle is a primary consideration
in all decisions affecting children.

Right to development

27. With regard to article 6 of the Convention,
the Committee notes that in the State party's report there is no explicit
reference to the State party's implementation of the right to
development.

28. The Committee encourages the State party to
review its plans of action, strategies, policies and programmes from the
perspective of the right of each child to physical, mental, spiritual, moral,
psychological and social development.

The right of the child to be heard

29. The Committee expresses its concern that the
views of children, in particular those below 12 years of age, are not always
taken into full consideration, especially in child custody cases and access
disputes taken to court.

30. The Committee recommends that the State
party make sure that the views of children under 12 years of age who are
affected by a judicial proceeding are always heard, if they are considered to be
mature enough, and that this takes place in a child-friendly environment. It
also recommends that the State party undertake a regular review of the extent to
which children's views are taken into consideration and of their impact on
policy-making and court decisions, programme implementation and on children
themselves.

3. Civil rights and
freedoms

Child participation

31. While acknowledging the participation of
students at the upper secondary level, the Committee is concerned
that not enough attention is paid to the participation of children in,
inter alia, education at the primary and lower secondary level.

32. Noting the activities of the Government
related to the participatory rights of children in education at those levels,
the Committee encourages the State party to take effective measures to enhance
children's participation in, inter
alia, educational activities concerning
them.

4. Family environment and
alternative care

Separation from parents

33. The Committee expresses serious concern
about the considerable decrease in the net income of families with children
caused by both high unemployment rates and budgetary measures that negatively
affect child-related allowances.

34. The Committee, taking into account recent
improvements in the economy of the State party, strongly recommends that the
State party allocate more funds to families with children and develop effective
measures to provide those families with appropriate support in order to avoid,
among other things, the placement of children in foster care or
institutions.

35. The Committee notes with concern the
increasing number of children placed outside their families in recent years.

36. The Committee recommends that the State
party take all necessary measures to ensure that children are placed outside
their family only when it is evidently in the best interests of the children and
for the shortest period possible.

Family reunification

37. While noting the Act on the Integration of
Immigrants and Reception of Asylum-seekers of 1999 which introduces some reforms
in the way unaccompanied children seeking asylum are received, the Committee is
concerned at the fact that the process of family reunification is still very
long and that this could have a negative impact on the children involved.

38. The Committee encourages the State party to
examine the reasons for the delays in the procedures for processing asylum
applications and for the settlement of children, with a view to shortening them.

Abuse and neglect

39. Although the State party was the second
State in the world to prohibit all corporal punishment of children in the family
in its Child Custody and Rights of Access Act of 1983, the Committee is
concerned at the number of cases of violence against children, including sexual
abuse in their homes. It also regrets the lack of information on this
phenomenon.

40. The Committee recommends that the State
party consider taking additional measures to prevent and, where this has not
been possible, to identify in a timely manner instances of violence against
children within families, to intervene at an early stage, and to develop
child-friendly programmes and services for prevention, treatment and
rehabilitation with personnel specially trained to work with children.

5. Basic health and
welfare

Children with chronic illnesses

41. The Committee notes with concern that
families with chronically ill children do not always have enough support, both
at the personnel and the financial level.

42. Recognizing the State party's efforts to
ensure the rights of children with disabilities, the Committee recommends that
the State party continue its efforts to provide equal support and assistance to
all families with chronically ill children including the help of specialized
staff.

Children in hospital

43. The Committee is concerned at the fact that
a number of children's wards have been closed or are threatened with closure
because of cost-saving measures and that children are cared for in adult wards,
sometimes even in the same room as adults.

44. The Committee, noting the recent appeal to
the regional authorities to monitor the situation, recommends that the State
party take effective measures to ensure appropriate care for children in
hospitals in compliance with the Charter for Children in Hospital of the
European Association for Children in Hospital (EACH).

Mental health services

45. The Committee, while acknowledging the
additional funds allocated in order to provide government support to psychiatric
services, in particular child and youth psychiatry, reiterates its concern that
mentally ill children are institutionalized in the same facilities as adults
(see CRC/C/15/Add.53, para. 16). Further, it joins the State party in expressing
concern at the long waiting list for and delayed access to mental health
services and professionals for children because of an insufficient number of
psychologists and psychiatrists.

46. The Committee encourages the State party to
address the shortage of child psychiatrists and psychologists, in particular in
the northern and eastern parts of Finland and in small municipalities with fewer
resources, in order to provide children with more timely access to mental health
services and to prevent the institutionalization of mentally ill children with
adults.

Child care services and facilities

47. The Committee notes with appreciation that
municipalities provide the services of mother and child welfare clinics but is
concerned at the differences between municipalities in the organization of and
provision of resources to these clinics.

48. The Committee recommends that the State
party ensure that children in all municipalities benefit to the same extent from
the services provided by the mother and child clinics.

6. Education, leisure and
cultural activities

Right to education

49. The Committee joins the State party in
expressing concern at the lay-off of teachers in some municipalities due to
economic factors, which may have an adverse effect on teaching and on the
quality of education.

50. The Committee recommends that the State
party implement the revised school legislation in order to ensure equality
between the different regions of the country and between the
various schools and educational establishments.

7. Special protection
measures

Unaccompanied, asylum-seeking and refugee
children

51. The Committee is concerned that
unaccompanied minors applying for asylum are interviewed in the same way as
adults. Further, while noting with appreciation the establishment of a system of
representation for unaccompanied minors applying for asylum, it expresses its
concern that not enough efforts have been undertaken to ensure adequate
resources and training for the representatives of unaccompanied minors applying
for asylum. It also appears that education for refugee children in their
language is available only in those municipalities which can provide sufficient
resources.

52. The Committee recommends that the State
party ensure adequate resources for the training of the officials who receive
refugee children, in particular in child-interviewing techniques, and of the
representatives of unaccompanied minors applying for asylum. It also
encourages the State party to consider measures through which asylum-seeking and
refugee children can be granted equal access to the same standard of services,
in particular education, irrespective of who they are and where they
live.

53. The Committee notes with concern the number
of asylum-seeking and refugee children coming from areas affected by war and who
may have been victims of traumatic experiences.

54. The Committee recommends that the State
party ensure that every effort is made to identify children who require special
support upon their arrival in the State party, as well as consider providing
adequate psychological assistance to them and their parents.

Substance abuse

55. The Committee is concerned by the reported
increase in the use of drugs, in particular heavy drugs, as well as abuse of
alcohol and tobacco among adolescents in the State party. Further, it notes
that the present child welfare service system is unable to
deal with the growing need for services.

56. The Committee notes with appreciation the
Decision-in-Principle on Drug Policy of 1999 and encourages the State party to
empower positive cultural changes and to pursue its awareness-raising and
preventive measures, including drug education in schools. It further recommends
that the State party allocate more resources to the child welfare service system
for treatment therapies and rehabilitation services specifically tailored for
children.

Sexual exploitation

57. While appreciating the review of legislation
and other measures undertaken by the State party to improve the protection of
children from sexual exploitation, in line with the recommendation of the
Committee (see CRC/C/15/Add.53, paras. 19 and 29), the Committee notes with deep
concern the phenomenon of Finnish child sex tourists travelling to the nearby
countries of the former Soviet Union seeking child prostitutes.

58. The Committee urges the State party
to undertake adequate measures to combat this phenomenon and
to pursue international cooperation for the investigation and the prosecution of
cases of sexual abuse and exploitation of children by Finnish citizens abroad.

Children belonging to a minority or an
indigenous group

59. The Committee reiterates its concern at the
high rates of school drop-outs among Roma children (see CRC/C/15/Add.53, para.
18).

60. The Committee notes the measures undertaken
by the State party to develop special education and prevent social exclusion,
such as strengthening the status of the Roma language in school teaching,
developing teaching material in the Roma language and training teachers, and
recommends they be implemented. It requests the State party to continue its
efforts in this area and to provide information on the impact of these measures
on Roma children in the next periodic report to the Committee

Dissemination of the State party report

61. Finally, in light of article 44, paragraph
6, of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the second periodic report,
the list of issues raised by the Committee and the written replies submitted by
the State party be made widely available to the public at large and that the
publication of the report be considered, along with the relevant summary records
and concluding observations adopted thereon by the Committee. Such a document
should be widely distributed in order to generate debate and awareness of the
Convention, its implementation and monitoring within the Government, the
Parliament and the general public, including concerned non-governmental
organizations.

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