National Monitoring and Implementation of the CRPD
National actors under Article 33 of the CRPD
Focal point
In Finland, the focal point under Article 33 of the CRPD consists of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and a civic organisation representative appointed by the coordination mechanism (see below).
Responsibilities of the focal point
The responsibilities of the focal point under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health include the implementation of the Convention, including preparatory work on legislation, various reports, provision of information relating to the Convention, information-gathering and application of statistics.
In addition, the focal point serves as the coordinating body on CRPD matters between different bodies, including in the central government, and promotes mainstreaming of the rights of persons with disabilities in society.
The implementation of the CRPD is monitored at the international level by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which the signatories report periodically. The role of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as part of the national focal point is to coordinate periodic reporting under Article 35 of the CRPD.
Coordination mechanism
Finland's coordination mechanism under Article 33 of the CRPD is the Advisory Board for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Responsibilities of the coordination mechanism
The purpose of the coordination mechanism is to facilitate actions relating to implementation at various sectors and levels of central government and society. The Advisory Board for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been established for this purpose under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The decree establishing the advisory board entered into force on 1 January 2017.
As part of its special task, the advisory board promotes and coordinates the national implementation of the CRPD and consideration of persons with disabilities in all areas of government.
Action plan
The Advisory Board for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities draws up an action plan for each term, determining key national objectives in the promotion of CRPD implementation, and the associated measures and monitoring.
Independent mechanism
In Finland, the tasks of the independent mechanism under Article 33 of CRPD are the responsibilities of the Human Rights Centre, its Human Rights Delegation and the Parliamentary Ombudsman, which together form Finland’s national human rights institution (NHRI).
All parties of the human rights institution are needed in the promotion, safeguarding and monitoring of the implementation of CRPD. The various statutory tasks of each party complement each other in the implementation of the special task.
Effective implementation, i.e. safeguarding of the rights of persons with disabilities, requires the ability to investigate individual cases and carry out inspections, which are part of the responsibilities of the Parliamentary Ombudsman. In addition, the special task requires human rights education, training, research and information-sharing, which are part of the responsibilities of the HRC.
Participation mechanism
The special task requires cooperation between different actors of fundamental and human rights and active involvement of persons with disabilities. The HRC's Human Rights Delegation provides an excellent forum for this purpose.
To facilitate the active involvement of people with disabilities and their advocacy associations, a permanent division, the Disability Rights Committee, has been established under the Human Rights Delegation.
Theme article: Obligations of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities