Coronavirus pandemic has significant impact on implementation of fundamental and human rights – Human Rights Delegation gives recommendations for securing rights

Human Rights Centre compiled a condensed snapshot of the implementation of fundamental rights and human rights and put forward recommendations from the Delegation to decision-makers on how rights need to be secured during the coronavirus pandemic and in its aftercare.

The coronavirus pandemic and various restrictions and other measures implemented to fight it have affected the implementation of fundamental rights and human rights in many ways. The Human Rights Delegation of the Finnish Human Rights Centre examined these effects in its workshops last year especially from the points of view of the rule of law, the rights of elderly and disabled persons, the rights of children and young people, and violence against women and domestic violence.

Based on the review, the Human Rights Centre compiled a condensed snapshot of the implementation of fundamental rights and human rights and put forward recommendations from the Delegation to decision-makers on how rights need to be secured during the coronavirus pandemic and in its aftercare.

People who are already in a vulnerable position, such as elderly and disabled persons, minorities, and the Sami people, have found themselves in an even more difficult situation, owing to the coronavirus pandemic and measures related to it. The recommendations underscore why it is especially important to systematically and regularly follow up on the real effects of measures taken during the pandemic on the rights of different groups of people, and to evaluate them.

For the first time, the delegation is evaluating the state of the rule of law and the challenges facing it in Finland. Alongside a general assessment, topics included the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the implementation of rights, and the function of the guarantees of the rule of law in general. The rule of law and the function of the system of monitoring the constitution are of central importance in securing fundamental rights and human rights, especially during a crisis such as the coronavirus pandemic.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the implementation of fundamental rights and human rights – recommendations of the Human Rights Delegation

Further information:

Sirpa Rautio, Director of the Human Rights Centre, Chair of the Human Rights Delegation

sirpa.rautio@ihmisoikeuskeskus.fi, +358 9 4321 (Switchboard of the Finnish Parliament)

Leena Leikas, Specialist, Secretary of the Human Rights Delegation

leena.leikas@ihmisoikeuskeskus.fi, +358 9 4321 (Switchboard of the Finnish Parliament)

The Human Rights Delegation of the Finnish Human Rights Centre is a broad-based cooperative body of the Human Rights Centre, whose members represent a high level of expertise in fundamental rights and human rights in different areas of society. Permanent members of the delegation include a representative of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, a representative of the Chancellor of Justice, all Ombudsmen, and the President of the Sámi Parliament of Finland.