Jarna Petman appointed as new Director of the Human Rights Centre

After consulting the Constitutional Law Committee, Parliamentary Ombudsman Petri Jääskeläinen has appointed Jarna Petman as the new Director of the Human Rights Centre. The Director’s term of office will start on 15 May 2024 and last for four years.

The Director of the Human Rights Centre is tasked to direct and represent the Human Rights Centre and to resolve matters within the remit of the Human Rights Centre that are not within the remit of the Human Rights Delegation under the Act on the Parliamentary Ombudsman. The Director also chairs the Human Rights Delegation.

Jarna Petman has most recently worked as Assistant Professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Stockholm. Previously, she has worked as Deputy Director of the Erik Castrén Institute at the University of Helsinki and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki. Petman has also held several national and international roles related to fundamental and human rights, and she is currently one of the Commissioners of the International Commission of Jurists. Petman is a Doctor of Laws and a Master of Political Science, and she is a docent of International Law at the University of Helsinki.

The Human Rights Centre’s statutory task is to monitor and promote the implementation of fundamental and human rights in Finland. The HRC also participates in international and European cooperation on human rights issues. The HRC is an independent and impartial authority, but it is administratively a part of the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Together with the Ombudsman, the Human Rights Centre and its Human Rights Delegation constitute the Finnish National Human Rights Institution.

The post of Director of the Human Rights Centre received 31 applications, with one applicant cancelling their application.

Press release of the Parliamentary Ombudsman (in Finnish, 26 April 2024, Parliamentary Ombudsman’s website)

Further information

Susan Villa, Deputy Director of the Human Rights Centre, tel. +358 (0)9 432 3738, firstname.lastname@humanrightscentre.fi