Office of the Non-discrimination Ombudsman suggests dozens of changes to legislation to strengthen equality and fundamental and human rights

On 24 March, the Non-discrimination Ombudsman submitted a report to the Finnish Parliament on the state of equality in Finland. Finland does not sufficiently protect those who experience discrimination or a threat of discrimination. Violence against women and weakening the rights of foreign nationals must also be addressed. In the report, the Ombudsman gives recommendations to the Parliament for the promotion of equality and fundamental and human rights.

Read the report to the Parliament:

Discrimination is common in Finland, and it is deeply rooted in the structures, practices and attitudes of our society. Equality must be promoted consistently across all areas of society, and the structures that enable discrimination and hinder the equal fulfilment of rights must be dismantled.

– Our society is still far from equal. In particular, ethnic and religious minorities such as the Roma, people of African descent and Muslims are still subjected to hate speech and face open racism. Several services and workplaces are still partly or entirely inaccessible to people with disabilities. Discrimination denies many members of minority groups the opportunity to live equal lives, says the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman Rainer Hiltunen.

Discrimination has been forbidden by law in Finland for decades. Still, many of those who have faced discrimination do not receive justice because the legal protection under law and its fulfilment in practice are not always sufficient to ensure that everyone’s rights are respected.

– Every year, the Office of the Non-discrimination Ombudsman intervenes with hundreds of cases of discrimination, and often the discrimination ends after the Ombudsman’s intervention. However, we do not have an easily accessible body for legal protection that could determine that discrimination has occurred and order compensation to be paid to the victim. For most people, seeking justice through a district court is not possible if there is a risk that they are ordered to pay tens of thousands in legal fees. The right to compensation exists on paper but not in practice, says Hiltunen.

In its report to Parliament, the Non-discrimination Ombudsman recommends that legal protection of victims of discrimination is improved by giving the National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal the right to order the discriminating party to pay compensation and penalty to victims of discrimination. Currently, the Tribunal can only recommend that compensation is paid and impose a conditional fine.

In its report to Parliament, the Non-discrimination Ombudsman recommends dozens of measures that could improve equality and the respect of fundamental and human rights. The report extensively analyses the different issues under the Ombudsman’s authority such as equality and discrimination, the fulfilment of the rights of foreign nationals, supervising the enforcement of removal from the country, and combatting human trafficking and violence against women.

Rights of foreign nationals must be ensured through legislation

In the last few years, the rights of foreign nationals and their status in Finland have been materially weakened. Instead of overhauling the Aliens Act, it has been changed through several smaller amendments. The Act is now more convoluted than before and the compounding effects of the amendments are hard to predict.

In the Non-discrimination Ombudsman’s view, the applicable legislation requires a large number of amendments to ensure that the fundamental and human rights of foreign nationals are fully respected. The rights and legal protection of children must also be ensured. The current Aliens Act does not include an obligation to prioritise children’s interests even though Finland’s international obligations require it.

– We do want to read anymore decisions where a parent is denied admittance and the decision states that their child, who is a Finnish citizen, can maintain contact with the parent through video calls, for example. The child’s interests were also not sufficiently considered in the case where a mother and her two small children were detained for nearly eight weeks, Hiltunen notes.

The Non-discrimination Ombudsman recommends that prioritising the best interests of the child must be enshrined directly in the Aliens Act and the Reception Act. Detaining children must also be stopped.

Competence to combat human trafficking must be increased

Human trafficking is a serious violation of human rights and a form of crime. Human trafficking is often a hidden crime, but its victims are encountered in workplaces, schools, and social welfare and healthcare services. Competence in identifying and combatting human trafficking must therefore be increased across the society.

Forcing someone to take part in criminal activities is also a form of human trafficking and the victims are often children or young people. If such abuse is not recognised, the child bears the responsibility for their actions alone, while the true criminals reap the benefits. The Ombudsman recommends that the perspective of identifying and supporting victims of human trafficking is comprehensively included in policies and measures related to children and young people and youth crime.

Residence permits should provide security. In practice, the requirements for granting a residence permit for a victim of human trafficking are so extensive that only a fraction of the victims actually meet them. Returning a victim to their country of origin always comes with the risk that the person falls victim to human trafficking again. The objective should therefore be that no victims of human trafficking are returned from Finland. To ensure this, the requirements for the related residence permit must be lowered.

Finland is a dangerous country for women

Historically, Finland has underperformed in combatting violence against women. Violence against women is not consistently recognised as an equality issue that makes visible the power structures and harmful gender roles present in our society. More purposeful structural measures to reduce violence are required considering the extent and degree of the violence women face in Finland.

Multidisciplinary violence risk assessment and risk management must be required by law from the authorities as quickly as possible. Preventing violence and ensuring a social welfare and healthcare system is accessible in all wellbeing services counties and municipalities requires binding legislation that safeguards the status of organisations working to combat violence. Finland’s Criminal Code must be amended to better express the reprehensibility of domestic violence.

What is the Office of the Non-discrimination Ombudsman?

The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman is an autonomous and independent authority that promotes equality and works to prevent discrimination. The Ombudsman also supervises removal from the country and is both the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and the National Rapporteur of violence against women. The Ombudsman also works towards improving the rights and status of foreign nationals.

24.03.2026