Kathmandu (Pahichan) November 22 – Finland’s Presidency of the Council of Europe starts today on 21 November 2018. The first event of the Presidency is a meeting of the European Governmental LGBTI Focal Points Network to be held in Tallinn and Helsinki on 21–22 November 2018.

Finland will host the network meeting in Helsinki on Thursday 22 November 2018 as part of its Presidency of the Council of Europe. The topics on the meeting agenda include the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member states on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity and the review process of the implementation of the Recommendation.

The member States have reported on the implementation of the Recommendation to the Council of Europe in summer 2018, and the preliminary results of the review will be presented at the meeting. In addition, the meeting participants will be introduced to a study on the rights and experiences of intersex children and their families. The study has been conducted under Finland’s National Action Plan on Fundamental and Human Rights, and a report on it will be published in the beginning of 2019.

Around 30 member States of the Council of Europe and numerous international organisations, such as ILGA-Europe, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OECD, the World Bank and the European Commission, participate in the activities of the informal LGBTI Focal Points Network. The objective of the network is to provide the member States with an interactive forum for developing decision-making related to sexual and gender minorities.

Finland’s Presidency will emphasise the Council of Europe’s work to promote human rights and the rule of law and to reinforce the rules-based international system.

Finland’s Presidency of the Council of Europe will last until the end of May 2019.

Source : oikeusministerio