This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS HELSINKI 000056 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/ESC/TFS, S/CT, INL/C, EUR/PGI, EUR/ERA, L 
TREASURY FOR TFFC, OFAC 
JUSTICE FOR CRM/AFMLS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN KTFN PGOV PTER FI EUN
SUBJECT: Charge Meets with Finnish Legal Expert on Counter- 
Terrorism Issues 
 
REF: A) 05 HELSINKI 1321 
 
     B) 05 HELSINKI 1290 
     C) 05 HELSINKI 1211 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. Charge met with one of Finland's most 
senior officials on counter-terrorism, Marja Lehto, who 
recently was appointed to chair the Council of Europe's 
Committee of Experts on Terrorism. Lehto requested input for 
the Designators' Workshop to be held during Finland's 
presidency of the EU; applauded statements by State 
Department Legal Adviser John Bellinger, III; and noted that 
Finland was seeking changes to its legislation to provide 
for more effective and independent asset-freezing authority. 
End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On January 17, Charge met with Marja Lehto and Pekka 
Oinonen of the Unit for Public International Law at the 
Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Lehto, who heads the office, 
was appointed in November to chair the Council of Europe's 
Committee of Experts on Terrorism (Codexter) for 2006. She 
will also chair the meetings of the EU's Committee on 
Counter-terrorism (COTERR) during Finland's EU presidency 
(July-December 2006). 
 
¶3. (U) Lehto confirmed that Finland would host a Designators 
Workshop to address terrorist financing and repeated an 
earlier offer for US input on the workshop agenda (per 
reftel A).  (NOTE: Post welcomes Department feedback, which 
can be directed to the Terrorist Finance Coordinating 
Officer John Clarkson (ClarksonJC@State.gov).  END NOTE.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Lehto noted that one of her priorities would be to 
explore ways to integrate human rights issues with counter- 
terrorism measures. She pointed out that these did not need 
to be competing issues. Rather she projected they could form 
complementary sides to terrorism prevention action plans. 
Lehto mentioned a new report from Martin Scheinin, the 
Finland-based UN Special Rapporteur charged with exploring 
the human rights/counterterrorism intersection; the report 
impressed her, and she plans to incorporate Scheinin's views 
into Codexter's work.  (See reftels B and C for more 
background on Embassy's outreach with Scheinin.)  Lehto also 
applauded statements made last September in San Remo, Italy, 
by State Department Legal Adviser John Bellinger, III, on 
the importance of human rights and international law to US 
foreign policy. The remarks, she reflected, were met with 
great enthusiasm, indicating the tremendous importance 
senior-level European audiences attach to US efforts to 
address human rights issues in anti-terrorism discussions. 
 
¶5. (SBU) On terrorist financing, Lehto commented that a 
domestic inter-agency working group had been formed to 
examine ways to improve Finland's national asset freezing 
authority. Lehto shared her view that the group's findings 
may result in legislative changes granting greater 
independence to Finland's asset freezing authority, perhaps 
allowing the Government to freeze assets of EU-based 
individuals without regard to the status--or even existence- 
-of an ongoing judicial investigation. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Finally, Lehto commented on pending Finnish 
ratification of the US-EU extradition treaty.  The agreement 
has been held up by Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee 
while it awaits "assurances" from the Foreign and Justice 
Ministries that alleged U.S. rendition flights through 
Finland did not violate Finland's constitution.  Lehto said 
that while Finland was obligated, as an EU member, to ratify 
the treaty, Parliament had the constitutional authority to 
request such clarifications; however, she believed it highly 
unlikely that the treaty would be ultimately rejected. 
 
HYATT#