VZCZCXYZ0009
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHHE #0696/01 2541113
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111113Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY HELSINKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3739
INFO RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0040
RUEHSL/AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA 0065
RUEHUP/AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST 0057
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON 0112
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0216
RUEHPG/AMEMBASSY PRAGUE 0984
RUEHRA/AMEMBASSY RIGA 0865
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0191
RUEHSQ/AMEMBASSY SKOPJE 0070
RUEHSI/AMEMBASSY TBILISI 0194
RUEHTI/AMEMBASSY TIRANA 0113
RUEHVL/AMEMBASSY VILNIUS 3181
RUEHVB/AMEMBASSY ZAGREB 0087

UNCLAS HELSINKI 000696 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G, DRL/SEA, AND NSC/DEMOC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL FI
SUBJECT: HELSINKI: PRESIDENT'S HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDTABLE AT 
2007 UNGA: FOLLOWING UP ON PRAGUE DOCUMENT 
 
REF: SECSTATE 125456 
 
¶1. (U) Finland's main human rights priority over the past 
several years has been the battle against trafficking-in- 
persons (TIP), and Post's outstanding cooperation with the 
GoF in this area has made it a key highlight of our 
bilateral relationship.  Post has engaged very actively 
with the Finns to raise awareness; to protect victims' 
rights; to establish legislation to prosecute traffickers; 
and to create a national TIP action plan.  In 2005 Finland 
began prosecuting its first trafficker under newly passed 
legislation, and its demand-reduction and victim assistance 
programs have become models elsewhere in Europe.  Indeed, 
during the past four years, we have seen Finland transform 
itself from a nation that largely ignored its TIP problem 
to a real leader in Europe in fighting TIP. 
 
¶2. (U) Several government officials and civil society 
activists could be fairly categorized as human rights 
defenders in the battle against TIP.  The most prominent of 
these would include Ilkka Heranen, head of the Finnish 
immigration authority, who has demanded that his units be 
thoroughly trained in victim identification and assistance 
methods; and Eva Biaudet, a long-time Finnish TIP activist 
and former Member of Parliament, who was appointed OSCE 
Special Representative on Combating Trafficking in Human 
Beings in October 2006. 
 
¶3. (U) The dialogue between government and civil society 
groups in Finland is outstanding.  NGOs operate shelters 
that provide assistance and counseling to TIP victims; 
phone hotlines for victims and law enforcement officals; 
training seminars for Finnish law enforcement authorities; 
and TIP demand reduction efforts.  All NGOs receive the 
bulk of their funding from the GoF.  The GoF also provides 
funding to the International Organization for Migration 
(IOM), the Nordic-Baltic Task Force, and the OSCE to fund 
anti-TIP projects. 
 
¶4. (U) As for coordination with regional organizations and 
coordination with the US, Finland has become a model for 
simultaneously raising TIP awareness in Europe while also 
promoting trans-Atlantic cooperation.  Combating 
trafficking-in-persons has been one of Finland's top 
Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) priorities, and it used the 
occasion of its EU Presidency during the second half of 
2006 to raise awareness of TIP throughout the EU.  The GoF 
organized a conference on child victim identification and 
interview issues that brought more than 100 law 
enforcement, social work, and NGO personnel together from 
throughout the EU.  Citing American expertise with child 
trafficking victims, the GoF asked the Embassy for 
assistance in bringing in a US expert.  Finland cooperates 
with Europol, Eurojust; with the Nordic-Baltic countries, 
through multilateral processes such as the Nordic-Baltic 
Task Force and Arctic Council; with Nordic-Baltic countries 
through the Nordic-Baltic information sharing network; and 
bilaterally with Russia, the Baltic countries, and any 
other relevant countries.  As part of its national action 
plan, the National Bureau of Investigation formed a 
dedicated anti-trafficking unit.  Finnish liaison officers 
with anti-trafficking responsibility are now stationed in 
Murmansk, Petrozavorsk, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tallinn, 
The Hague, Lyon, Malaga, and Beijing.  Finland also 
participates in the "Nordic Cooperation Network", a network 
of Finnish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and Icelandic law 
enforcement liaison officers scattered throughout Europe, 
Asia, and the Middle-East. 
 
¶5. (U) From the public diplomacy perspective, Finnish- 
sponsored US-EU cooperation and Finnish efforts on the 
multilateral stage have been highlighted by Finnish and 
European media.  US-Finland cooperation has also been a PD 
highlight for us, and US TIP experts have always received 
keen media interest on their frequent visits here. 
 
¶6. (U) Aside from TIP, Finland's other human rights 
 
priorities include financial and political support to 
NGOs and occasional and targeted support to dissidents, 
exiles, moderates, human rights activists and pro- 
democracy leaders in Russia, "Europe's new neighborhood," 
and Central Asia.  Finland funds several NGOs in Russia 
that are engaged in environmental and educational 
activities near the Finnish border.  There is also 
significant cross-border educational exchange.  In 2006, 
when Russia passed its infamous legislation aimed at 
limiting NGOs ability to operate, Finnish Members of 
Parliament wrote an open letter to their Duma 
counterparts urging them to strengthen, rather than 
limit, indigenous Russian NGOs and also calling on them 
to consider the negative impact such legislation would 
have on Russia's worldwide human rights image.  The GoF 
also protested through diplomatic channels and insisted 
on exemptions to ensure that the NGOs it funds could 
continue their work. 
 
¶7. (U) As for the more difficult work of reaching out to 
regional democracy activists and human rights defenders, 
Finland targets its efforts carefully.  The GoF has 
funded the International Humanities University in Vilnius 
for Belarusian exiles through the EU and bilaterally for 
more than three years.  Meanwhile, senior GoF officials 
have begun to take a more direct role in reaching out to 
pro-democracy leaders, especially in the Balkans and in 
Belarus.  PM Vanhanen hosted Belarusian opposition leader 
Alexandre Milinkevic last fall; the Finns highlighted 
support for democratic forces during the EU-Ukraine 
Summit that occurred during their EU Presidency; and 
President Halonen hosted Serb President Tadic June 2 in 
an attempt to help bolster pro-Western forces within 
Belgrade's new government.  Finland also targets 
significant development and civil society funding to 
Kosovo.  Finland showed real leadership in Spring 2007 in 
calling for a "common EU policy" to support Estonia and 
in criticizing Moscow's heavy-handed reprisals during the 
"Bronze Statue" crisis.  This was a clear break from the 
practice of previous administrations, which preferred to 
sit back and let the EU take the lead on contentious 
Russia-related human rights issues. 
HYATT