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The climate crisis does not respect borders and our laws and policies must reflect this

Ashfaq Khalfan, Amnesty International's Law and Policy Director.

The Court will decide on whether it agrees to proceed with the case filed not only against Portugal, where the applicants live, but also 32 other countries – which comprise of EU members as well as Norway, Russia, Turkey, Switzerland, UK and Ukraine.

“The climate crisis does not respect borders and our laws and policies must reflect this. To ensure justice for people most affected by heatwaves, drought and forest fires – particularly children – states must be required to tackle climate change and its impacts at home and abroad,” said Ashfaq Khalfan, Amnesty’s Law and Policy Director.

“Governments can no longer act as if people outside their borders do not matter when they design their climate policies.”

The crowdfunded case, Duarte Agostinho and others v. Portugal and others, in which the group is intervening, has been brought by six youth from Portugal who are accusing 33 European countries of violating their human rights, including their right to life, by not taking adequate steps to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

To ensure justice for people most affected by heatwaves, drought and forest fires states must be required to tackle climate change and its impacts at home and abroad

Amnesty International

“Those affected by climate change should be allowed to make claims against governments other than their own. If governments are only required to act on the rights of people living within their borders, it is easier for them to ignore the impacts on people in the most affected countries and be more lethargic in their work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions” said Professor Mark Gibney, of the University of North Carolina Asheville.

If allowed to proceed, the case could set an important precedent, clearing the way for other climate lawsuits based on human rights arguments.

“This case is also important to ensure governments are required to design climate policy in a way that recognises the particular climate risks to children and take the ambitious climate protection measures needed to protect their rights,” said Gamze Erdem Türkelli, of the University of Antwerp. 

For more information contact Ashfaq Khalfan, Twitter: @ashfaqkhalfan

Gamze Erdem Türkelli, Twitter: @GamzeErdmTrklli

Amnesty International press office: Twitter @StefSimanowitz

For more details about the intervention, see:https://www.etoconsortium.org/en/news/news/first-climate-change-case-at-the-european-court-of-human-rights-justice-must-not-stop-at-borders-182/ . The submission is available here.

For more information on the case, see http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-206535 and https://youth4climatejustice.org/the-case/.

BACKGROUND

The six applicants in this case, Cláudia Agostinho (21), Catarina Mota (20), Martim Agostinho (17), Sofia Oliveira (15), André Oliveira (12) and Mariana Agostinho (8), are suing the 27 European Union member states, as well as the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine for failing to make deep and urgent emissions cuts to safeguard their future.

The group intervening today as a third party in the case is made up of members of the Extraterritorial Obligations Consortium which advocates for rights beyond borders.

It includes: Amnesty International; the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS); the Center for Transnational Environmental Accountability (CTEA); the Economic and Social Rights Centre (Hakijamii); FIAN International; the Great Lakes Initiative for Human Rights and Development (GLIHD); the University of Antwerp Law and Development Research Group; Prof. Dr. Mark Gibney; Dr. Gamze Erdem Turkelli; Dr. Sara Seck; Prof. Dr. Sigrun Skogly; Dr. Nicolas Carrillo-Santarelli; Prof. Dr. Jernej Letnar Cernic; Tom Mulisa; Dr. Nicholas Orago; Prof. Dr. Wouter Vandenhole; and Jingjing Zhang

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People’s rights are being violated by governments in Europe and Central Asia, who are cracking down on protests and seeking to erode the independence of the judiciary to avoid accountability, Amnesty International said today as it published its annual review of human rights in the region.

The organization praised those brave people who took to the streets to defend their own and others’ rights but warned that governments continue to perpetrate human rights violations with impunity across the region.

In 2019, people in Europe and Central Asia were threatened, intimidated, prosecuted, subjected to excessive use of force by police, and suffered discrimination. However, the grassroots mobilization of courageous people who dared to stand up and hold states accountable provides a ray of hope for the future,

Marie Struthers, Europe Director at Amnesty International

Independence of the judiciary under threat

In Poland, the independence of the judiciary – essential for ensuring fair trials and upholding human rights – was threatened as the ruling party took bolder steps to control judges and courts.

Judges and prosecutors found themselves at risk of disciplinary proceedings for speaking out in defence of the judiciary and risked becoming victims of human rights violations themselves. Many were subjected to smear campaigns on state and social media.

Concerns also mounted about the independence of the judiciary in Hungary, Romania and Turkey. Judges in Hungary came under attack from multiple directions as the government continued its attempts to undermine the independence of the judiciary. In May, the European Commission warned Romania that it should address issues including interference with judicial independence by the executive, or potentially face having some of the member state’s rights suspended for persistent breach of the EU’s founding values. In Turkey, a judicial reform package was passed by Parliament. The reforms failed to address the extreme political pressure on the judiciary or to end unfair and politically motivated prosecutions and convictions.

Freedom of peaceful assembly

Independent courts were vitally needed in 2019 to safeguard individual freedoms as state overreach came to the fore, with restrictions on protests in France, Poland and Turkey as well as prosecution of protesters in many more.

Major protests took place in numerous countries across Europe including France, Austria, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and Hungary, with people protesting against austerity measures and corruption, and in defence of social justice and the independence of the judiciary. Protests and strikes urging governments to take measures against climate change became a regular occurrence in major European cities. 

Many states repressed the demonstrations through measures that breached the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression. In France, Austria and Spain, hundreds of people were injured by the police during protests. Police resorted to excessive force in France, and violently disrupted peaceful gatherings in Turkey where blanket bans on gatherings were often used to deny the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. States frequently failed to hold their security forces accountable for violence perpetrated during the protests.

Some judges adjudicating in cases relating to protests were harassed or demoted by the Polish authorities.

In Moscow, and other Russian cities, the largest numbers of peaceful protesters seen in many years stood up against the authorities’ refusal to allow opposition candidates to take part in the city elections. The resultant crackdown led to criminal convictions for two dozen participants, simply for exercising their right to protest.

“The reprisals against participants of mass protests in Moscow kick-started an unprecedented solidarity campaign that signals the further awakening of human rights awareness and people power in Russia,” said Marie Struthers.

Migration

European states continued to avoid accountability for human rights violations resulting from their migration policies by “outsourcing” border control to countries with questionable human rights records. In 2019, migration policies continued to prioritise the protection of borders over the protection of human lives. Despite the deteriorating security situation there, European countries continued cooperating with Libya to contain migrants and asylum-seekers in the country.

In November, the Italian government extended its agreement with Libya on migration for a further three years, despite continuing evidence pointing to systematic human rights violations including torture in Libya’s detention centres.

Reports of grave human rights violations against asylum-seekers and refugees, and their continued denial of access to protection, failed to deter the EU from partnering with Turkey to curb migration via the 2016 EU-Turkey Deal. Ahead of Turkey’s incursion into north-eastern Syria in October, Amnesty International conducted dozens of interviews which suggested hundreds of Syrians were likely forcibly deported from Turkey between May and September, under the guise of “voluntary returns”. The deal is also causing unprecedented overcrowding of the camps in the Aegean islands, where tens of thousands of people live in destitute conditions.

Human rights defenders under attack

Civil society, journalists and others responsible for holding governments to account faced pressure in 2019.

“Human rights defenders, journalists, NGOs and other people campaigning for a fairer and more just society were all at the sharp end of government crackdowns in 2019,” said Marie Struthers.

Their work to hold authorities to account, will only be more vital during the COVID-19 crisis and in its aftermath. The humanity and solidarity they show towards the most marginalized members of our societies are needed now more than ever, and will continue to be essential during the post-COVID-19 recovery.

Marie Struthers

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Amnesty International press office on press@amnesty.org +32 2 548 27 73 or +32 483 680 812

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Following the publication today of a new Council of Europe report which finds that Finland is failing survivors of rape, Amnesty International’s women’s rights researcher in Europe, Anna Blus said:

“In many ways, Finland is a model country for gender equality, but its antiquated rape laws are badly failing women. The definition of rape in Finnish law, which is based on physical violence and incapacity, is outdated and discourages survivors from coming forward. Survivors of sexual violence deserve laws that protect them and avenues to get justice, and to have their human rights respected throughout the process”

“Finland currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This provides the government with a golden opportunity to amend its laws and lead the way for other EU countries. It’s simple: sex without consent is rape.”

The new report has been written by the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), which monitors the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women.

Under this human rights treaty, rape and all other non-consensual acts of a sexual nature must be classified as criminal offences. However, the law in Finland still does not define rape on the basis of a lack of consent. Instead, the Finnish legal definition of rape is based on whether physical violence, or the threat of violence is involved or if the victim is found to have been unable to resist due to, for example, sleep or heavy intoxication.

The Finnish Ministry of Justice has recently established a working group to reform the Criminal Code on sexual offences. The working group is expected to present their recommendation by the end of May 2020.

“While Amnesty welcomes this initiative, it is imperative that the changes respond to the needs of the victims whose pleas for justice are not being heard. Only in this way can their rights be fully protected,” said Anna Blus.

Background

Every year, around 50,000 women in Finland experience sexual violence, including rape. Most of those responsible for these crimes are never brought to justice. In 2017, only 209 convictions were secured for rape.

In a report published in April 2019, Amnesty International already alerted of high levels of impunity for sexual violence in Finland and the state’s failures to respond to sex crimes. Survivors described to Amnesty International how the lack of understanding reflected deeply entrenched myths about rape and female sexuality that impact directly on survivors’ access to justice.

Only nine out of 31 European countries (in the European Economic Area) have laws that define sex without consent as rape. Amnesty International is calling on all European governments to strengthen their rape laws and ensure the provision of appropriate sexuality education and other measures to prevent rape and other sexual violence and challenge rape myths that hamper access to justice for survivors through awareness-raising, and training of police and prosecutors.

GREVIO’s experts also criticized Finland for the low number of convictions for rape and the low criminal penalties applied in particular to sexual offences against children and to perpetrators who commit a sexual offense by abusing their position of authority over the victim. The experts also criticized the fact that the conviction rate drops dramatically if the victim does not immediately report the sexual offence to the police but does so after some days have passed; an observation made in Amnesty International’s research.

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The man was Danish Prime Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, announcing that his government would introduce new consent-based rape laws.

To understand why the news of some legislation would reduce me to tears, it is necessary to understand the journey that I have been on for almost two years: a journey that began one summer’s night, when I was raped.

I wasn’t raped by a stranger in a dark alley but by someone I considered a friend, in an apartment where I thought I was safe. I was staying over at his flat in Copenhagen, as I had done before, when he came into my room.

He wanted sex. I refused. He got into my bed. I resisted. He put his arm around my throat, pinned me to the bed and raped me.

I wasn’t raped by a stranger in a dark alley but by someone I considered a friend, in an apartment where I thought I was safe

Kristine Holst, journalist and rape survivor

The morning after, I was in a state of shock.

It took me a whole day before I was even able to say the word ‘rape’. Instead I found myself using the word ‘accident’, and in many ways the sensation was not so dissimilar to the disorientation one feels after having been involved in a violent car crash.

Over the following days, I struggled to report the rape to the police. It took four attempts – and on the second attempt I was taken to a small office and warned that I could go to prison if I was lying.

For the next year-and-a-half, I struggled to navigate the complex, slow and, at times, intrusive justice system. The worst aspect of the experience was the focus by the police, the lawyers and the judge on whether there was evidence of physical violence: on whether I had resisted, rather than whether I had consented.

Although I had told the rapist many times to stop, I was repeatedly asked questions about the physical evidence that I had resisted.

I found myself using the word 'accident' instead of rape, and in many ways the sensation was not so dissimilar to the disorientation one feels after having been involved in a violent car crash

Kristine Holst

This focus reflects the fact that Danish law still does not define rape on the basis of lack of consent. Instead, it uses a definition based on whether physical violence, threat or coercion is involved or if the victim is found to have been unable to resist. The assumption that a victim gives consent because she has not physically resisted is deeply problematic, since “involuntary paralysis” or “freezing” has been recognized by experts as a very common physiological and psychological response to sexual assault.

This is not just the case in Denmark.

Paradoxically, despite their image as a land of gender equality, the reality for women in Nordic countries is starkly different. As revealed in a new report by Amnesty International today, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have disturbingly high levels of rape, and survivors of sexual violence are being failed by their justice systems. Flawed legislation and widespread harmful rape myths and gender stereotypes have resulted in endemic impunity for rapists across the region.

Paradoxically, despite their image as a land of gender equality, the reality for women in Nordic countries is starkly different

Kristine Holst

Under the Istanbul Convention, a human rights treaty ratified by all the Nordic countries, rape and all other non-consensual acts of a sexual nature must be classified as criminal offences. Whilst Sweden reformed its laws last year, Finland, Norway and Denmark still use a definition based on whether physical violence, threat or coercion is involved or if the victim is found to have been unable to resist due to, for example, sleep or heavy intoxication.

This focus on resistance and violence rather than on consent has an impact not only on the reporting of rape but also on wider awareness of sexual violence, both of which are key aspects in preventing rape and tackling impunity.

Last year I found out that the man who raped me had been acquitted. The court had been unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt his intention to commit violence.

I was upset, frustrated and angry. I felt the residual trust that I had in the justice system evaporate. But rather than give up, I decided to take action.

I contacted Amnesty International and other organizations. I met with other survivors and together we formed the #LetsTalkAboutYes campaign to raise awareness of the lack of justice for rape victims.

The purpose of the campaign was to open people’s eyes to the realities, to encourage them to take a stand and to change attitudes to the way rape is viewed and is dealt with. But most importantly, our aim was to change the law so that it was able to give us as citizens what we are entitled to: protection from violence.

I hope that the journey that began on the night of my rape will culminate soon in the passing of consent-based legislation

Kristine Holst

For the campaign to be effective, we recognized that it would be necessary to break the wall of silence that surrounds the issue of rape. Together with several other rape survivors we began to tell our stories publicly: first on Facebook and then more widely.

It was not easy at first, speaking about such a painful and personal experience to strangers and journalists beneath the glare of studio lights. But it became easier, and I found it also gave me strength.

In February I joined a delegation delivering 50,000 signatures calling for a change in Denmark’s law to the Minister of Justice. In March, together with other survivors, I spoke to more than 100 journalists and policy makers at the launch of Amnesty International’s report on rape which contained my story.

And not only did we speak: we were heard.

What this experience has shown me is that – when women come together and bravely speak out – change is not just possible: it is inevitable

Kristine Holst, journalist

New legislation to amend the legal definition of rape in Denmark could be voted on very soon. We look forward to seeing the law, and we hope it will reflect the priorities set out by survivors.

I hope that the journey that began on the night of my rape will culminate soon in the passing of consent-based legislation not just in Denmark, but in Finland and Norway too.

What this experience has shown me is that – when women come together and bravely speak out – change is not just possible: it is inevitable.

Kristine Holst is a journalist who has worked with Amnesty International on their #LetsTalkAboutYes campaign

This article was first published here by Newsweek.

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Time for change: Justice for rape survivors in the Nordic countries reveals that flawed legislation and widespread harmful myths and gender stereotypes have resulted in endemic impunity for rapists across the region.

If women come together and bravely speak out – change is not just possible: it is inevitable

Kristine Holst, rape survivor from Denmark

“It is a paradox that Nordic countries, which have strong records of upholding gender equality, suffer shockingly high levels of rape,” said Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty International’s Secretary General. 

“Social stigma and a lack of trust in the justice system often mean that women and girls fail to report attacks, and those that do, are frequently failed by callous and prejudiced justice systems or outdated laws. One survivor told us she would never have reported her rape if she had known how she would have been be treated, and her story is typical in justice systems which are stacked against rape survivors.”

Whilst the situation facing survivors of rape is not uniform across the four Nordic countries, there are disturbing parallels among them whose criminal justice systems ignore, deny and tacitly condone sexual violence against women.

It is a paradox that Nordic countries, which have strong records of upholding gender equality, suffer shockingly high levels of rape

Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty International

A first step towards protecting women and girls from rape is to adopt and effectively implement consent-based laws on sexual violence, and there has been some recent progress in this area. So far, Sweden is the only one of the four Nordic countries to have passed a consent-based law, but Denmark has recently announced that they support consent legislation, and in Finland the Ministry of Justice is preparing a complete reform of sexual crimes legislation, which aims to “strengthen the role of consent”.

Definition of rape based on violence and incapacity

Under the Istanbul Convention, a human rights treaty ratified by all the Nordic countries, rape and all other non-consensual acts of a sexual nature must be classified as criminal offences. However, the laws in Finland, Norway and Denmark still do not define rape on the basis of lack of consent. Instead, they use a definition based on whether physical violence, threat or coercion is involved or if the victim is found to have been unable to resist due to, for example, sleep or heavy intoxication.

The implicit assumption in law or in practice that a victim gives her consent because she has not physically resisted is deeply problematic since “involuntary paralysis” or “freezing” has been recognized by experts as a very common physiological and psychological response to sexual assault.

This focus on resistance and violence rather than on consent has an impact not only on the reporting of rape but also on wider awareness of sexual violence, both of which are key aspects in preventing rape and tackling impunity. The definition does not cover all cases of rape and thus some cases cannot be punished as rape.

Whilst amending rape laws are a vital step towards changing attitudes and achieving justice, much more is needed to effect institutional and social change

Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty International

Finland

Every year, around 50,000 women in Finland experience sexual violence, including rape. Most of those responsible for these crimes are never brought to justice. In 2017 only 209 convictions were secured for rape.

Some survivors told Amnesty International that they had had positive and supportive experiences with the police and justice system. Others have described how the lack of understanding reflected deeply entrenched myths about rape and female sexuality that impact directly on access to justice.

In one disturbing district court judgment analyzed by Amnesty International, a judge acquitted the defendants in a case of multiple perpetrators saying: “The fact that a sexual partner says ‘no, I don’t want to’ before sexual intercourse or between intercourses, is not always a sufficient signal to the other person that consent and willingness to continue sex is not present.”  

Interviewed survivors described the process as stressful, scary and stigmatizing, regardless of the outcome of the case. One survivor told Amnesty International: “At the trial I thought, and said to my counsel, that if I had known what this would be like, I would never have reported the rape.”

Norway

Norwegian authorities have not taken the necessary measures to prevent rape and other forms of sexual violence or to address the consequences when such crimes occur. Prevailing and erroneous myths about rape make it hard for rape victims to report the crime to the police or to seek medical help. They also influence the way rape cases are handled by the criminal justice system.

Gender stereotypes and rape myths underpin attitudes of many people in the justice system. These damaging attitudes are reflected by one regional public prosecutor who told Amnesty International: “I have had a lot of student cases – decent young men who have done something stupid. It is not easy to convict a student who has come to this city to get a good education and who behaves well in court. He was drunk and horny and has done something stupid.”

Many rapes are not reported to the police, but even those survivors who do turn to the police face a lengthy and often flawed process. One survivor told Amnesty International: “It took almost two years from the time I reported in the autumn of 2016, until the case was closed in the spring of 2018. It is a long time to wait.”

One of the positive developments in recent years highlighted by several of the rape survivors interviewed by Amnesty International is the high standard of police interviews. As a rule, those who are responsible for conducting the interviews in cases of sexual assault including rape are trained specialists. In addition, the right to free legal counsel is an important and necessary support to the victims of rape during the whole judicial process.

Sweden

In 2018, Sweden adopted a new consent-based law on sexual crimes, making sex without consent a criminal offence as well as introducing the new offence of ‘negligent rape’.

Whilst it is still too early to assess the full impact of these legislative changes to the law, it is clearly an important step in tackling an issue that is pervasive in Swedish society. But changing the law will not be enough.

In Sweden flaws in the judicial processes need to be addressed, particularly in the police’s handling of rape cases. The inconsistent application of best practice working methods for investigations of sexual offences against adults and delays in results of forensic analysis were highlighted by representatives of different authorities, while some survivors described unacceptable delays in interviewing identified suspects.

One survivor told Amnesty International: “If they had done it properly from the start, I would have had justice today. All those hopes for justice and redress, and in the end – nothing. It was just another police report.”

Harmful attitudes will not be suddenly changed by a change in the law. A recent study found that that almost one in 10 people in Sweden agreed that gender-based violence against women is often provoked by the victim herself. One survivor told Amnesty International: ”I even got that comment from my mother. She said ’I have always tried to teach you how to dress.’”

Despite high levels of rape, there are very low prosecution rates in Sweden with only 6 percent of cases involving adults resulting in prosecution in 2017. Low prosecution and conviction rates affect confidence in the justice system.

Nevertheless, in many instances treatment of rape victims by the police has generally improved in recent years and the 2018 legal reforms require investigating police officers to immediately inform the victim about their right to counsel of their choice, free of charge.

One survivor who got a conviction in her case told Amnesty International: “It’s part of the healing. You feel: At last! At last they believe you, the system believes you…I think I am one of few who got justice. I do have hopes though, and the experience I had is what I want for everyone else.”

Denmark

Rape in Denmark is hugely under-reported and even when women do go to the police, the chances of prosecution or conviction are very slim. Of the 24,000 women found by a recent study to have experienced rape or attempted rape in 2017 alone, just 890 rapes were reported to the police. Of these, 535 resulted in prosecutions and only 94 in convictions.

Following the publication of an Amnesty International report last month, the Danish prime minister, announced that his government will back consent-based rape legislation and opposition parties have put forward a proposal on consent legislation expected to be debated in the Parliament this week.

The authorities must take steps to challenge rape myths and gender stereotypes at all levels of society

Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty International

“Whilst amending rape laws across the Nordic countries, are a vital step towards changing attitudes and achieving justice, much more is needed to effect institutional and social change,” said Kumi Naidoo.

“The authorities must take steps to challenge rape myths and gender stereotypes at all levels of society. Professionals working with rape survivors must receive adequate continuous training and broader sexuality education and awareness-raising programmes are needed from a young age.”

Kirstine Holst, a survivor from Denmark, who became an activist after she was raped by a friend and whose story is included in the report, told Amnesty International: “I hope that the journey that began on the night of my rape, will culminate soon in the passing of consent-based legislation in Denmark. What this experience has shown me is that – if women come together and bravely speak out – change is not just possible: it is inevitable.”

Background on rape legislation in Nordic countries

In 2018, Amnesty analysed rape legislation in 31 European countries, and only eight of them have laws that define sex without consent as rape.

Last year alone, Iceland and Sweden became the seventh and eighth countries in Europe to adopt new legislation defining rape on the basis of lack of consent.  The Spanish government announced in 2018 legislative changes to amend the current rape definition, in Portugal a bill is under discussion in Parliament and in Greece, the government has opened a public consultation over the current definition of rape in the Greek Penal Code. This report is a follow up to Amnesty International’s report, Case Closed: Rape and human rightsin the Nordic countries, published in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in 2008.

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While the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s investigation found no evidence that Finnish officials had any knowledge of rendition flights by the CIA in Finland, it “could not give any guarantees” as some flight information was not included in the probe because it is simply no longer available. 

“The Finnish investigation is a classic example of too little, too late. Victims of CIA renditions and secret detention operations must have access to an effective remedy. While the Ombudsman worked hard to uncover the truth, the Finnish process is incomplete and inconclusive, leaving potential victims with no access to justice,” said Susanna Mehtonen, Legal Adviser at Amnesty International Finland. 

Had the Finnish government responded to the Council of Europe’s inquiries in 2005 about CIA rendition operations, the relevant information would have been accessible. 

“Finnish government negligence has now left gaping holes in the body of available information to determine conclusively that Finland was not involved in these operations. Until that hole is filled, Finland remains vulnerable to allegations that its airspace and airports may have been used for CIA renditions,” Susanna Mehtonen said.

The Ombudsman’s investigation began in October 2012 and covered flights passing through Finnish territory from 2001-2006. Due to flaws and deficiencies in various data and tracking systems in Finland, the Ombudsman could not conclusively rule out Finland’s involvement in CIA rendition and secret detention operations. He has called for reform of those systems and greater oversight to ensure that aviation and other agencies’ operations ensure that human rights are guaranteed. The Finnish authorities are to report back to the Ombudsman on this progress by the end of the year.

“The Ombudsman has rightly called for reform of various systems governing aviation and data collection and retention,” said Julia Hall, Amnesty International’s expert on counter-terrorism and human rights. 

“Such reform should move forward. Never again should Finland be in the position of not knowing whether and when its airspace and territory may have been used in ways that violated people’s human rights.” 

The Ombudsman’s investigation also fails to clarify some of Amnesty International’s key concerns. For instance, whether the Finnish authorities knowingly permitted Finland to be used as a destination in “dummy” flight plans. A UN study conducted in 2010 noted that such plans were drawn up to conceal the real destination of rendition flights. It has been reported in media that Finland was used as a dummy destination for flights that may have been en route to a secret detention site in Lithuania. 

The Lithuanian authorities – who have previously admitted their involvement in the US renditions programme – declined to respond to the Finnish Ombudsman’s request for information as part of his investigation.

“This silence is deafening, especially given the fact that Finland’s alleged involvement in the rendition programme arose in the context of a flight we discovered that raised questions about Finland’s possible links to rendition and secret detention operations in Lithuania. Lithuania should respond to the Finnish government’s inquiry as a matter of urgency,” said Julia Hall. 

Lithuania is currently investigating the USA’s rendition of Mustafa al-Hawsawi, detained at Guantánamo Bay. That investigation should be broadened to include any and all Lithuanian complicity in the CIA operations. 

The September 2011 Amnesty International report Unlock the truth in Lithuania: Investigate secret prisons now first identified Finland as a country possibly linked to the Lithuanian secret sites and called on the Lithuanian authorities to re-open investigations into its own and the USA’s involvement in these operations in Lithuania. A September 2012 European Parliament report subsequently called on Finland and Lithuania to conduct and/or conclude effective investigations into their alleged roles in the CIA operations.

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