FINLAND
- Introduction
Finland first launched its first National Action Plan in 2008, second in 2012 and third in 2018.
In March 2023 Finland issued its fourth NAP for the period 2023-2027, which is now available in English at Women, Peace and Security : Finland’s National Action Plan 2023−2027 (valtioneuvosto.fi) (NB pages 5 & 6 of the translation - document abstracts - are not in English )
- Objectives of NAP
1 Meaningful participation of women in all their diversity is strengthened in conflict prevention and peacebuilding
2 Leadership and meaningful participation of women in all their diversity as well gender mainstreaming are strengthened in peace processes and peace mediation
3 Integration of gender perspective and meaningful participation of women in all their diversity is strengthened in the security sector, crisis management and preparedness work.
4 The safety and rights of women and girls are better safeguarded and their diverse needs are better met during crises
5 The implementation of the WPS agenda is strengthened and context sensitivity is increased in national and international activities
Policy areas carried over from previous action plans:
- Civic participation
- Public officials capacity-building
- Easy language
- Open data & ethical AI
Emerging in this action plan:
- Fighting mis- and disinformation
Finland’s 5th NAP contains three broad themes and each theme comprises of the following two commitments:
Promising Commitments
Commitment 1.1: This commitment aims to expand Finland’s national dialogues by engaging new target groups, increasing the diversity of dialogue organizers and participants, and fostering the utilization of input from the dialogues in policy-making processes.
Commitment 2.1: This commitment entails improving public access to open data in emergency situations and promoting the opening of public spending data in municipalities and the new wellbeing services regions.
- -Commentary
Most of the policy areas are carried over from previous action plans. However, several involve novel elements. For example, Commitment 2.1 introduces fighting the spread of mis- and disinformation. The fifth action plan also returns to the issue of youth participation addressed in the second plan. This time, the government promises to implement the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s recommendations on increasing young people’s participation and trust in government. Several commitments also foster open government in the wellbeing services regions – a new administrative level that started operation in early 2023.
- Methodology/Civil society & Stakeholders
The Ministry of Finance led an inclusive, participatory, and broad-based co-creation process that extended over nine months in drafting the NAPS of 2023-2027. The commitments were based on input from a number of civil society organizations (CSOs) and government institutions collected at events such as the national CSO Academy, dedicated meetings across Finland, online surveys, and discussions in the OGP multi-stakeholder forum (MSF). Civil society stakeholders are generally happy with the selected priorities[1] and the way the government took CSOs’ input into account.[2] However, they noted the government could use simpler and more concise language when soliciting input from CSOs, especially underrepresented groups who are unfamiliar with OGP.[3]
- -UN Peacekeeping basic statistics
Latest statistics on contribution of uniformed personnel, the Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in Peace Operations as at 31 December 2024 estimates the following number of female peacekeeping personnel deployed by Finland as 13 women to 184 men deployed, of 194 personnel.
Source: Gender Statistics Contribution of Uniformed Personnel, UN Peace Security Data Hub
- NAP and SW’s Mission
Finland's NAP is a comprehensive approach to the WPS agenda, setting out principles on which the NAP is based, and evaluations of previous NAPS that have informed this NAP. Particularly useful is a diagrammatic overview of the NAP on page 28. The NAP includes an implementation plan which will be monitored on a regular basis and a report will be published every year on progress towards the objectives.
The Finland NAPS 2023-2027 reflects the country’s commitment to integrating its role as the co-leader of the Technology and Innovations action group. It is one of the few countries which specifically addresses ‘gendered online violence’ within its WPS Agenda by recognising it as a “continuum of gendered violence (p 62).
- Sources:
- Women, peace and security Finland’s national action program 2023-2027, State Department of Foreign Affairs (13 March 2023)
- Open Government Partnership, Finland Action Plan Review 2023-2027 (28 March 2024) accessed at https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/finland-action-plan-review-2023-2027/
- Finland’s fourth NAP for 2023-2027 is available in Finnish at: Naiset, rauha ja turvallisuus : Suomen kansallinen toimintaohjelma 2023−2027 - Valto (valtioneuvosto.fi)
- United Nations Peace Security Data Hub
