A/HRC/8/24 Page 4 6. The Head of Delegation continued with a short description of Finland’s legal framework. In Finland, public authorities are responsible for ensuring the implementation of human rights, and the governmental system is based on the principles of democracy and the rule of law. The democratic system of government essentially includes ensuring the freedom of action of civil society as well as the broadest possible opportunities for people to participate and exercise influence in different sectors of societal life. Promoting economic, social and cultural rights is a special priority of the Government. Finland considers that these rights cannot be separated from civil and political rights. For example, the right to food or an adequate standard of living are in practice often prerequisites for full enjoyment of political rights, such as freedom of association and expression. Challenges brought about by globalization have underlined the interconnection between different rights. Public administration in Finland is characterized by transparency of administration, including open document publicity, respect for the rule of law, well-reasoned decisions, transparency in decision-making and a low degree of corruption. The exercise of public power is based on law, and the law must be carefully complied with in all public activities. In the Government’s view it is clear that good governance provides good conditions for the implementation of human rights in Finland. In addition to Finland’s involvement in human rights work in the United Nations, Finland is also active in other international forums, especially in the institutions of the European Union, the Council of Europe, including the European Court of Human Rights, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Chairmanship of which Finland is holding in 2008. 7. The Head of Delegation briefly presented some achievements in the promotion of human rights in Finland. In recent years, the Government has adopted a number of national action plans in order to advance human rights. The Government presented its report on Finland’s human rights policy to the Parliament in 2004. The report covers a wide range of issues related to both international and national human rights policy issues. The next report is currently being prepared and will be submitted to Parliament in 2009. She referred to several government programmes and action plans. 8. The Head of Delegation also highlighted the Finnish school system, which guarantees all children and young people an equal opportunity to receive basic education irrespective of social status, gender and ethnic background. Cost-free education and social benefits for students facilitate good results. The quality of the Finnish school system has already been proved in a number of OECD PISA (Programme for International Students Assessment) surveys. 9. Even though the Government has carried out various activities to promote human rights, Finland is still facing challenges. Despite progress, there are certain problems of racism and intolerance in Finland. Although public awareness of cultural diversity is ever increasing and the Government has worked persistently to integrate immigrants into Finnish society, racist, discriminatory and xenophobic attitudes unfortunately continue to be part of everyday life in Finland. The Non-Discrimination Act obligates all public authorities to foster and safeguard equality in a systematic and target-oriented manner. A reform of the non-discrimination legislation is currently under preparation. The purpose is to strengthen the guarantees of non-discrimination by making the legislation cover more clearly all grounds of discrimination, apply more uniformly to all spheres of life, and provide for the most uniform possible legal remedies and sanctions for different instances of discrimination. In recent years, there have been positive developments with regard to the Roma population in Finland. The position of Roma was secured by the Constitution in the basic rights reform. The significance of their own participation and culture has grown. In recent years, issues of discrimination, employment and housing of Roma people have been highlighted alongside