A/HRC/WG.6/1/FIN/4 page 11 society, in particular in paragraphs 79 to 87 of the summary report. In the context of a national plan mentioned, Mexico recommended that Finland step up as far as possible measures taken to prevent violence against women. Finally, Mexico asked Finland, as far as possible, to make progress in its institutional practices and public policies in the sphere of migration so that the standards established by the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers be respected. Mexico invited Finland to ratify the ICRMW. 33. Following the discussion, the representative of Finland, in her responses, stated that non-ratification by Finland of the ICRMW is linked with Finland’s concept of the role of migrant workers and immigrants in society. Finland is of the view that the rights of immigrants were covered by existing human rights instruments, especially by the European Convention on Human Rights, and has not regarded as necessary the ratification of the Migrant Workers Convention. The delegation stated that Finland does not consider immigrants as migrant workers but as people who move with their families and as such it took a more comprehensive attitude towards immigrants. It was further explained that migrants should not be seen as a separate group but rather should in principle enjoy the same rights as the citizens of the country of their destination and should be treated equally. She stated that the promotion of the rights of ethnic minorities was raised many times and that Finland shall focus on it seriously. This hearing has made it clear that it is also regarded as a problem by others. The delegation explained that Finland’s human rights philosophy of sexual orientation was essentially based on the aim to ensure an equal implementation of rights regardless of origin, gender, age, religion, opinion, disability, sexual orientation or the like. Finland was of the opinion that the principles of universality and non-discrimination require that due attention should be paid to human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Finnish Constitution stressed that everyone is equal before the law and sexual orientation falls clearly under the Constitutional provisions prohibiting discrimination and also that such discrimination was further prohibited in several Acts, such as the Criminal Code which clearly mentioned sexual orientation and gender. On the question of the role of civil society in human rights policy-making, the delegation noted that mention was made of the example of the role of NGOs in the drafting of the present report for UPR. She emphasized that the report was prepared in close cooperation between the authorities and NGOs and that this was also common to policy-making in other contexts. She explained that Finland closely cooperates with civil society and that the Finnish type of democracy and parliamentary system gives a firm position to the actors of civil society, but of course the final responsibility for decisions taken belonged to the governmental bodies and in turn the Government was responsible to the Parliament. In a Finnish type of open society civil society actors played a key role even in concrete policy-making. She shared the view of the delegation of China on the important role of education in the challenge of addressing racist attitudes. The role of international treaties in the Finnish legal system is through incorporation into national legislation. 34. Japan commended the efforts of the Government of Finland in the field of human rights, through developing and implementing various Government programmes and policies, especially in the areas such as human trafficking, protection of children and youth, assistance to disabled persons, issues of migration, etc. Japan also paid respect to the high quality of basic education in Finland which enjoys international reputation. Japan expressed its interest in the National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in Finland and asked what the main challenges were for the Government in extending assistance to victims of human trafficking and protecting potential victims. Japan also indicated that it believed that in order to enhance the quality of education, one of the keys was to guarantee high-quality teaching. It asked Finland what the major policy pillars of the Government were in this regard, especially in recruiting and training high-quality teachers for basic education.