A/HRC/8/24 Page 7 B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 19. During the interactive dialogue a number of delegations welcomed the comprehensive, high quality and self-critical report prepared by Finland and for the open and frank presentation by the Secretary of State. Delegations congratulated Finland on the methods used for drafting the report, including consultations with civil society in the process of drafting the report and for the very serious approach taken with regard to the UPR. 20. The Russian Federation stated that Finland is a neighbouring country and that their countries were linked by rapidly developing relations in all areas, political, economic, social and cultural. It was satisfied to note that questions of human rights are constantly in the field of vision of the Finnish Government and of the State’s priority for international cooperation. It had no doubts that Finland had sufficient positive experience in dealing with urgent human rights issues and resolving them. Nevertheless, as with any other country, Finland had unresolved issues which require extra efforts and further practical steps. In this connection, the Russian delegation raised three points and made three recommendations. Firstly, despite Finnish efforts to reinforce the legal and institutional basis of the campaign against racial discrimination and racism, experts of five treaty bodies continued to note alarming facts of discrimination and racism vis-à-vis vulnerable groups of the population: migrants and ethnic groups and ethnic minority groups, in particular the Sámi, as well as people of Russian origin living on the territory of Finland. In this connection the delegation recommended that Finland increase its focus and its targeted efforts and the effectiveness of measures aimed at eliminating discrimination, inter alia, when dealing with ethnic minorities. Secondly, information from the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women indicates that a high percentage of women in Finland were victims of sexual violence. The delegation noted that a great deal has been done in order to counter the phenomenon including the development of an action plan; nevertheless, it recommended that Finland continue to take measures to prevent violence against women. Thirdly, concern was expressed at the considerable amount of information on violence against children, including sexual violence within the family. It was recommended that the compilation of information should continue with regard to violence against children within the family in order to come up with appropriate methods to counter this phenomenon. 21. Canada thanked Finland and the Secretary of State for the very serious approach taken with regard to the UPR, and raised two questions, both related to racial discrimination. Canada referred to the concerns expressed by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in 2003 about Finland’s treatment of asylum-seekers, particularly in regard of the procedures involved for particular categories of asylum-seekers. CERD was particularly concerned regarding the accelerated procedure provided for in the revised Aliens Act, and had urged Finland to guarantee the respect of the legal safeguards for asylum-seekers to ensure that all procedures related to asylum are in line with international obligations in this field. It requested that Finland indicate the measures it has taken with respect to its recommendations. The Committee had expressed concern about the significant number of allegations reflecting the existence of racism and xenophobic attitudes in some sectors of the population, particularly among young people, and had recommended that Finland continue to monitor all tendencies which may give rise to racist and xenophobic behaviour and to combat their negative consequences. Canada asked for further information on the measures it had taken in respect of these recommendations. 22. Bolivia expressed its gratitude to the delegation of Finland for the presentation of the report and valued Finland’s preparedness to achieve greater incorporation of international legislation on human rights into national legislation. As a member of the troika on Finland, Bolivia has been able to gain more knowledge about Finland, which is one of the major benefits arising from the UPR