Amnesty International Found but One 'Bright Spot' in Finland

In its annual report, the human rights organization Amnesty International¹ criticizes Finland’s decision to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines. According to the organization, withdrawing from the treaty endangers the safety of civilians.

Finland’s withdrawal from the treaty came into effect in January 2026.

The organization cites the withdrawal from the treaty as part of a broader international development in which several states have withdrawn or announced their intention to withdraw from the Rome Statute governing the International Criminal Court (ICC) and from treaties banning cluster munitions and anti-personnel mines.

In its report, the organization also criticized the social security cuts made by the Finnish government, which, according to Amnesty, were disproportionately targeted at already vulnerable groups of people. According to the organization, the social security cuts by the government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo hit low-income people and minorities, such as people with disabilities, particularly hard.

In its report, Amnesty also highlights the fact that homelessness has increased in Finland for the first time in over a decade.

Last year, the organization said that the activities of civil society and grassroots movements became more difficult all over the world, and there were also signs of the right to protest being curtailed in Finland. According to the organization, the police used disproportionate force at a May Day 2025 demonstration in Tampere, where officers shot a protester with an air gun; a bystander was also hit.

At a demonstration in Helsinki in June, a passerby assaulted an Amnesty human rights monitor, and according to the organization, the police officers who were nearby did not intervene in the situation.

Finland and the government receive praise from the organization for the reform of the Sámi Parliament Act. Amnesty considers the reform to be a significant step forward in the realization of Sámi rights and describes it as the “bright spot” of the year in Finland.

The change in the law came into force in August 2025. According to the organization, the reform, among other things, strengthens the Sámi right to self-determination.

Source: YLE (in Finnish)