Human Rights

Women in Finland, the first European country to grant women the vote, have enjoyed more rights for a longer time than most women around the world. Even so, there are battles women must fight and Ulla Anttila has been fighting them. As a member of Finland’s Parliament from 1992 to 2007, Anttila took the lead as the chair of that body’s Human Rights Caucus on a variety of women’s issues at home and abroad. In particular, Anttila’s work to combat human trafficking in the Nordic-Baltic region helped transform the Finnish government’s approach to this critical problem. Anttila’s efforts to raise public awareness and to campaign for change significantly shifted public perceptions and government policy. As a result, Finland is a leader in fighting human trafficking in its region and in the European Union. Finland’s improved ranking in the United States’ annual Trafficking in Person Report reflects these changes. For her outstanding activism, Anttila was nominated in 2007 for the U.S. Secretary of State’s Women of Courage Award. The award arose from Secretary Condoleezza Rice’s desire to recognize women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in promoting women’s rights and advancement.

 

2008: Even Finland Needs Women’s Rights Activists (Apr 10, 2008)

The former communist countries of Central Europe now provide global leadership in Afghanistan and the western Balkans and elsewhere, helping nations transition to free-market democracy, U.S. diplomats say. Central European nations have such “profoundly shared values” with the United States that their European Union membership strengthens their U.S. partnership, rather than being an either/or choice between the EU and the United States, the State Department’s Mark Pekala said during a regional conference in Washington April 2-3, 2007. “These countries understand the importance of democracy, the importance of throwing off tyranny, the importance of doing what’s right for people in the construction of democracy and free enterprise,” said Pekala, who is deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. 

2007: Central Europeans Are Leaders in Promoting Democracy, U.S. Says (Apr 5, 2007) | State Department Releases 2006 Reports on Human Rights Practices (Mar 6, 2007) (List of Reports)

2006: NGOs Play Vital Role in Building Free Societies, Rice Says (Dec 14, 2006) (Secretary Rice's Remarks on Human Rights Day) | U.S.-EU Summit Declaration (Jun 21, 2006) | New Human Rights and Democracy Report Highlights U.S. Efforts (Apr 5, 2006) (Section on Europe & Eurasia)

President Bush welcomed Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel to the White House December 8, 2005, for a meeting covering a broad range of U.S. and European bilateral issues, including cooperation in the War on Terror and human rights. White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Bush and the Austrian leader discussed the importance of human rights and the need for their promotion, especially in “those countries where they are denied and routinely violated.”

2005: Bush, Austria's Schuessel Discuss Human Rights, U.S.-EU Relations (Dec 8, 2005) | United States Releases 2005 International Religious Freedom Report (Nov 8, 2005) | U.S., EU Partners in Promoting Freedom, Democracy, Human Rights (Jun 20, 2005) | United States, United Kingdom Support Human Rights in Belarus (Apr 14, 2005) | U.S., EU Cooperate on Human Rights (Feb 22, 2005)