Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06HELSINKI56
2006-01-20 11:24:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Helsinki
Cable title:  

Charge Meets with Finnish Legal Expert on Counter-

Tags:  EFIN KTFN PGOV PTER FI EUN 
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UNCLAS HELSINKI 000056 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB/ESC/TFS, S/CT, INL/C, EUR/PGI, EUR/ERA, L
TREASURY FOR TFFC, OFAC
JUSTICE FOR CRM/AFMLS

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EFIN KTFN PGOV PTER FI EUN
SUBJECT: Charge Meets with Finnish Legal Expert on Counter-
Terrorism Issues

REF: A) 05 HELSINKI 1321

B) 05 HELSINKI 1290
C) 05 HELSINKI 1211

UNCLAS HELSINKI 000056

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB/ESC/TFS, S/CT, INL/C, EUR/PGI, EUR/ERA, L
TREASURY FOR TFFC, OFAC
JUSTICE FOR CRM/AFMLS

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EFIN KTFN PGOV PTER FI EUN
SUBJECT: Charge Meets with Finnish Legal Expert on Counter-
Terrorism Issues

REF: A) 05 HELSINKI 1321

B) 05 HELSINKI 1290
C) 05 HELSINKI 1211


1. (SBU) Summary. Charge met with one of Finland's most
senior officials on counter-terrorism, Marja Lehto, who
recently was appointed to chair the Council of Europe's
Committee of Experts on Terrorism. Lehto requested input for
the Designators' Workshop to be held during Finland's
presidency of the EU; applauded statements by State
Department Legal Adviser John Bellinger, III; and noted that
Finland was seeking changes to its legislation to provide
for more effective and independent asset-freezing authority.
End summary.


2. (U) On January 17, Charge met with Marja Lehto and Pekka
Oinonen of the Unit for Public International Law at the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Lehto, who heads the office,
was appointed in November to chair the Council of Europe's
Committee of Experts on Terrorism (Codexter) for 2006. She
will also chair the meetings of the EU's Committee on
Counter-terrorism (COTERR) during Finland's EU presidency
(July-December 2006).


3. (U) Lehto confirmed that Finland would host a Designators
Workshop to address terrorist financing and repeated an
earlier offer for US input on the workshop agenda (per
reftel A). (NOTE: Post welcomes Department feedback, which
can be directed to the Terrorist Finance Coordinating
Officer John Clarkson (ClarksonJC@State.gov). END NOTE.)


4. (SBU) Lehto noted that one of her priorities would be to
explore ways to integrate human rights issues with counter-
terrorism measures. She pointed out that these did not need
to be competing issues. Rather she projected they could form
complementary sides to terrorism prevention action plans.
Lehto mentioned a new report from Martin Scheinin, the
Finland-based UN Special Rapporteur charged with exploring
the human rights/counterterrorism intersection; the report
impressed her, and she plans to incorporate Scheinin's views
into Codexter's work. (See reftels B and C for more
background on Embassy's outreach with Scheinin.) Lehto also
applauded statements made last September in San Remo, Italy,
by State Department Legal Adviser John Bellinger, III, on
the importance of human rights and international law to US
foreign policy. The remarks, she reflected, were met with
great enthusiasm, indicating the tremendous importance
senior-level European audiences attach to US efforts to
address human rights issues in anti-terrorism discussions.


5. (SBU) On terrorist financing, Lehto commented that a
domestic inter-agency working group had been formed to
examine ways to improve Finland's national asset freezing
authority. Lehto shared her view that the group's findings
may result in legislative changes granting greater
independence to Finland's asset freezing authority, perhaps
allowing the Government to freeze assets of EU-based
individuals without regard to the status--or even existence-
-of an ongoing judicial investigation.


6. (SBU) Finally, Lehto commented on pending Finnish
ratification of the US-EU extradition treaty. The agreement
has been held up by Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee
while it awaits "assurances" from the Foreign and Justice
Ministries that alleged U.S. rendition flights through
Finland did not violate Finland's constitution. Lehto said
that while Finland was obligated, as an EU member, to ratify
the treaty, Parliament had the constitutional authority to
request such clarifications; however, she believed it highly
unlikely that the treaty would be ultimately rejected.

HYATT#