Please provide clarification as to the status of the Convention in relation to national law. Moreover, in view of the information contained in paras. 173-175 of the report, please provide further details concerning the proposal submitted to Parliament by the Government that some provision be made in the Constitution specifically to safeguard the rights of the child.

With reference to paras. 6, 7, 23 and 29 of the report in particular, please indicate what steps, if any, have been taken since the submission of the report to improve administrative coordination for the more effective development of policies and implementation of the provisions of the Convention at both national and local governmental levels.

In what way does the Government intend to deal with the issue of disparities among local administrations' budgetary resources for the benefit of children?

With respect to information contained in para. 77 of the report please provide details of the salient points contained in the survey undertaken of the conditions in which children live and the services available to them. Has Parliament discussed this report? If the answer is yes, please provide information on Parliament's assessment of the policies and laws applicable to children.

Has an office for a Children's Ombudsperson as mentioned in paras. 30 and 77 of the report been established? If so, please describe the functions of the proposed office. How would the activities of this proposed office relate to the country's non-governmental organizations and their institutional arrangements?

Please provide information on the measures taken to incorporate education about the principles and provisions of the Convention in training and re-training programmes for professionals working with or for children, including lawyers, judges, teachers, prison authority personnel, government officials, legislators, youth detention facility employees and police officers.

Has the Convention and the State party report been translated into minority or indigenous languages?

In what ways and with what means are non-governmental organizations encouraged to spread awareness about the Convention?

The Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Summit for Social Development required, inter alia, the striving for the fulfilment of the agreed target of 0.7% of GNP for overall official development assistance, as soon as possible, as well as the agreeing on a mutual commitment between interested developed and developing country partners to allocate, on average, 20% of ODA and 20% of the national budget, respectively to basic social programmes. In view of this, please provide more details of present Government policy with respect to development cooperation and assistance and the mobilization of financial resources to developing countries. (See para. 63 of the report).

How is the Government ensuring that legislation relating to the minimum age for employment fully protects the child and his/her best interests? (Para. 112 of the report).

With reference to information contained on page 5 of the English version of the State party report, please provide details of the salient points contained in the report of the committee appointed to look at the procedural defects which obstruct the implementation of the "best interests of the child" principle in legal decision making processes and to find the best ways of communicating the views of the child to the authorities who make decisions.

Please provide information on the steps taken to prevent and eliminate discriminatory attitudes or prejudices and to ensure an effective protection against discrimination, particularly for children belonging to minorities (para. 623 of the report), refugee children and asylum-seeking children. In addition, please indicate the measures in place to ensure that the non-discrimination principle is respected in practice in all actions concerning children, including with regard to those undertaken by administrative or other authorities at the local level.

With respect to para. 153 of the report, where it is stated that the Finnish legislation on aliens does not contain any provisions specifically on children, how is the principle of the best interests of the child protected with regard to the implementation of this legislation?

Paragraph 159 of the report indicates that there are no mechanisms built-in in the general decision-making processes in society to take account of the needs and views of the child. Please provide information on the measures being taken to address this situation, including the steps being taken to further sensitize public opinion and educate personnel working with children on the need to encourage children's participatory rights.

With reference to paras. 228-230 of the report please indicate whether the Government is considering taking any measures to respond to those students who express a preference for ethical, moral and philosophical instruction to religious education.

Please provide more information on the implementation of the participatory rights of children in various spheres.

In view of the information contained in paras. 54 to 59 and 197 of the report and in light of the provisions of the Convention, especially as regards article 17, please provide further information on the proposal to protect children from sexually offensive marketing.

With particular reference to paras. 264, 273, 275, 285-286, 287 (d) and 327 of the report, please provide information on the steps being taken to maintain the standards of support services and the availability of preventive measures in order to meet the needs of children in difficult situations, in particular with regard to single-parent families.

Is Finland a party to the 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption?

With reference to paras. 290 and 507 of the report, please provide further information on the programme for family reunification as well as on the procedures in place for issuing residence permits and the compatibility of this programme and these procedures with the provisions and principles of the Convention including those of its articles 2, 3, 9, 10 and 12.

In view of the information contained in para. 300 concerning the implementation of the Child Welfare Act, please provide information on any additional measures being considered to ensure that the legal safeguards for children, including the best interests of the child and the right of the child to have his/her views respected and taken into account, are applied in practice with respect to procedures governing the placement of children in alternative care and the return of children to care within their family.

Please provide further details, including the main details of any evaluation undertaken, on the effectiveness of measures taken to protect the child from abuse, particularly sexual abuse, and neglect. What further steps are being taken to improve the training of professionals qualified to deal with child welfare matters, such as those involved in cases concerning the sexual abuse of children, including their understanding of the provisions and principles of the Convention and its application in their work? (Para. 139-145 of the report).

With reference to para. 134 of the report in which it is indicated that a Ministry of Justice working group is looking into the procedure of the enforcement of decisions on custody and access, please provide information on the outcome of this examination into such procedures.

Please provide information on the main points covered in the follow-up studies undertaken as regards the implementation of the legal reforms concerning children with disabilities. (Para. 334 of the report). In this connection, please indicate the extent to which these studies have focused upon the emotional, intellectual and social needs of children with disabilities in Finland and what conclusions have been drawn from such discussions.

What measures are envisaged to prevent the deterioration of health services? (Para. 107 of the report).

Are allergies and accidents affecting children a problem in Finland? If so, please provide information on the measures being taken to address these matters.

What concrete steps have been taken to prevent young people, in particular children, from committing suicide?

What steps are envisaged to address the problem of involuntary institutionalization of children for the treatment of mental illness?

Has any systematic evaluation been undertaken of the effects on children, especially those from disadvantaged groups, of reduced budgets for schooling and vocational training? If so, what measures have been taken to protect disadvantaged children from the harmful effects of the budget cuts mentioned in para. 450 of the report?

In view of the information contained in paras. 460-461 and 508 of the report please provide further indication of the measures being taken to ensure that immigrant school children are provided with teaching in their mother tongue and that the language of instruction is not an obstacle to accessing the various levels of education and therefore not discriminatory.

Is bullying a problem in schools in Finland? If the answer is yes, please provide information on the measures being taken to address this matter.

Does the Government have any intention to incorporate education about the Convention on the Rights of the Child in school curricula as is presently the case for environmental studies? (Paras. 84, 86 and 465 of the report).

With reference to information contained in paras. 512-513 of the report, please provide details of the measures taken or planned to ensure that the Government's policy and procedures governing refugee children and asylum-seeking children are consistent with the provisions of the Convention, including its general principles relating to non-discrimination, best interests of the child, the right to life, survival and development and respect for the views of the child.

In view of the information contained in paras. 503-507 what guarantees exist to ensure that municipal authorities are also guided by the principles and provisions of the Convention in relation to meeting the needs of asylum-seeking and refugee children, including with regard to health care, access to education, social welfare and other services?

Are there any plans to raise the age limit for voluntary enlistment to the military service from 17 to 18 years?

Please provide information on the steps being taken to address the problem of unemployment as it affects children.

In para. 248 of the report it is indicated that according to the Conditional Punishments Act an unconditional sentence for a crime committed by a person below the age of 18 may not be imposed except for grave reasons and that the Youth Offenders Act provides for the imposition of conditional punishment on a minor where it would not be possible otherwise. Please provide clarification as to whether these legislative provisions ensure in practice that indeterminate sentences are never applied to persons below the age of 18 at the time of the commission of an offence.

Please provide more details about the introduction of a new punishment, "youth penalty", for young people between 15 and 17, (para. 41 of the report).

With reference to paras. 546-547 and 556-557 of the report, please provide further information on the measures being taken to ensure that Finnish legislation and its implementation is in full compliance with article 37 (c) of the Convention.

What measures is the Government taking to ensure that the economic difficulties being faced by the State party are not detrimental to the policies and programmes developed to prevent and address the problem of alcohol and other substance abuse?

In view of the information contained in paras. 589 to 603 of the report, please provide further details of: the undergoing reform of the chapter of the Penal Code on sexual offenses, including provisions on the sexual abuse of children; the measures being taken to ensure the right to privacy of children in a pre-trial investigation of a sexual offence; and the status of the proposal to make the systematic trade in, import and production of child pornography punishable by law. Please provide information on the measures taken to regulate the use by children of sex telephone lines. In addition, please indicate whether the Government is considering the possibility of introducing legislative measures to permit the prosecution of citizens of Finland for exploiting children abroad for the purposes of prostitution or other illegal sexual practices.

What measures are being taken to improve the level of education of the Romani, Saami and the children of other minorities?

What steps have been taken to provide services to the Saami people in their own language? (Para. 628 of the report)

What practical measures are being undertaken to eliminate discriminatory practices in schools against foreign children?