Advisory Board for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, VANE

The Advisory Board for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (VANE) is the national coordinating mechanism for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Board’s role is to ease national implementation of the Convention.

The Board operates under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Its tasks are laid down by decree according to which the Board shall:

• promote and coordinate national implementation of the Convention and taking into account the rights of persons with disabilities in all aspects of government
• draw up an action programme for its term of office, defining the national objectives for the implementation of the Convention, the measures promoting the implementation and the follow-up measures
• from among the Board members designate a representative of persons with disabilities to participate in the activities of the focal point referred to in Article 33 of the Convention.

The Advisory Board consists of representatives of ministries, persons with disabilities and their families, labour market organisations and research as well as representatives from regional and local government. The Board comprises a Chair, a Vice-Chair and a maximum of 16 members. The Board also has a Secretary-General and a Planning Officer. The Government appoints the Advisory Board for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for four years at a time.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol entered into force for Finland on 10 June 2016. In that connection, the Advisory Board for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was established to replace the National Council on Disability. The Board operates as a coordination mechanism in accordance with Article 33 of the Convention.