"We Continue to Monitor the Human Rights Situation”: A Review of the State of Finland’s Reaction to Instances of Genocide During 2014-2024
Author: Elsa Kavenius
Programme: Master's in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research at Tampere University
The international community systematically fails to prevent and intervene in genocides. Even when significant evidence exists of genocides taking place, foreign powers, including Finland, remain paralysed in the face of addressing them. Simultaneously, existing research largely focuses on analysing where major players have gone wrong in their reactions and why foreign powers remain hesitant to respond. What is missing is a more concrete understanding of the approaches smaller states have utilised, and how well these actions have worked.
Addressing this research gap, this thesis focuses on Finland, a smaller state, to illuminate how its distinct approaches can contribute to a broader understanding of international responses to genocide. The thesis analyses Finland’s reactions to three instances of genocide during 2014-2024: the Yazidi genocide, the Xinjiang genocide, and the Rohingya genocide. The thesis provides a thematic analysis of Finnish state documents and attempts to understand the approaches the Finnish state has used in genocide response. It also looks into how active a stance Finland has taken in responding to genocide, as well as analysing the patterns and differences in reactions across the three cases.
Through this analysis, this study concludes that across all three instances of genocide, Finland has implemented four different kinds of measures: humanitarian aid, monitoring the human rights situation, highlighting genocidal violence, and sanctions. Overall, this thesis argues that Finland has remained relatively inactive in its response. The found patterns support this inactivity and conservative approach, while differences show that Finland still has a customised and original approach to each instance of genocide.
With these results in mind, this thesis attempts to shed light on how foreign states react to genocides and broaden the understanding of what measures could have been implemented, offering lessons on how Finland’s strategies could inform international strategies in genocide response.
Read the thesis at: https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/229994
Gender-Sensitive Approaches to Small Arms Control: A feminist analysis contextualising Kosovo’s small arms control efforts with regard to gender provisions
Author: Rani Deleersnijder
Programme: Master's in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research at Tampere University
The proliferation of small arms and light weapons poses a significant threat to human security around the world. Past research has demonstrated the gendered dimensions of small arms ownership, misuse and victimhood. This thesis further examines the intersectional experience of small arms violence based on gender, connecting such violence to contextual factors that underpin and reinforce it. In addition, this study explores gender-responsive approaches to small arms control by examining how they are included and portrayed in the ongoing policy framework of Kosovo. The context of Kosovo is used as a case study due to its struggle with small arms proliferation, and importantly, its active framework of action against it. The research objective of this study does not aim to provide policy recommendations, but rather increase attention to the intersectional experiences and impacts of small arms abuse, open a conversation about the complex intersectional factors between gender and small arms and consequently argue for gender-sensitivity in small arms programmes.
To answer the main research objective, the study is divided into three sub-research questions. First, data from the Armed Violence Monitoring Platform is used to investigate the extent of gendered dimensions to small arms violence in Kosovo. Next, a critical feminist perspective is used to explore different contextual factors which intersect with gender, gender-based violence and small arms violence. Lastly, the findings of the first research questions are applied to the small arms control framework of Kosovo to understand how gendered dimensions of small arms are understood and incorporated in their approach. Central to the full study are the theoretical underpinnings, which are grounded in feminist peace theory and critical and feminist security studies.
The findings of this study indicate that small arms violence in Kosovo has highly gendered dimensions that are structurally embedded in Kosovo society. Issues of small arms proliferation and misuse intersect with several contextual factors, making them highly complex. The current small arms control framework in Kosovo takes these gendered dimensions into account but treats small arms violence mainly as a standalone issue. Through a feminist epistemological perspective, this thesis argues for a focus on small arms violence in its relation to the structural factors that reproduce it to enhance a holistic and intersectional approach to small arms control.
Read the thesis at: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202505175699
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