The Committee is commissioned to prepare a proposal for new non-discrimination legislation. At the first phase of its work, the Committee was to examine, in particular, the need and options for reform of the non-discrimination legislation and the related monitoring mechanisms and to prepare an interim report on these issues.

The Committee proposes in its interim report that the work to reform the equality and non-discrimination legislation be continued in accordance with the following guidelines:
- The content of the legislation will be made more coherent, where appropriate and possible.
- Legal and linguistic aspects in the legislation will be improved.
- The ways to develop measures to promote equality and non-discrimination and to control and monitor the implementation of these measures will be examined.
- The ways to improve co-operation, participation and interaction in equality and non-discrimination issues both between the authorities and between the authorities and interest groups will be examined.
- The status, duties and powers of the special authorities within the field will be re-examined with special regard to their opportunities to operate independently.
- The need, in the longer run, to develop the system of promoting and monitoring fundamental and human rights as a whole in compliance with international obligations and recommendations, will be taken into consideration in the reform of the organisation of authorities.

Furthermore, the Committee proposes the following:
- Representatives for the Confederation of Finnish Industries and the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions should be nominated to the Committee and a section dealing with equality and non-discrimination issues in working life should be established to assist the committee in its work.
- In connection with the Committee should be established an NGO-section, which would comment the Committee's legal proposals and other proposals.
- The mandate of the committee should be extended until end of September 2009.

OMKM 2008:1 Description and summary (PDF-file, 7 pages, 86 kb)