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Human rights in Estonia

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Human rights in Estonia are generally respected by the government. Estonia is ranked above-average in democracy, press freedom, privacy and human development. The country has a large ethnic Russian community, whom has guaranteed a basic rights under the constitution and international human rights laws ratified by the Estonian government.

However, human rights organisations have reported multiple problems. Linguistic minorities face discrimination especially in employment and education. Also there are problems with police use of force, conditions in detention and lengthy pretrial detentions.


Estonian law

Rights of the individual are defined in the Estonian constitution, in legislation, and in adherence to international treaties.

Punishment for violation of rights

Section 72 of the Criminal Code provides for punishment of violations of the principle of equality: for direct or indirect restriction of individual's rights or for establishing direct or indirect preferences for an individual on the basis of his or her ethnicity, race, color, sex, language, origin, religion, political or other opinion, property or social status, or on other grounds.

Punishment for incitement to violence

Acts motivated by racism or racial discrimination are punishable under the provisions of the Criminal Code. Section 72, provides for liability for the incitement of national, racial, religious or political hatred, violence or discrimination.

Equality before the law

All individuals, regardless of citizenship status, are equal before the law. Subsection 1 of section 4 of the Courts Act provides: "Citizens shall have the right to protection by the courts if their life, health, personal liberty, property, honour and dignity or other rights and liberties, which are guaranteed by the Constitution, are violated. Justice shall be administered on the principle of the equality of citizens before the law and the courts." Pursuant to subsection 2 of the same section, citizens of foreign states and stateless persons shall have the right to protection by the courts equal to that of Estonian citizens on the territory of Estonia, if not otherwise prescribed in the Republic of Estonia's international treaties.

Section 13 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides: justice is administered the justice is administered in criminal cases on the principle that all persons are equal before the law and the courts irrespective of their origin, social or property status, racial or ethnic origin, sex, education, language, attitude towards religion, sphere and mode of activity, place of residence or other grounds.

Rights to employment

Article 29 of the Constitution guarantees the right to work and to free choice of employment. Although Article 29 does not explicitly prohibit discrimination and giving preferences on the grounds of ethnicity, colour, race or language, the principle of non-discrimination is to be found in Article 12 of the Constitution. The same principle is expressly worded in section 10 of the Employment Contracts Act, prohibiting illegal preferences and restriction of rights as follows: "It is illegal to allow or give preferences, or to restrict rights on the grounds of the sex, ethnicity, colour, race, native language, social origin, social status, previous activities, religion, political or other opinion, or attitude towards the duty to serve in the armed forces of employees or employers."

Fostering human rights awareness in Estonia

A human rights schools textbook was published in December 1997, in cooperation between the Estonian Human Rights Institute, the Ministry of Education and UNDP.

On the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

  • the Estonian Ministry of Foreign affairs together with the UNDP published the UDHR in Estonian, Russian, and English. All students graduating from elementary and high school receive a copy.;
  • the UNDP in Estonia introduced an Estonian and English language bulletin: "Human Rights in Estonia."

Human rights organisations

Amnesty International

According to Amnesty International, linguistic minorities face discrimination in a number of areas, especially in employment and education. Migrants were exposed to harassment by state officials and attacks by extremist groups. Criminal investigations into allegations of excessive use of force by police were dismissed. Also Estonian security police, Kaitsepolitsei, made allegations against the Legal Information Centre for Human Rights (LICHR).

In March, 2009, the UN Special Rapporteur on racism, reporting on a visit in September 2007, expressed his concern at the conditions of the Russian-speaking minority. The Rapporteur noted a high level of discrimination particularly in the field of employment, where Russian speakers suffer unemployment rates almost twice as high as among ethnic Estonians. The Rapporteur urged the government to take measures to facilitate the naturalization process of stateless people.

Earlier, Amnesty had noted in a 2006 report that members of the Russian-speaking minority in Estonia enjoy very limited linguistic and minority rights, and often find themselves de facto excluded from the labour market and educational system. The discriminating policies of Estonia have led to "disproportionately high levels of unemployment among the Russian-speaking linguistic minority. This in turn has further contributed to social exclusion and vulnerability to other human rights abuses. In consequence, many from this group are effectively impeded from the full enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights (ESC rights)."

Human Rights Watch

According to Human Rights Watch report, 1993, the organisation did not found systematic, serious abuses of human rights in the area of citizenship. Non-citizens in Estonia were guaranteed basic rights under the Constitution of Estonia. However there was a problem to granting of citizenship equally to all who were permanent residents at the time Estonia gained independence.

Freedom House

According to Freedom House, Estonia has wide political rights and civil liberties. Political parties are allowed to organize freely and elections have been free and fair. Public access to government information are respected and the country has a freedom of the press. Also religious freedom is respected in law and in practice. Corruption is regarded as a relatively minor problem in Estonia. The judiciary is independent and generally free from government interference.

During the April 2007 Bronze Night in Tallinn, some police allegedly used excessive force against demonstrators. Eight criminal cases opened against officers, where charges were dropped in six, and two were pending at year’s end.

Many ethnic Russians arrived in Estonia during the Soviet era and are now regarded as immigrants who must apply for citizenship through a process that requires knowledge of the Estonian language. The use of Estonian is mandatory in certain work environments, such in public sector. Only citizens may participate in national elections, though resident noncitizens may vote in local elections.

United States Department of State

According to Human Right Report of United States Department of State, Estonia generally respects the human rights of citizens and the large ethnic Russian noncitizen community. However there were problems with police use of force, conditions in detention and lengthy of pretrial detention. Also there were problems in domestic violence, inequality of women's salaries, child abuse, and trafficking of women and children.

International Federation of Human Rights

During the Bronze Night in 2007 the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)–a coalition of 155 human rights groups– urged the Estonian authorities to investigate all acts of human rights violations during the night. There was a concern of the human right violations perpetrated both by demonstrators and police. The organisation called upon the Estonian authorities to "put an end to any practice of discrimination against the Russian-speaking minority, which constitutes about 30% of the Estonian population, and to conform in any circumstances with the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination."

FIDH and the Latvian Human Rights Committee have also expressed concerns about human rights violations committed in April 2007 during riots and protests in Tallin that left 150 people injured and in which one ethnic Russian was murdered. FIDH highlighted the use of disproportionate force by the Estonian police against peaceful demonstrators and passers-by. It reported that Russophone protestors were beaten and mistreated after being taken into custody. One human rights activist, Mark Sirõk was arrested despite the fact that he did not even participate in the protests owing to the fact he was ill and at home preparing for his school exams.

Other institutions

The European Commission has noted that Estonia offers no protection against discrimination on the grounds of ethnic or racial origin

The Council of Europe has noted that "the Roma community in Estonia is still disproportionately affected by unemployment and discrimination in the field of education." The European Commission had previously conducted close monitoring of Estonia in 2000 and concluded that there is no evidence that these minorities are subject to discrimination.

The European Centre for Minority Issues has also examined Estonia's treatment of its Russophone minority. In its conclusion, the centre notes that while all international organisations agree that no forms of systematic discrimination towards the Russian-speaking population can be observed and praises the efforts made thus far in amendments to laws on education, language and the status of non-citizens, there nevertheless remains the issue of the large number of such non-citizens. As of May 2, 2009, 103 999, or 7.6%, of Estonia's population remain non-citizens, dropping from 30% in the 1990s.

The think-tank Development and Transition has discussed the situation of Estonia and Latvia in 2005. James Hughes wrote an article, where he accussed Latvia and Estonia to employ a "sophisticated and extensive policy regime of discrimination" against their respective Russophone populations. Nils Muiznieks responded, "Hughes provides simple conclusions about the complex realities of minority policies and inter-ethnic relations in Estonia and Latvia".

A 2005 study by European Network Against Racism found that 17.1% of ethnic non-Estonians alleged that they had experienced limitations to their rights or degrading treatment in the workplace durin the last 3 years because of their ethnic origin.

Critical views

Scholars

A recent paper presented to the Journal of Common Market Studies by James R. Hughes of the London School of Economics predicts "a significant out-migration by Russophones to other EU Member States" as an effect of the "regimes of discrimination" and the minority's "poor prospects for integration or assimilation" in Estonia and Latvia.

Zvi Gitelman, political scientist at Michigan University and consultant to the instiution's Yivo Institute for Jewish Studies, points out that

"In the decade after the fall of the USSR, the successor states divided themselves into those seeking to construct themselves as 'civic' states–where the nexus that ties citizens to each other and to the state is political and not based on race, ethnicity, religion, or culture–and those that prefer to be "ethnic" states, based on one nation and serving it primarily."

Characterizing the situation in Estonia as "close to the 'ethnic' model," Gitelman points towards the Baltic states' decision of stripping citizenship from "non-Latvians and non-Estonians who immigrated in the Soviet period as well as their descendants born in the two Baltic republics"–a category pertinent to most of Estonia's Jews. The Jerusalem-based Hebrew University historian Robert S. Wistrich writes that the "primary objective" of the post-Soviet-era governments of the Baltic states is "to further the interests and well-being of the majority ethnic groups in these republics." Regarding this post-Soviet period of independence for the country's Jewish community, Wistrich observes that "many Jews in these republics sensed that they had become second-rate citizens," with those who had "fought against Soviet rule... had been directly or indirectly involved in the murder of Jews during the Nazi period of occupation" now lionized as "symbols of Soviet occupation." Similarly, Jerome A. Chanes writes that Estonia's "annual commemmorations of World War II events continue to have antisemitic overtones."
Concerning the present-day population of Estonian Roma, Bristol University sociologist Will Guy writes that

" Latvia and Estonia were notable for their vigorous attempts at ethnic cleansing by legalistic methods. Although the strategy of refusing citizenship on the grounds of poor knowledge of the local language was directed mainly against Russian inhabitants, Roma too were victims. Only genuine Latvian and Estonian Roma were granted citizenship and many Roma in Estonia were relative newcomers since most indigenous Estonian Roma (Laiusy and Laloritka) had been exterminated by joint German-Estonian punishment squads during the war."

Journalists

According to veteran German author, journalist and Russia-correspondent Gabriele Krone-Schmalz, there is deep disapproval of everything Russian in Estonia. She contends that the alleged level of discrimination regarding ethnic Russians in Estonia would have posed a barrier to acceptance into the EU; however, Western media gave the matter very little attention. In an interview with the Netherlands-based NRC Hanselsblad, Hans Glaubitz, a Dutch ambassador to Estonia, mentioned that he resigned due to the homophobia and racism once they could not "cope with gay hatred and racism on the Estonian streets."

International rankings

See also

References

  1. ^ "2008 Human Rights Report: Estonia". United States Department of State. 2009-25-02. Retrieved 2009-06-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Integrating Estonia's Non-Citizen Minority". Human rights watch. 1993. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  3. ^ "The Economist Intelligence Unit's Index of Democracy 2008" (PDF). The Economist. 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  4. ^ "Press Freedom Index 2008". Reporters Without Borders. 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  5. ^ "The 2007 International Privacy Ranking". Privacy International. 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  6. ^ "Statistics of the Human Development Report". United Nations Development Programme. 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  7. ^ "Country Report 2008 Edition". Freedom House. 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
  8. ^ "Amnesty International Report 2009". Amnesty International. 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  9. ^ Estonia report, 1999, article 1, at Council of Europe
  10. ^ Estonia report, 1999, article 1, at Council of Europe
  11. ^ "Document — Estonia: Linguistic minorities in Estonia: Discrimination must end". Amnesty International. 2006. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  12. ^ "Map of Freedom 2008". Freedom House. 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
  13. "Estonia must investigate human rights violations committed during riots in Tallinn". International Federation for Human Rights. 2007-05-09. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  14. ""Estonia must investigate human rights violations committed during riots in Tallinn"". FIDH. 2009-05-26. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  15. "Equality, Diversity and Enlargement: Report on Measures to Combat Discrimination in Acceding and Candidate Countries". The European Commission. Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs — Unit D.4. September 2003. P. 20. Retrieved 1 June 2009. http://www.ozida.gov.tr/raporlar/uluslararasi/ab/ABdokumanlar/equalitydiversityandenlargement.pdf
  16. "Council of Europe: Reports on racism in Estonia, Lithuania, Romania and Spain". Press Release. Council of Europe Press Division. 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2009. https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=968931&Site=COE
  17. Agenda 2000. For a stronger and wider Union (Vol. I). The Challenge of Enlargement (Part. II), COM (97) 2000 final, p45
  18. European Centre for Minority Issues: Russian-speaking minorities in Estonia and Latvia: problems of integration at the threshold of the European Union by Peter van Elsuwege]
  19. Estonia: Citizenship
  20. Government to develop activities to decrease the number of non-citizens
  21. http://www.developmentandtransition.net/index.cfm?module=ActiveWeb&page=WebPage&DocumentID=586
  22. http://www.developmentandtransition.net/index.cfm?module=ActiveWeb&page=WebPage&DocumentID=587
  23. "Responding to Racism in Estonia" (PDF). European Network Against Racism. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  24. Hughes, James R.,'Exit' in Deeply Divided Societies: Regimes of Discrimination in Estonia and Latvia and the Potential for Russophone Migration. Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 739-762, November 2005. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=857624 or DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5965.2005.00594.x
  25. ^ Gitelman, Zvi Y. A Century of Ambivalence: The Jews of Russia and the Soviet Union, 1881 to the Present. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2001. ISBN 0253214181, ISBN 9780253214188. P. 215.
  26. ^ Wistrich, Robert S. Terms of Survival. London: Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0203204832, ISBN 9780203204832. P. 209.
  27. Chanes, Jerome A. Antisemitism: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2004. ISBN 1576072096, ISBN 9781576072097. P. 181.
  28. Guy, Will. Between Past and Future: The Roma of Central and Eastern Europe. University of Hertfordshire Press, 2001. ISBN 1902806077, 9781902806075. P. 247.
  29. Krone-Schmalz, Gabriele (2008). "Zweierlei Maß". Was passiert in Russland? (in German) (4 ed.). München: F.A. Herbig. pp. 45–48. ISBN 9783776625257.
  30. "Gay Dutch Ambassador Leaves Estonia". 6 July 2007. NIS News Bulletin. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  31. "Worldwide Quality of Life - 2005" (PDF). The Economist. www.economist.com. 2005. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  32. . Transparency International. 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-06. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
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