Estonia - Universal Periodic Review

UPR 38, May 4, 2021
Recommendations by Canada

Background

The Estonian Government will publish its first Action Plan on Human Rights in 2021. Estonia seeks to use its advanced e-governance capabilities to support the defence of human rights worldwide. Estonians enjoy full constitutional protections for civil liberties and the right to freedom of opinion and expression is guaranteed in law and practice. Estonia is also a staunch defender of media freedom and will be hosting the third Global Media Freedom Conference in 2021.

Estonia has ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and has undertaken much legal reform. The National Victim Support System effectively assists victims, addresses risks and provides training for interventions. Nonetheless, current statistics reveal that half of all violent crimes are domestic cases. Full implementation of the Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Action Plan for 2019-2023 remains a necessary goal.

As noted in the Equal Treatment Network’s UPR submission, Estonia has Europe’s lowest age of marriage: 15 with court permission. The age of consent for sexual activity with an adult is 14, one of the lowest in the EU, and exacerbates pre-existing issues relating to sexual violence for girls.

In recent years, some political rhetoric in the public sphere has promoted discriminatory sentiments towards ethnic and racial minorities and towards vulnerable groups, including LGBTI persons. NGOs have also observed lower levels of social tolerance for the LGBTI community, an issue compounded by the fact that Estonia has not criminalized hate speech despite European Council decisions. As for the rights of LGBTI persons, Estonia has not passed implementing legislation for its Registered Partnership Act, rendering the law unenforceable in many cases.

NGOs have noted progress in integrating the Russian-speaking minority in wider Estonian society. However, Amnesty International and Freedom House still cite approximately 6% of the population being stateless, mostly ethnic Russians. Higher rates of COVID-19 infections in Russian-speaking areas suggest ongoing gaps, with lack of access or trust in official communications.

Recommendations

Thank you, Madam President.

Canada thanks Estonia for its presentation and applauds its actions taken during the reporting period, particularly with respect to violence against women.

Canada recommends that Estonia:

1. Enact legislation on hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and uniformly and consistently apply enforcement of anti-discrimination legislation across all grounds.
2. Address intolerance and racism through concerted public awareness and education programs that foster social cohesion and promote diversity and inclusion, with consideration of new arrivals in society.
3. Extend the recent efforts to address violence and discrimination against women to cover the rights and interests of girls, including through upward revision of the legal age for sexual consent.
4. Respect the right to vote for all inmates.

Canada welcomes the first Human Rights Action Plan. We are equally grateful for Estonia applying its leadership in digital governance to the domain of human rights.