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International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 22:58

Estonia stands still in improvement of human rights

BC, Tallinn, 13.12.2017.Print version
The state of human rights in Estonia is generally good but its further improvement has stopped, it can be seen in a report published by the Estonian Human Rights Center on December 12th, cites LETA/BNS.

"While two years ago we saw faster improvement, fortunately we have no great setbacks. But unfortunately we also can't point out any major improvements," head of the Human Rights Center Kari Kasper said in a press release.

 

"But it can be seen from the report drawn up by experts that people in several fields are worried about the tough rhetoric of some interest groups that does not respect human rights, which thankfully has not been realized as actions of state institutions. Whether it is attacking the judicial power, the freedom of the press, cultural establishments or human rights organizations," Kasper said.

 

Improvements in the past two years include the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, the aim of which is to stand against violence against women, and the criminalization of stalking. "It is good that democratic institutions are functioning -- local government elections were successful, the freedom of speech and assembly are not restricted too much, and the judicial power is independent," Kasper said.

 

More complicated is the situation of such human rights in connection of which the state has to take action or make difficult decisions to change the current practice, Kasper said. "In these areas the main obstacles to promoting human rights are often attitudes, prejudices and ignorance," he added.

 

In the report for 2016 and 2017 which was published on Tuesday, experts highlight several shortcomings that public institutions should address first. For instance, guaranteeing the dignity of psychiatric patients, data protection issues in public institutions as well as private enterprises, adopting the implementing provisions of the Registered Partnership Act and changing open governance from declarative to substantive.

 

The published report has 14 chapters, written by independent experts from different organizations. Topics covered by the report include the state of national minorities, refugees, asylum seekers and people with special needs as well as issues regarding the freedom of speech and free elections.

 

Estonian Human Rights Center is a non-govermental organization, the mission of which is to create together an Estonia that respects the human rights of all people. This year is the first time the report was only funded by donors, who numbered more than 100.

 

The full-length report in Estonian can be found on the web page of the Human Rights Center.






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