The Estonian Human Rights Centre presented today the annual report “Human Rights in Estonia 2013” that provides an overview of the most significant developments in the field of human rights that took place last year in Estonia. The report can be accessed here.

“Increasingly, the main issue to be addressed in Estonia is, how to guarantee human rights to those minorities for whom general rules are insufficient to secure equal protection of their human rights,” explained Kari Käsper, editor of the annual human rights report.

“Protecting the rights of ethnic minorities has come up with regard to the national integration plan; in the context of employment reform human rights of disabled people are being discussed; and the proposed legislation on gender neutral civil partnership has raised the equal protection of the fundamental right to family of the LGBT people in public debate.”

“Globally, in the light of revelations by Edward Snowden, the right to privacy has become a major issue. Although we have become used to regarding Estonia as an e-society, we have been lacking public discussion on that,” Käsper argued.

The annual human rights report comprises the most significant events of the year in the field of human rights and constitutes an important point of reference for human rights organisations in Estonia and abroad. The preface to the report was written by Daniel Vaarik this year.

The report was compiled and published with the support of the Estonian Ministry of Culture, Swedish Foundation for Human Rights and contributions from private persons.