A human rights report published today has revealed that the promotion of human rights
as a cornerstone of democracy has fallen dangerously by the wayside in Estonia:
progress has stalled on important changes to the law, and fundamental rights are being
curtailed for clearly unjustified “security reasons”.
‘Human Rights in Estonia 2026’ is a frank, competent and independent report on the human
rights situation in the country. A total of 15 experts and expert organisations from various fields
contributed to the publication, which was produced under the auspices of the Estonian Human
Rights Centre (EHRC). The report reveals that the human rights situation has improved in just
one of the areas described, while in as many as eight – including the inviolability of family and
private life, freedom of assembly and association and social human rights – the experts say the
situation is regressing.
Egert Rünne, the head of the EHRC, views developments within two of the country’s biggest
ministries as being particularly dangerous. “Proposals have been made by the Ministry of the
Interior that seriously infringe on people’s fundamental rights and do not inspire confidence,” he
cautioned. “They also indicate that the protection of fundamental rights is not something to
which the state pays any heed. Moreover, the Police and Border Guard Board, which comes
under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, has been discouraging demonstrators and
either punishing or harassing organisers of demonstrations and similar gatherings, with no legal
basis for doing so. Administrative browbeating can also be seen very clearly in the procedures
for granting international protection and obtaining residence permits.”
On a positive note, Kelly Grossthal, an expert on equal treatment at the EHRC, gives the
examples of marriage equality and the progress being made on consent laws. “This shows that
despite attacks on human rights, they remain important to many people in society as core
values,” she remarked. “The situation of freedom of expression in Estonia continues to be rather
good as well, although an increasing number of threats to it are being seen compared to
previously – for instance the fining of activists for speaking out, on the one hand, and rampant
hate speech on the other. In both cases, there is a need to find a more effective balance
between the security of the individual and the security of society.”
Published for the 12th time, ‘Human Rights in Estonia’ is a valuable tool for journalists,
academics, policymakers and anyone else who requires objective information and cares about
human rights in the country.
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It is important to protect everyone’s human rights, because it helps to keep stability and peace in the society. There are many challenges for protection of human rights in Estonia: intolerance has really come out of the closet. Bad things happen when good people are too passive, but together we can make a change.
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