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Core Document Forming Part of the Reports of States CORE DOCUMENT FORMING PART OF THE REPORTS OF STATES PARTIES ESTONIA 2015 The purpose of this core document is to assist the treaty bodies in understanding the situation in Estonia. The document is presented to replace the previous core document, which was submitted in 2001. It contains information of both general and factual nature relating to the implementation of the treaties to which Estonia is party. Where possible, links to official texts of laws published in the Riigi Teataja (Estonian State Gazette) in English are included. 1 Table of Contents I. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ESTONIA ......................................................................... 5 A. Geographical indicators ............................................................................................................... 5 B. Historical background ................................................................................................................. 5 C. Demographic, economic, social and cultural characteristics ....................................................... 7 1. Population ................................................................................................................................ 7 2. Education ................................................................................................................................. 9 3. E-governance ......................................................................................................................... 10 4. Digital society ........................................................................................................................ 12 5. Religion ................................................................................................................................. 12 D. Economy, finance and employment .......................................................................................... 13 1. Economy ................................................................................................................................ 13 2. Finance .................................................................................................................................. 14 3. Employment and standard of living ...................................................................................... 15 4. Social Protection .................................................................................................................... 16 E. Constitutional, political and legal structure ............................................................................... 17 1. Political structure ................................................................................................................... 17 2. Constitution ........................................................................................................................... 17 3. Parliament .............................................................................................................................. 18 4. President of the Republic....................................................................................................... 18 5. The Government of the Republic .......................................................................................... 19 6. National Audit Office ............................................................................................................ 19 7. Chancellor of Justice ............................................................................................................. 20 8. Judiciary ................................................................................................................................ 21 9. National defence .................................................................................................................... 22 10. Prosecutor’s Office and law enforcement ......................................................................... 22 11. Local self-government ....................................................................................................... 27 12. Electoral system................................................................................................................. 29 II. GENERAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ................................................................................................................................................ 30 F. Acceptance of international human rights norms ...................................................................... 30 G. Legal framework for the protection of human rights at the national level ................................ 32 H. General framework for promoting human rights at the national level ...................................... 36 1. Legislative branch of power .................................................................................................. 36 2 2. Executive branch of power .................................................................................................... 38 3. Judicial branch of power ....................................................................................................... 43 4. Civil society ........................................................................................................................... 45 5. Transparency and information ............................................................................................... 46 I. Reporting process at the national level ...................................................................................... 47 III. INFORMATION ON NON-DISCRIMINATION, EQUALITY AND EFFECTIVE REMEDIES ........................................................................................................................................... 48 J. Non-discrimination and equal rights ......................................................................................... 48 1. Equal rights for persons with disabilities .............................................................................. 48 2. Gender equality ..................................................................................................................... 49 3. Rights of the Child ................................................................................................................ 51 4. Equal rights for national minorities ....................................................................................... 52 5. Equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people ............................................. 54 6. Other related human rights information ................................................................................ 54 K. Effective remedies ..................................................................................................................... 54 3 List of abbreviations CAT Convention against Torture CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women ICERD Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CRPD Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ICC International Criminal Court ICESR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights UN United Nations ILO International Labour Organisation UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation WHO World Health Organisation OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development CoE Council of Europe 4 I. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ESTONIA A. Geographical indicators 1. Estonia is located in Northern Europe, on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. Estonia’s territory is 45 227 km2. About one tenth (4133 km2) of it is taken up by islands, and 51% of the territory is forest and woodland. The country is covered with nearly 1200 lakes (5 per cent of the Estonian territory). 2. As part of the East European Plain, Estonia is characterized by flat surface topography. Due to the influence of the Gulf Stream the climate is mild. The average temperature of the coldest month, February, is –3.5 to –7 °C, while that of the warmest, July, is 16 to 18°C. 3. Estonia is divided into 15 counties, 183 rural municipalities and 30 towns. The largest city is the capital Tallinn which had 434 426 inhabitants at the beginning of 2015. The small size of the municipalities has posed a challenge to the administrative and financial capability of the local governments to provide social services and benefits in the amount and of the quality required. Therefore the Government continues to encourage mergers and greater cooperation among municipalities. Local governments also receive funding to develop and improve quality social services based on individual need. B. Historical background 4. Since the thirteenth century Estonia was ruled by several foreign powers (Sweden, Poland, Denmark, and Russia among others). The independent Republic of Estonia became a reality only after the Russian empire disintegrated as a result of war and revolutions. On 28 November 1917, the The Provisional Assembly of Estonia (the Maapäev) declared itself the supreme power in Estonia. 5. In February 1918, the Estonian Salvation Committee was formed, which on 24 February 1918 proclaimed Estonia’s independence. This date is considered the date of establishment of the Republic of Estonia. Shortly after, however, Estonia was occupied by Imperial Germany in the course of the First
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