ECRI (European Commission against Racism and Intolerance)(2015), ECRI Report on Estonia (fifth monitoring cycle), Strasbourg, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
Country
Estonia
Title
Year
Type of publication
Geographical coverage
National
Area/location of interest
Type of Institution
Council of Europe body
Institution
Main Thematic Focus
Racism & xenophobia Hate speech Discrimination
Target Population
Migrants Muslims Refugees & asylum seekers LGBTI
Key findings
The report suggests that whilst Estonia does not suffer from a specific problem relating to hate speech, there is a prevalence of racist remarks on internet news portals and a failure to take action in response to homophobic speech by politicians. The report mentions that there is an issue of under-reporting of cases of racial and homophobic hatred and violence which raises the question of the lack of training activities for the police and members of the judiciary.
The report also criticises insufficiently coordinated measures to draw society’s attention to the problems of racism and racial discrimination and makes several recommendations to the Estonian authorities for taking further measures to review the Penal Code with a view to criminalising a variety of racist offences.
Methodology (Qualitative/Quantitative and exact type used, questionnaires etc)
The working methods for the preparation of the ECRI country reports involve documentary analyses, a visit to the country concerned, and a confidential dialogue with the national authorities.
Sample details and representativeness
ECRI’s reports are analyses based on a great deal of information gathered from a wide variety of sources.