Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Urmas Paet At the 22nd Human Rights Council 26.II.2013 Mr President, Dear colleagues, Excellencies,
I thank you for the opportunity to address the twenty-second session of the Human Rights Council.
Just two days ago Estonia celebrated its 95th independence day. From the very beginning, Estonia has stood for human rights. Our independence manifesto, which was addressed to all Estonian peoples, declared that in Estonia all fundamental rights and freedoms had to apply. This included the freedom of expression, press and religious freedom, the freedom to organize meetings, the inviolability of the individual and of homes. When we restored our independence in 1991, Estonia adhered to the same principles. Our success over the past twenty-two years has demonstrated the positive effect of human rights and freedoms.
Estonia has now, for the first time, been chosen to be a member of the Human Rights Council. For us, this is an excellent means to continue, and to boost our human rights centred policies and actions. The creation of the Human Rights Council eight years ago has provided the world with a vital means to promote the protection and furthering of human rights across the globe. As an active and innovative country, we hope to make good use of our membership of the Council.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me to look at Estonia’s priorities. They include good governance; freedom of expression, including Internet freedom; the rights of women, children and indigenous peoples; and the fight against impunity.
Estonia has successfully followed the principles of open and transparent government. Engagement with civil society forces governments to do their best for their people. Modern technological solutions have been instrumental in achieving this goal. As a result we are today known as e-Estonia, one of the world’s most successful e-states. We would like to share our experience and success with others and also to learn from your experiences. To do so, we joined the Open Government Partnership in 2012.
Estonia would like to see more people directly involved in the decision-making process. One modern solution is e-democracy. Internet-based e-elections have been a success in our country. In the 2011 parliamentary elections 24.3% of voters cast their ballots over the Internet. But we would also like to increase citizen participation in between elections. These projects have a lot of potential in other countries as well. In this field Estonia has projects in countries of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership, for instance with Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.
Internet access is of key importance to achieve good governance. For the third year in a row, Freedom House has rated Estonia as the country with the freest Internet in the world. Internet freedom is one of our priorities in the Human Rights Council. Estonia views cyber issues through the general prism of rights and freedoms. For Estonia, supporting the freedom of expression online is just as important as all other activities related to the protection and promotion of human rights. I would therefore also like to praise the previous members of the Council for their effort to pass the first ever Internet freedom resolution with consensus.
However, recent discussions on Internet freedom have taken a worrying turn in the Council. Too many countries focus on censorship and the limiting of freedoms. This should not be so. This trend must change. I would like to invite governments to consider that openness and accessibility are not a threat, but an opportunity. As a member of the Freedom Online Coalition Estonia will also be holding a conference in Tallinn on Internet freedom in 2014.
Mr President,
Another of our priorities is to strongly support the rights of indigenous peoples. Estonia welcomes the increasing support from other committed governments. Estonians, as a Finno-Ugric people, are particularly worried about the fate of other Finno-Ugric peoples whose populations have been decreasing. Information and Communications Technology can also help strengthen the cultural identities of indigenous peoples, especially among the youth. This is why we encourage governments to make new technologies available.
Estonia stands for the rights of women. The status of women in society demonstrates its strength. Estonia remains committed to the principle of equality between men and women. This principle was rooted in our first constitution in 1920. We have had women’s suffrage for over 90 years. Yet this does not mean that more cannot be done.
The Estonian Gender Equality Act that came into force in May 2004 aims to ensure equal treatment and to promote gender equality. The act provides for the obligation of state and local government agencies, educational and research institutions and employers to promote gender equality and the right to claim compensation for damage.
When it comes more specifically to the rights of women, Estonia intends to promote the UN Security Council’s resolution 1325 – “Women, peace and security”. This is why our government has adopted a National Action Plan to implement the resolution at home. We encourage all countries to do the same. In today’s world, women are still the largest group of victims in military and political conflicts. For this reason, we need to strengthen the role of women in conflict prevention, settlement, and in peace building. We hope that during the upcoming session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which is dedicated to reducing violence against women, we can reach a common understanding. One that can lead to real actions and real results on the ground.
In relation to the rights of child, the world’s approach has too often been reactive. We need much more emphasis on preventing crimes and other problems. In Estonia, our goal is to emphasise prevention and early intervention in order that children and families do not develop serious social problems.
The question of children in armed conflict also continues to require attention. It is very important that mission mandates include the aspect of child protection. The crimes committed in Syria have drawn dramatic attention to the need to prevent and respond to such problems.
For this and many other reasons, the world must end impunity in relation to international crimes and grave violations of human rights. It is positive that the principle has received near-universal approval. Yet the rhetoric is not always followed by concrete deeds. The International Criminal Court plays a central role in this question. Estonia’s ambassador, Tiina Intelmann, the president of the Assembly of States Parties to the ICC, works with many others to implement the Court’s mandate. Already 122 countries have signed up to the Rome Statute. I, nevertheless, call upon others to join as well.
Mr President,
Human rights are of great importance when it comes to development aid and co-operation. In Estonia’s humanitarian aid projects we mainly support the protection of women and children, and the continuation of education. Allow me to name just a few examples of what our government does. In Afghanistan we support girls’ schools; in Mali, the continuation of children’s education during the crisis; in Syria’s case, refugees. Each year Estonia contributes to three indigenous peoples’ funds, as well as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As I already touched upon Syria, allow me to say a few words about the situation there and in some other countries.
The most important thing is for the violence to end in Syria. We need a truce and a transitional government as a viable alternative to the current regime. Altogether, 58 countries, including Estonia, supported the referring of the situation in Syria to the ICC in order to start a process of accountability. The international community must also continue to support refugees because the situation continues to deteriorate. Four million people need immediate humanitarian aid. The number of IDP’s and refugees could soon rise above a million. At the beginning of this year I visited the Syrian refugee camp in Zaatar, Jordan. The situation was simply tragic. The international community has reacted. Estonia too has financially supported Syrian refugees in Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon. But we must all try to do more to help these suffering people, so that they can return to their homes and families. Therefore, it also pleases me that the European Union has not shied away from acting together in helping the government restore democracy and the rule of law in Mali.
The international community has witnessed a number of positive developments in Myanmar. Estonia is exploring opportunities to share our e- and open governance experience in order to consolidate and improve the effect that initial reforms have had. Unfortunately, such progress as we can observe in Myanmar remains to be seen in countries ranging from North Korea to Belarus. Instead of feeding their starving population, North Korea wastes money on testing nuclear weapons. In Belarus, repressions continue against independent media and civil society activists. There are still political prisoners in the country. We call upon Belarus to embrace the positive results that change can lead to. Co-operation with and a constructive approach towards the international community would help Belarus and its people prosper.
Ladies and gentlemen,
To conclude, I would like to stress that human rights are an opportunity, not a means to punish the governments of developing states. And we must not forget that human rights need constant attention in developed countries too. They improve people’s daily lives. Human rights are a win-win solution, benefiting all. Estonia has embraced this view and thrived, as have so many other countries. As a member of the Human Rights Council, we would like to share our experience with the world.
Thank you.