|
|
Doc. 7715
20 December 1996
REPORT1 on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Estonia
(Rapporteur: Mr Rudolf BINDIG, Germany, Socialist Group2)
Summary
Estonia has made considerable progress towards the fulfilment of her obligations and commitments since she became a member state on 14 May 1993. In particular, Estonia has ratified the European Convention on Human Rights and most of its Protocols, as well as the European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and its Protocols.
However, four problematic areas concerning Estonia's obligations under the Council of Europe's statute and the European Convention on Human Rights remain. The first one concerns the abolition of the death penalty and the ratification of the Sixth Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights. The second one regards the practice of detaining refugees and asylum-seekers, in contravention of Articles 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights for lack of asylum-procedures. The third problematic area relates to the treatment of the "non-historic" Russian-speaking minority, especially as far as the granting of citizenship (and the language test that has to be passed in order to obtain it) are concerned. The last area consists of the conditions of custody and detention, which remain deplorable despite Estonia's efforts to improve them and the authorities' good co-operation with the Council of Europe on this matter.
Considering that the most important obligations and commitments have been honoured by Estonia, the Assembly should decide to close the monitoring procedure under Order No. 508 (1995). If the problems indicated above are not solved within one year from the adoption of this resolution, or if significant developments in other fields lead to legitimate concern that Estonia is not honouring its obligations and commitments, the Assembly should re-open its monitoring procedure at that time.
I. Draft resolution
1. The Assembly notes that Estonia has made considerable progress towards the fulfilment of her obligations and commitments since Estonia became a member state on 14 May 1993.
2. In particular, it welcomes Estonia's ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights and all its Protocols except Protocol No 6, as well as her recognition of the right of individual petition (Article 25) and the compulsory jurisdiction of the European Court on Human Rights (Article 46) on 16 April 1996 with immediate effect.
3. It also welcomes Estonia's ratification of the European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and its Protocols on 6 November 1996, the signature of the Framework Convention for the protection of national minorities on 2 February 1995 and the recent signature of other conventions, especially in the criminal law field.
4. The Assembly welcomes Estonia's intention to ratify the conventions it has signed as soon as possible. In particular, it takes note of the country's intention to ratify Protocol No 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the abolition of the death penalty in times of peace, signed on 14 May 1993, by 1 February 1998, as declared by the Minister of Justice on 19 February 1996 and re-affirmed by the Parliamentary Delegation of the Republic of Estonia in writing on 17 April 1996 and 2 December 1996, and to uphold the moratorium on executions in the meantime.
5. However, three problematic areas concerning Estonia's obligations under the Council of Europe's statute and the European Convention on Human Rights remain. The first one is the practice of detaining refugees and asylum-seekers, in contravention of Articles 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights for lack of asylum-procedures, a problem that is currently being dealt with by a special government commission preparing Estonia's accession to the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees and its 1967 New York Protocol and the necessary internal legislation.
6. The second problematic area relates to the treatment of the "non-historic" Russian-speaking minority, which has given rise to some concern in the last three years, especially as far as the granting of residence permits and citizenship (and the language test that has to be passed in order obtain the latter) are concerned.
7. The third area consists of the conditions of custody and detention, which remain deplorable despite Estonia's efforts to improve them and the authorities' good co-operation with the Council of Europe on this matter.
8. The Assembly thus urges the Estonian authorities to:
i. refrain from detaining refugees and asylum-seekers in contravention of Articles 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, adopt appropriate laws and regulations in compliance with internationally recognised human rights standards without delay, and sign and ratify the United Nations Convention on the Protection of Refugees and its Protocol as soon as possible;
ii. seek to integrate those members of the "non-historic" Russian-speaking minority who are loyal to the Estonian State and society, by improving the teaching of Estonian as a foreign language in public schools and universities, and in adult education, offering language courses free of charge or at a reduced rate to applicants for citizenship (especially in Russian-speaking areas);
iii. further improve the conditions of custody and detention without delay.
9. Considering that the most important obligations and commitments have been honoured by Estonia, the Assembly decides to close the monitoring procedure under Order No. 508 (1995). Should the conditions set out in paragraphs 4 and 8 not be met within one year from the adoption of this resolution, or significant developments in other fields lead to legitimate concern that Estonia is not honouring its obligations and commitments, the Assembly will re-open its monitoring procedure at that time.
II. Draft recommendation
1. The Assembly refers to its Resolution ... (1997) by which it has decided to close its monitoring procedure of Estonia's honouring of obligations and commitments under Order No. 508 (1995).
2. However, in view of Estonia's remaining obligations and commitments, which Estonia is bound to fulfil within one year, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers aid Estonia's efforts by:
i. stepping up its aid to Estonia to carry out its prison reform, in particular in the framework of the Council of Europe/European Commission joint co-operation programme;
ii. offering assistance (including financial means) and advice from the Council of Europe to the Estonian Ministry of Justice to organise a public information and education campaign in favour of the abolition of capital punishment, as has also been recommended in Recommendation 1302 (1996) on the abolition of the death penalty in Europe;
iii. including in its co-operation programme a project to improve the teaching of Estonian as a foreign language, both in public schools and universities, and in adult education, for example through a teacher training programme.
III. Explanatory memorandum
by Mr BINDIG
I. Introduction
1. Order No. 508 (1995) provides for the monitoring of the obligations and commitments of member states. The Republic of Estonia became a member state of the Council of Europe on 14 May 1993, following a positive vote in the Assembly. The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights opened procedure under Order No 508 (1995), and appointed me its Rapporteur. Mr Björck (Sweden, EDG) and Mrs Poptodorova (Bulgaria, SOC) have been appointed Rapporteurs by the Political Affairs Committee and the Committee on Relations with European Non-Member Countries respectively. The first report on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Estonia by Mr Bratinka and myself - established under the previous procedure, according to Order 488 (1993) - was published on 31 May 1994 (Doc. 7080, Add. IV), the second report was published in September 1995 (AS/Jur (1995) 29).
2. Under the procedure of Order No. 508 (1995), the obligations Estonia is bound to, like every other member state, are to be monitored, especially the observance of the rule of law and the enjoyment by all persons under its jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms (Article 3 of the Statute). In addition, the implementation of specific commitments Estonia entered into upon its accession to the Council of Europe are to be monitored. The most important of these commitments are listed in detail in Assembly Opinion No 170 (1993) and in the introduction to my first report of May 19943.
3. This report deals with Estonia's most important commitments, following a thematic approach: the signature and ratification of Council of Europe Conventions, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and other issues. It is based on the visit of two Rapporteurs (Mr Björck and myself) to Estonia from 19 to 21 February 19964, assisted by Mrs Kleinsorge, Co-Secretary of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, to monitor the country's obligations and commitments. (Mrs Poptodorova unfortunately had to cancel her participation at the last minute). The programme was very well organised by the Estonian parliamentary delegation, and we would like to thank all our interlocutors for the many profound, detailed and honest discussions we had, inter alia, with parliamentarians, ministers and officials. We were very impressed by the warm hospitality extended to us.
4. The report is to a large extent based upon the introductory memorandum drawn up by Mr Björck and myself (AS/Jur (1996) 16), and upon the comments received thereon from the Parliamentary Delegation of the Republic of Estonia (AS/Jur (1996) 31). However, it also takes into account the most recent developments as reported by the OSCE, other international and non-governmental organisations, the press, and the reply received from the Head of the Estonian parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe on 2 December 19965 to my letter of 18 November 19966.
II. Signature and ratification of Council of Europe Conventions
A. European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and its main Protocols
(Nos. 1,4,7 and 11)
5. Upon accession, Estonia undertook to sign and ratify a number of Council of Europe Conventions. The most important by far is, of course, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and its main Protocols. On 14 May 1993, Estonia signed this Convention and all its Protocols. Following unanimous ratification by the Estonian parliament on 13 March 1996, the Estonian Ambassador in Strasbourg presented the ratification instruments of the ECHR and its Protocols Nos. 1, 4, 7, 9, 10 and 11 to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe on 16 April 1996. Estonia recognised the right of individual petition (Article 25) and the compulsory jurisdiction of the European Court on Human Rights (Article 46) at the same time with immediate effect, thus fulfilling its most important outstanding commitment.
B. Protocol No 6 of the ECHR (the abolition of the death penalty)
6. Estonia signed Protocol No 6 of the ECHR, abolishing the death penalty in peace time, at the same time as the ECHR itself on 14 May 1993. Apparently, there had been some discussion in the government whether to include Protocol No 6 in the package to be presented to parliament to be ratified. To this end, the Board for Crime Prevention met in February 1996, the Chairman of which is the Minister of Justice. The Board came to the conclusion that the death penalty needed to be abolished in Estonia, but that the Criminal Code of Estonia had to be amended first, to allow for the imposition of life sentences (the maximum penalty is, for the time being, set at fifteen years).
7. The Minister of Justice informed the Rapporteurs that he hoped the Criminal Code could be amended in this way by May 1996, which would make it possible to abolish the death penalty by February 1997. On 12 November 1996 the Estonian government decided to approve the proposal by the Minister of Justice on amendments to the Criminal Code allowing the imposition of life sentences. They are currently pending before parliament. As soon as the amendments have been approved, the government intends to submit Protocol No 6 of the ECHR for ratification.
8. Unfortunately, the Estonian public seems to be against the abolition of capital punishment. During the public discussion, which started on this topic in December 1995, arguments were raised, that in the time of a high crime rate, it was not a good idea to abolish the death penalty. Taking into consideration that the average salary in Estonia is at approximately 2.800 EEK (the official minimum monthly salary is 680 EEK), and that the maintenance of a prisoner costs between 2.000 and 2.500 EEK per month, many people, especially pensioners, questioned the priorities of the government.
9. We do not want to extol here why it is imperative that capital punishment be abolished. Let it suffice to say that nowhere has a relation between the existence of the death penalty and the crime rate been proven. However, it is clear that a great education and information effort has to be made on the part of the Estonian authorities to convince the public of the futility of capital punishment (it might be added here, that no member of the Crime Prevention Board spoke out in favour of the retention of capital punishment, and neither has the government). The Minister of Justice is willing to lead an appropriate information and education campaign. He has kindly requested assistance and advice from the Council of Europe in this field. We fully support this request, which has since been re-iterated by the Estonian parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe, and have included it in the draft recommendation to the Committee of Ministers. The Assembly hopes that its seminar on the abolition of the death penalty, which took place in Kyiv on 28 and 29 November 1996, might have helped the Estonian participants to find ways of convincing the public on the futility of capital punishment.
10. The last execution of the death penalty on Estonian soil was carried out in September 1991, one year before President Meri took office (the last time the death penalty was both sentenced and carried out by the Republic of Estonia was before the Second World War). At the time of the Rapporteurs' visit in February 1996, eight prisoners were held on death row. (Two other prisoners originally sentenced to death since independence have already been granted clemency by the President of the Republic.) Of the eight prisoners currently on death row, seven have appealed, either to a higher court or to the President of the Republic. A great problem is posed by the eighth prisoner, a murderer who has refused to appeal. We hope, that, nevertheless, his sentence will not be carried out, but that it will be commuted to life imprisonment following the above-mentioned, soon to be expected, amendment to the Criminal Code and final abolition of capital punishment.
C. The European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman and degrading punishment or treatment (Torture Convention)
11. We welcome Estonia's ratification of the European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and its Protocols on 6 November 1996, and the signature of several other conventions in the criminal law field. It is understood that the Estonian authorities mean to ratify the conventions signed as soon as possible. The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities was apparently ratified by parliament on 21 November 1996, but the ratification instrument has not yet been presented to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.
III. Treatment of the "non-historic" Russian-speaking minority7
12. In regard of minorities, the Estonian authorities entered into two commitments before accession: to base their policy regarding the protection of "historic" minorities on principles laid down in Recommendation 1201 (1993) on an additional protocol on the rights of national minorities to the ECHR, and to treat the "non-historic" Russian- speaking minority fairly. No special problems concerning historic national minorities in Estonia have come to our attention. However, not all problems in regard to the treatment of the "non-historic" Russian-speaking minority have been dealt with in a satisfactory manner so far.
13. We regret that the Estonian authorities have not taken into account many of the proposals and suggestions made in the second report on Estonia's honouring of obligations and commitments8. While we do not wish to repeat these proposals in this report, we would like to draw attention to the fact that the moderate criticism of the citizenship law (for example in respect to the naturalisation of spouses), of the language requirements and of the extent of the test on the Estonian Constitution and of the temporary residence permit system remain valid to this day. However, it should be noted that there have been some important developments regarding, for example, travel documents (the introduction of Alien's Passports), to which I will refer later in this report.
A. Citizenship, residence permits and electoral rights
14. Ethnic non-Estonians are estimated to present up to 30 % of the population of the Republic of Estonia. Of this group, by 1 January 1996, 84.240 persons had chosen Russian citizenship9. Approximately 45.000 Russian-speaking persons (out of a total of 70.000 newly naturalised Estonian citizens) have been naturalised so far, with the pace of naturalisation proceeding at around 2.000 persons per month. The lower number of persons choosing Estonian instead of Russian citizenship may be due to the fact that it is relatively easy to obtain Russian citizenship for citizens of the former Soviet Union by simple application, while to obtain Estonian citizenship, certain (stricter) requirements have to be fulfilled, for example concerning knowledge of the Estonian language and Constitution, as well as continuous five year residence prior to application.
15. One cannot but detect a certain reluctance on behalf of the Estonian authorities to naturalise members of the "non-historic" Russian-speaking minority. As understandable as this reaction is, due to the history especially of the Soviet occupation, this policy of making it difficult for a large portion of the population to obtain citizenship, taking continuous recourse instead to a system of temporary residence permits, risks alienating people principally integrated in and loyal to the Estonian State and society10.
16. In accordance with the Estonian Law on Aliens, adopted on 8 July 1993, all aliens (foreign citizens and stateless persons) require a residence permit to live in Estonia. In principle, applications for such residence permits had to be received before 12 July 1995.11 By the cut-off date of 12 July 1995, 327.737 persons had registered, this figure estimated to represent 80 to 90 % of those required to register. The Riigikogu, the Estonian parliament, decided to extend the application deadline just before it ran out, to 30 April 1996. However, different conditions apply to late registrations: an explanation has to be given, why the persons concerned did not register within the deadline, and a higher fee has to be paid (300 EEK instead of 30 EEK). By 1 January 1996 another 8.000 people had availed themselves of the opportunity of late registration. In our opinion, by the end of April 1996, only a hard core of persons who are unwilling to register will be left.12 It can be expected of the aliens currently living in Estonia that they register themselves with the state, instead of simply not acting at all. These people have only themselves to blame, if they are open to deportation now.
17. The 327.000 aliens who applied for residence permits by 12 July 1995 should have been granted temporary residence permits by law by 12 July 1996. The Citizenship and Migration Board was unable to issue all applicants with residence permit stickers by this date, but all applications were meant to have been decided by then (a total number of refusals as low as 100 was expected). All applicants were supposed to receive a letter from the Board informing them that the residence permit had been granted, so that they would not be deemed to be staying in Estonia without a legal basis; but apparently due to the high cost of such notifications, it has been decided instead to extend the validity of the old Soviet "internal" passports for internal use in the transitional period, until Estonian documents can be issued (so far, only 33.000 residence permits have been issued, and a further 60.000 printed). In Estonia, residence permits of any kind must be stamped into a valid identification document. For this reason, the government has approved a procedure, according to which every person - not a national of another state - who applies for a residence permit will receive an alien's passport. By 1 December 1996, the Estonian Citizenship- and Migration Board had received 125.220 applications for an alien's passport. It is estimated that all passports will have been issued by 1 April 1997.
18. In the last report, the problem of the difference between temporary and permanent residence permits was raised.13 We still hold the view that it would have been better if the Estonian authorities had decided to issue permanent residence permits to those who settled in Estonia before 1 July 1990 straight away, instead of issuing them only with temporary residence permits, which do not confer exactly the same privileges (in connection with the possibility to invite friends and relatives from abroad, for example). However, we understand the point the Estonian parliamentary delegation has made, that the issuing of temporary residence permits first is necessary to verify the personal data presented by the applicants. We are pleased to hear that the Estonian authorities intend to prolong temporary residence permits of this category of people automatically, without further procedure, when they expire in five years' time, provided the applicant has been living in Estonia and no forgery in her or his data in uncovered.
B. Language requirements
19. A new Law on Citizenship was adopted by the Riigikogu on 19 January 1995, and came into force on 1 April 1995. According to this law, a person who wishes to obtain Estonian citizenship cannot apply for naturalisation until he or she has passed two exams: one is a general language exam, the other is an exam on the Estonian Constitution and citizenship law.14 Since 21 November 1995, these exams have been based on the new Law on Citizenship. There is a fee for sitting the exams: it amounts to 272 EEK for both parts (the minimum salary is at 680 EEK, average salary at 2.800 EEK). The Estonian parliamentary delegation has informed us that fees are waived in the case of students, pensioners and unemployed candidates, and that the passage rate is close to 80%. As of 1 April 1996, 1356 candidates have passed the exam under the new procedure (both parts), and the pace of currently about 300 a month is constantly rising.
20. International experts have evaluated the language tests in the framework of the Council of Europe and the European Commission joint co-operation programme. One of the main concerns both of the international experts, of the representatives of the Russian speaking minority, and of the President's Round Table on Minorities, centred on the information that the same high requirements were applied to every applicant, regardless of his age, his health, his education or his social background. The Estonian parliamentary delegation has informed us that this is not the case any more: Candidates born before 1930 are exempt from the reading, listening, and writing ability sections, with special exemptions provided also for handicapped candidates. These exemptions are to be welcomed, but should be applied also to persons with learning difficulties and for persons with only a very basic education.
21. The Council of Europe's language-test experts have helped the Estonian authorities to carry out considerable reform of the language-testing for citizenship purposes during the last year, especially regarding the standardisation of the tests, the scoring procedures and the development of a "threshold"-level. The new tests will be applied as from 1 January 1997. Though a significant improvement over previous tests, there is still work to be done, e.g. regarding the further development of the system of test material production, and the procedures for the processing and administration of the tests. We thus hope that Estonian-Council of Europe co-operation in this field will continue.
22. Another problem is posed by the preparation of the language exam, which seems to be inadequate. The Estonian authorities freely admit that the quality of teaching of the Estonian language in public (Russian-language) schools is so poor, that additional training is required before a pupil can reach the necessary level to pass the citizenship language exam. The Minister of Education pointed out that it is very difficult to find well-qualified teachers of the Estonian language in regions such as Narva and Scillamäe. Learning the Estonian language via adult education seems to be even harder. Twenty-four local language centres exist, which prepare applicants for citizenship for the language exam. However, participants have to pay for the language-teaching themselves. Depending on their performance, the teaching fee is tried to be compensated for by employers or by the local administration.
23. Nevertheless, in areas of high unemployment such as the above-mentioned Russian-speaking regions, where there is also no opportunity to practice the Estonian language on an everyday level, attendance of language courses has gone down rapidly in the last two years. This may be due on the one hand, to a certain frustration with the difficulty of learning a foreign language, but on the other hand, may also be due to the fact that many applicants simply cannot afford the fees, neither for the language courses, nor for sitting the examination itself. We are of the opinion that the Estonian authorities should make it a priority to ensure that all ethnic non-Estonians who are loyal to the Estonian State and society are given the opportunity to integrate into this State and society by learning the language. School education of Estonian as a foreign language needs to be improved, and language courses should be offered to applicants for citizenship free of charge or at a reduced rate in such regions as Narva and Scillamäe. The authorities might also consider whether persons who have passed certain exams in Estonian Russian-language schools, such as O- or A-levels in the Estonian language (as a foreign language), could not be exempted from the citizenship language exam, on the grounds that these exams are accepted as sufficient proof of knowledge of the Estonian language15.
24. The Estonian authorities have made some steps in the right direction by offering free consultations and examination books to persons wishing to take the citizenship language exam at "In Service Teacher Training Centres" all over Estonia, as well as issuing a handbook on the exam free of charge to teachers, applicants and examiners. However, this is not enough: A concerted effort needs to be made by the Estonian authorities, possibly together with the Council of Europe, to improve the quality of teaching Estonian as a foreign language, both in public schools and universities, and especially in adult education.
C. Education
25. A law adopted in 1993 by the Riigikogu stipulates that by the year 2000 all secondary schools relying on public funding should use the Estonian language as the sole language of instruction. Taking into account the sorry state of Estonian language teaching in these (currently Russian-language) secondary schools, the non-adjustment of this deadline would, in fact, lead to the deprivation of secondary education to Russian speaking pupils. When asked by us whether the deadline would be adjusted, the Minister of Education told us that he was not going to fight the deadline, since reality was fighting it for him. He hoped that the deadline could be revised without political problems.
26. The Minister hopes that by concentrating on ameliorating the instruction of Estonian as a foreign language in the first nine grades of basic education (up to the age of 16), and by gradually increasing the use of Estonian in other subjects in secondary education, it would be feasible to expect that in eight to ten years every pupil would be able to follow instruction in Estonian in secondary schools. Furthermore, the Minister is in favour of offering more courses in the Russian language at Estonian universities during the first one or two years of study, and then increasing instruction in the Estonian language until the final exam can be taken only in Estonian. As long as the instruction of the Estonian language as a foreign language is considerably improved in both basic education and at the universities, we can support the Minister's plans.
IV. Human rights and the judicial system
A. Custody and detention
27. The state of the prison system in Estonia has not improved much during the last year16: Peter the Great's Tallinn naval fortress, which we were allowed to revisit this year, is unfortunately still in use as the country's only pre-trial detention centre. The central heating system dates to 1953, and no repairs have been made since, so the building remains impossible to heat. The prison director tries to do what he can to improve the condition of the building and thus the situation of the prisoners, but there is not much he can do (he has finally got the permission now, though, to knock windows into the cells on death row, which had no day-light so far17). The overcrowding has eased a little, with only 1.357 inmates on the day of our visit (down from over 1.500 last year, and 1.800 two years ago).
28. Plans to sell the fortress to a Finnish tourist company which would build three new pre-trial detention centres in different areas of Estonia as payment exist, and the Director General of the Executive Board is expecting the project to start in January 1997. We hope that the project can be brought to a rapid conclusion, since the conditions in this naval fortress are so bad that they might in themselves constitute inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment in contravention of Article 3 of the ECHR, as the Lakes/Taylor report already stated in 199318.
29. A decision on Estonia's prison reform is expected only in the next two years. While the Ministry of Justice is busy working out a programme on prison reform, including the construction of new buildings closer to European standards, and the hiring of more qualified personnel, it comes up against the eternal problem: lack of money. The Estonian authorities have already managed, despite this handicap, to open a newly built modern prison in Maardu in summer 1996, and plan to open a new section for 300 prisoners at Tallinn Jail in March 1997. Since public opinion is not in favour of spending money on prisons when it could be spent on hospitals and many other things, the government is not in an easy situation. The state of a country's prison system, does, however, indicate its political and legal culture. For this reason we urge the government to keep prison reform one of its highest priorities. We also suggest that aid to Estonia be stepped up in the framework of the Council of Europe/ European Commission joint co-operation programme.
B. Refugees
30. Estonia has not yet signed and ratified the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees nor its 1967 New York Protocol, and has adopted no internal legislation or regulations on refugees and asylum-seekers, so that a gap in the law exists in this area. In 1994, 89 Kurdish refugees were sentenced to two months in prison as "illegal immigrants", and were held there - in contravention of international law - even after their prison terms had expired. Since the odyssey of the Kurds found a happy ending in January 1995, when Finland agreed to accept the refugees, we had considered the fact that Estonia had still not made any progress in this field as a theoretical problem.
31. For this reason we were surprised to find out that the problem is, in fact, acute, since 25 refugees and asylum-seekers, mostly from Russia, were being held on the territory of an Estonian prison during our visit19. The Director of the State Executive Office explained that an administrative court had sentenced them to two months imprisonment for entering Estonia illegally, and for possessing no valid documents. During this time, the Migration Board was meant to discover where they came from and send them back there. (He added laconically, that if two months were not sufficient to find out the needed information, another two months would be added, and so on).
32. This practice of depriving refugees and asylum-seekers of their liberty without their having committed a crime or being under the suspicion of having committed one, and of giving them no access to asylum-procedures (which, like reception centres, simply do not exist), quite apart from being uncivilised, is also a violation of Articles 5 and 6 of the ECHR.
33. There seemed to be an overwhelming fear on the part of practically all our interlocutors that Estonia needs to protect itself against an overflow of refugees and asylum-seekers coming from Russia. This fear can only be understood on the background of the Soviet occupation, since reality is far removed from the fears of the Estonians: only a handful of would-be refugees and asylum-seekers have so far chosen to cross the border into Estonia.
34. The attitude of the Estonian authorities towards refugees and asylum-seekers is especially difficult to understand when the country's own history is taken into account (many Estonians found refuge in Europe, America and other countries following the tragic events of the Second World War and Soviet oppression).
35. This having been said, Estonia is under obligation according to Article 3 of the Statute of the Council of Europe to guarantee the enjoyment by all persons under its jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Refugees and asylum-seekers on Estonian territory are also under Estonian jurisdiction, which means the Estonian authorities cannot go on violating their human rights by housing them in a prison for lack of another place to put them. The Estonian authorities thus must adopt appropriate laws and regulations on refugees and asylum-seekers in compliance with internationally recognised human rights standards immediately, and they should sign and ratify the United Nations Convention on the Protection of Refugees as soon as possible.
36. The Estonian parliamentary delegation has informed us that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently preparing the ratification of the 1951 Geneva Convention and its New York Protocol. An interministerial committee is also preparing the necessary internal legislation under the guidance of the Ministry of the Interior, work which should be completed by the end of 1996. This is a very welcome development.
C. The office of an ombudsman for human rights
37. So far, no office of an ombudsman for human rights exists in Estonia. At the moment, the Legal Chancellor is bravely trying to fulfil this role, since he is convinced there is a need for it. He visits different towns and districts regularly, on 3-4 day-long field trips, to hear residents' complaints. Most complaints apparently concern abuse of power by officials, especially in connection with property and land reform, and decentralisation of local government. However, the powers of the Legal Chancellor are limited: he cannot, for example, visit prisons or army units, nor has he a right to look at files. A decision by the Estonian authorities to create a true office of an ombudsman for human rights, or to expand the powers of the Legal Chancellor in this sense, would thus be very welcome. The preparation of a draft bill creating a fully-fledged office of an ombudsman for human rights, currently underway in the Ministry of Justice, is an important step forward.
V. Other issues
A. The Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church dispute20
38. At the time of the Rapporteurs' visit this spring, there was a dispute between two wings of the Orthodox Church in Estonia. Both wings lay claim to the title and the property (estimated to be worth several million Estonian Crowns) of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (EAOC). Both wings claim to be the only legal successor of the EAOC, which declared itself an autonomous church in the 1920s and was submitted to the Ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople. One wing, led by Mr Tosso, looks to the Ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople (which restored its jurisdiction on 20 February 1996), and traces itself back to Metropolit Alexander (the head of the EAOC) who fled Soviet oppression to Sweden in 1944 with 22 priests, and continued to run the church in exile. The other wing, led by Bishop Kornelius, looks to the Moscow patriarchate (though it claims to be autonomous since 23 April 1993), also suffered Soviet oppression, and traces itself back to 1940, when Metropolit Alexander requested that the EAOC be re-submitted to Moscow as in the 19th century.
39. The government registered the wing led by Mr Tosso under the name of the EAOC, thus making it the sole legal successor and owner of all the church's property. The wing led by Bishop Kornelius was refused legal recognition by the Estonian authorities under the name of EAOC (it is free to register under any other name, but will, of course, then have no access to the property of the EAOC).
40. This dispute has gone up to the highest court of Estonia, which has ruled that the registration of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church in exile in 1993 by the Estonian government was legal, and that the wing of the church which looks to the Moscow patriarchate has no claim on the property. As far as we can judge, the case of neither church is entirely meritless. On the one hand, the oppressed church in exile should have the right to re-establish itself in Estonia; on the other hand, the church which catered for the Orthodox believers in Estonia in the difficult period of Soviet occupation should not come away completely empty-handed, either.
41. Obviously, it would be best if a peaceful settlement could be found within the Orthodox Church. Both wings agree that the individual Orthodox congregations should have the right to choose whether they want to look to Moscow or to Constantinople. However, Bishop Kornelius' faction holds that the church's property is owned by each congregation, which would mean a split of property between the two wings depending on which wing - Moscow or Constantinople - each congregation decided to join, while Mr Tosso's faction holds that all property belongs to the EAOC, even though it is prepared to let congregations which decide to stay with Moscow continue to use its buildings free of charge, provided they pay for their upkeep.
42. On 16 March 1996 the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Moscow reached a compromise agreement on the matter, according to which the parishes receive the possibility to choose under which jurisdiction they want to settle. The Patriarchs are meant to contact the Estonian government with a view to enable all Orthodox believers and institutions in the country to enjoy equal rights, including the right to property. Unfortunately, the implementation of this agreement does not seem to be going too well, partly due to a conflict between the leader of the Russian faction, Bishop Kornelius, and Archbishop Johannes of Finland, whose designation as locum tenens in Estonia by the Patriarch of Constantinople is contested by the former. Another problem consists in finding a procedure for declarations of intent, recognised by both Patriarchates, in those parishes where positions have not yet been clarified or are still strongly contested.
43. The whole dispute is being blown out of all proportions by the addition of political connotations. The Russian authorities claim that Russian Orthodox believers are being persecuted in Estonia, and that their human rights are being violated, which is both blatantly untrue. The Estonian authorities claim that the Russian Federation wants to misuse the Orthodox Church of Estonia to keep some kind of link with, if not control over, Estonia's residents. (This might not be quite so untrue, but it is also a view clearly coloured by - exaggerated - fears stemming from the time of Soviet occupation.) In reality, the dispute is neither about politics nor about religion, but simply about property and personalities. The agreement between the two Patriarchates can be seen as the first and very important step to resolve this dispute.
B. Other property disputes21
44. The General Assembly of the Tallinn Union of Tenants provided us with a memorandum, in which it complained about the policy of the Estonian government to fully restore all property relations as of 16 June 1940, ignoring the economic and political realities that had developed in the last fifty years. The Union points especially to the plight of tenants, who will lose their housing rights in buildings returned to their former owners, often expatriates, on 1 July 1997, and who have difficulty in finding alternative accommodation due to the price explosion on the property market. The Union alleges that investments of the tenants in their house or apartment are not compensated, that people who managed to build or buy themselves a house or a summer cottage loose their property rights unless they can buy the land under the building (at unattainably high prices) and that the property reform is thus damaging the acquired rights of tenants and owners in the last fifty years and is creating new injustice.
45. This is, of course, only one side of the argument, the other side of which we had no opportunity to hear. One can fully sympathise with all the people suffering from the chaotic situation created by the Second World War and Soviet occupation. The restitution of property to its former owners without doing injustice to the current ones is never easy, as endless litigation in the German courts can attest to. However, it is our opinion that the best way to solve these problems does lie in going to an unbiased arbiter, i.e. a court. Ultimately, protection may also be found under the ECHR and its control mechanisms.
VI. Conclusions and recommendations
46. We can thus conclude that the Estonian authorities have made considerable progress towards the fulfilment of their obligations and commitments. Originally, the Rapporteurs felt that it would not be possible to close the monitoring procedure at this stage of the proceedings until at least the most important of the remaining obligations and commitments had been met, and that some more progress was thus necessary.
47. In the meantime, additional information has been received from the Estonian parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe. In particular, the delegation reaffirmed in writing Estonia's intention to fulfil its obligation to ratify Protocol No 6 of the ECHR, on the abolition of the death penalty in times of peace, as soon as the necessary amendments to the Criminal Code are complete (the Minister of Justice has promised February 1997 as the timetable, which is probably a little unrealistic). The Estonian parliamentary delegation also corrected some information the Estonian authorities had given to the Rapporteurs in Tallinn, concerning, for example, the language exam for citizenship and the treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers. Lastly, the European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman and degrading punishment or treatment has been ratified on 6 November 1996.
48. For these reasons we have decided to propose to the Assembly that the monitoring procedure under Order 508 (1995) be closed. It is understood that, should certain conditions, such as the ratification of Protocol No 6 of the ECHR, not be met within one year from the adoption of this resolution, or significant developments in other fields lead to legitimate concern that Estonia is not honouring its obligations and commitments, the Assembly will re-open its monitoring procedure at that time.
49. We would like to recommend to the Committee of Ministers that aid to Estonia to carry out its prison reform be stepped up in the framework of the Council of Europe/ European Commission joint co-operation programme, and that assistance and advice from the Council of Europe be offered to the Minister of Justice to organise a public information and education campaign in favour of the abolition of capital punishment. The Committee of Ministers might also include in its co-operation programme a project to improve the teaching of Estonian as a foreign language, both in public schools and universities, and in adult education, for example through a teacher training programme.
Appendix I
Extract from the
Information report on honouring of commitments
entered into by new member States
ESTONIA
(Doc 7080 Addendum IV)
"II. Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
(Rapporteur: Mr BINDIG,
Germany, Socialist Group)
1. Introduction
1. Order No 488 (1993) provides for the monitoring of the commitments new member states entered into before their accession to the Council of Europe. The Republic of Estonia became a member of the Council of Europe on 14 May 1993. Their commitments were the following.
2. In Opinion No 170 (1993) on the application of the Republic of Estonia for membership of the Council of Europe the Assembly stated that it expected the Estonian authorities to:
i. sign and ratify the European Convention on Human Rights, recognise the right of individual petition and the compulsory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights;
ii. base their policy regarding the protection of minorities on the principles laid down in Recommendation 1201 (1993) on an additional protocol on the rights of national minorities to the European Convention on Human Rights.
3. In the explanatory report to Opinion No 170 on the application of the Republic of Estonia for membership of the Council of Europe (Doc. 6824), reference is made to:
i. the intent of the Estonian authorities to transfer the responsibility for prisons from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Ministry of Justice, "an arrangement more consistent with proper justice administration";
ii. the assurance given by the President of Estonia when he took office that there would be no executions during his term and that Estonia would abolish the death penalty as soon as possible.
4. Pursuant to the visits to Estonia in April 1992 by a team of Council of Europe experts and, in March 1993, by the Sub-Committee on Human Rights of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Estonia is cited as being expected to sign and ratify the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in due course.
5. Mentioned in other documents, and tacitly expected, was that the Republic of Estonia would:
i. sign and ratify the first protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights;
ii. bring its criminal and civil codes into conformity with Council of Europe standards;
iii. treat the (non-historic) Russian-speaking minority fairly."
Appendix II
PROGRAMME
of the Rapporteurs' visit to Tallinn on 19-21 February 1996
Monday, 19 February 1996
11.30 am Meeting with Mr Paul VARUL, Minister of Justice, in the presence of
Mr Heiki PISUKE, Head of the Department of International Law
1 pm Working lunch offered by the Chairperson of the Estonian parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe, Mrs Kristiina OJULAND
3 pm Meeting with Mr Rait MARUSTE, Chairman of the National Court
4 pm Meeting with Mrs Aino LEPIK, Head of the Human Rights Bureau, and
Mr Sulev KANNIKE, Head of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
5 pm Meeting with Mr Henn TOSSO, Head of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church
Tuesday, 20 February 1996
9 am Meeting with Bishop KORNELIUS
10 am Meeting with Mr Tiit SEPP, Head of the Department of Religious Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior
11 am Meeting with Mr Andres KOLLIST, Director General of the Citizenship and Migration Office
12 noon Meeting with Mr Ilmar TOMUSK, Director, and Mr Urmas VEIKAT,
Vice-Director of the State Language Board
1 pm Working lunch offered by the Estonian parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe
3 pm Meeting with Mr Jaak AAVIKSOO, Minister of Education
4 pm Meeting with Mr Jaak ALLIK, Minister of Culture, in the presence of
Mrs Helle PUUSEPP, Head of the Division of International Relations
5 pm Meeting with Mr Valeri KRAVETS, Vice-Director of the State Executive Office
6 pm Meeting with Mr Raivo ALLIKA, Director, and visit to Tallinn central prison (pre-trial detention centre)
Wednesday, 21 February 1996
9 am Meeting with Mr Tiit KÄBIN, Chairman of the Constitutional Committee
and with Mr Daimar LIIV, Chairman of the Law Committee
10 am Meeting with Mr Eerik-Juhan TRUUVÄLI, Legal Chancellor,
and Mr Aare REENUMÄGI, Vice Legal Chancellor
11 am Meeting with MM. Sergei ISSAKOV, Viktor ANDREJEV and Valentin STRUKOV, Russian Faction of the Riigikogu, representatives of the Russian minority
12 noon Press conference
Appendix III
Letter from Mr Bindig, Rapporteur for the
Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights,
to Mrs Ojuland, Chairperson of the Estonian delegation,
dated 18 November 1996
Dear Mrs Ojuland,
At its meeting on 2 September 1996 in Paris, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights agreed to your ambassador's request and that of the President of the Assembly not to present its report on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Estonia at the September 1996 part-session of the Assembly, since further developments in your country were expected in the coming months and a revised report could then be presented at the January 1997 part-session of the Assembly.
I am currently revising my draft report, which I intend to submit to the Committee for adoption at its meeting on 16 December 1996 in Paris, and which will then be presented to the Assembly during the January 1997 part-session. I have noticed with pleasure the ratification of the Torture Convention and its Protocols by your country on 6 November 1996. To enable me to come to a decision however, together with my two co- rapporteurs, on whether or not we can recommend to the competent committees that the monitoring procedure be closed already in January, I would be very grateful if you could provide me with the following information:
1. How is the abolition of the death penalty and the ratification of Protocol No. 6 to the ECHR proceeding? In particular, has the Criminal Code already been amended to allow for the imposition of life sentences? What is the exact timetable for abolition, now that the Presidential and local elections are over?
2. How is the signature and ratification of the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Refugees and its New York Protocol proceeding? Have any appropriate laws and regulations on refugees and asylum-seekers on the national level been adopted, and if not, when will the lacunae in Estonian law be closed? Are any asylum-seekers and refugees currently still being held in detention, custody or prison?
./.
3. What is the current state of prison reform? In particular, have the conditions in Tallinn's pre-trial detention centre been ameliorated?
4. Has there been any reform of the language exam for Estonian citizenship, following the recommendations of the Council of Europe's experts earlier this year? Has there been any improvement of the teaching of Estonian as a foreign language in public schools and universities, and in adult education?
5. Are there any plans to create a fully-fledged office of an ombudsman for human rights or to enlarge the powers of the Legal Chancellor in this respect?
6. How is the ratification of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities proceeding?
I would also be very grateful for any additional information you could furnish me with regarding the issue of residence permits and alien's passports for non-Estonians, which your ambassador mentioned would be completed by November 1996 (in her letter of 29 August 1996).
Thanking you very much for your efforts and co-operation, I remain
(signed)
Rudolf Bindig
Appendix IV
Letter from Mrs Ojuland, Chairperson of the Estonian delegation
to Mr Bindig, Rapporteur for the Committee on
Legal Affairs and Human Rights,
dated 2 December 1996
Dear Mr Bindig,
Referring to your letter of 18 November 1996, I am pleased to provide you with the following information:
1. On 12 November 1996 the Estonian Government decided to approve the proposal by the Ministry of Justice on amendments to the Criminal Code allowing the imposition of life sentences as well as very long determinate periods of confinement. As soon as the above-mentioned amendments to the Criminal Code have been approved by Riigikogu, the Government will submit to Riigikogu a proposal to ratify Protocol No. 6 of the Human Rights Convention.
2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is preparing for the signature and ratification of the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Refugees and its New York Protocol. An interministerial committee is currently preparing the necessary internal legislation under the guidance of the Ministry of the Interior which will be responsible for its implementation. According to the government's decision, this work should be completed by the end of 1996.
It should be pointed out that at the moment there are 67 illegal immigrants in Estonia. Among them are 14 Indians who wanted to immigrate to Sweden. Their trip back to India is organised (including the travel expenses) by the IOM on 4 December. Until the completion of a special accommodation centre, the immigrants are temporarily staying in a housing complex which, even though located within the perimeter of a prison, is not placed under the prison regime. All the rights and privileges of immigrants, granted by law, are guaranteed.
3. The prison reform, one of the priorities of the Estonian Government, is progressing effectively. There is a new project of building three new prisons after the liquidation and sale of Tallinn's current pre-trial detention centre. The Director General of the Executive Board is expecting the project to start in January 1997. The overpopulation in prisons has already by now considerably diminished thanks to the opening of a newly built modern prison at Maardu last summer. In March 1997 a new section for 300 prisoners will be opened at Tallinn Jail. Any kind of assistance and aid in this field would be still highly appreciated.
4. The Council of Europe's language-test experts visited Estonia in January, June and November 1996 and they expect to complete their work by April 1997. With the help of these Council of Europe experts, a considerable reform in this field has been carried out in Estonia. The Estonian language test for citizenship applicants has been complemented and standardised according to their recommendations. Compared to the test used so far the new standardised version is considerably easier as far as the vocabulary and texts of the test are concerned. The new language test will be applied as from 1 January 1997. All applicants for citizenship who, before taking the language test wish to get consultation and to obtain the examination books, may contact any In Service Teacher Training Centre anywhere in Estonia. The consultations as well as the examination books for the applicants are free of charge. A new handbook for teachers, applicants and examiners was issued recently and thanks to the financial help by the Norwegian Embassy in Tallinn, the handbook is also free of charge. It is noted with satisfaction that the passing rate in the language test has been so far 80%.
5. The need for creating a fully-fledged office of an ombudsman for human rights is generally recognised and the Ministry of Justice is currently preparing a draft Bill on the institution of the ombudsman. Due to the complexity of the issues involved, it is difficult to say, when this institution will be created. In this context, it would be appropriate to recall that in the framework of Vote IX co-operation programmes (Demosthenes and Demosthenes-bis) for 1997 Estonia will host a regional seminar on the ombudsman as an institution implementing the protection of human rights. The seminar for approximately 30 participants (10 from each of the three Baltic states) will be organised by the Estonian Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Legal Chancellor in Tallinn during the next year with the Council of Europe's support (estimated cost: 100 000 F).
6. The ratification of the Framework Convention for the protection of national minorities was approved by Riigikogu on 21 November 1996 and signed by the President of the Republic on 27 November 1996.
We are also pleased to provide you with some additional information concerning the issue of residence permits and alien's passports. By now the Estonian Citizenship and Migration Board has received 125 220 applications for an alien's passport, 50 020 passports have been printed. By the end of this year the number of passports issued will be approximately 70 000. It is expected to issue an alien's passport to all those who have the right to get one and who have applied for it during the first three months of 1997. It is also worth mentioning that those people who are still waiting for the alien's passport but would like to travel abroad can rather quickly and easily, in approximately one week, receive the temporary travel-document. By now the Citizenship and Migration Board has issued 33 000 residence permits and printed 60 000. It should be noted that the Soviet passport as an internal identification card is also valid after 30 November 1996.
Yours sincerely,
(signed)
Kristiina Ojuland
Reporting committee: Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Budgetary implications for the Assembly: none
Reference to committee: Order No. 508 (1995)
Draft resolution and draft recommendation adopted by the committee on 16 December 1996 with 25 votes in favour, no votes against and one abstention
Members of the committee: Mr Hagård (Chairperson), Mr Schwimmer, Mrs Err (Vice-Chairpersons), Mrs Aguiar, MM Akçali, Alexander, Bartumeu Cassany, Berti, Besostri, Bindig, Bobelis, Bučar, Cimoszewicz, Clerfayt, Columberg, Contestabile, Deasy, Dees (alternate: Jurgens), Deniau, Fenech, Filimonov, Fogaš, Mrs Frimansdóttir, MM Frunda, Fuhrmann, Fyodorov, Mrs Gelderblom-Lankhout, MM Guenov, Gürel, Mrs Holand, MM Holovatiy (alternate: Kostytsky), Hunault, Jansson, Jaskiernia, Jeambrun, Kelam, Kirkhill, Koschyk, Kovacevic, Kovalev, Kyprianou, Loutfi, Magnusson, Martins, Mészáros, Micheloyiannis, Moeller, Németh, Mrs Noveská, MM Pantelejevs, Pollo, Polydoras, Poppe, Prokop, Rathbone, Rhinow, Robles Fraga, Rodeghiero, Severin (alternate: Vilau), Solé Tura, Solonari, Stretovych, Tahiri, Weyts, Mrs Wohlwend.
N.B. The names of those members who took part in the meeting are printed in italics.
Secretaries to the committee: Mr Plate, Ms Chatzivassiliou, Ms Kleinsorge and Ms Clamer
1 1By the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.
2 2This report was drawn up in close consultation with the Rapporteur for opinion of the Political Affairs Committee, Mr Björck (Sweden, EDG) and the Rapporteur for opinion of the Committee on Relations with European Non-Member Countries, Mrs Poptodorova (Bulgaria, SOC).
3 3Reproduced as Appendix I.
4 4For the programme, please see Appendix II.
5 5Reproduced as Appendix IV.
6 6Reproduced as Appendix III.
7 7The Estonian parliamentary delegation objects to the use of the term "non-historic" Russian-speaking minority. It points out that the terms "historic" minority and "non-historic" minority are not found in Estonian law: The terms "national minority" (referring to various groups of Estonian citizens) and "aliens" or "non-citizens" are used instead. However, I have decided to continue using the term "historic" Russian-speaking minority to describe those who resided in Estonia before the Soviet occupation in the Second World War, and the term "non-historic" Russian-speaking minority to describe those who came to reside in Estonia afterwards, as the most exact terms. Most members of the "non-historic" Russian-speaking minority are neither citizens of Estonia, nor of Russia or any other state, a fact which the terms "aliens" or "non-citizens" do not convey.
8 8AS/Jur (1995) 29, pages 4, 2, 7.
9 9A further 44.000 Russian-speakers have left Estonia during the last five years, mainly to Russia.
10 10The Estonian parliamentary delegation "has difficulty considering" the terms used in this paragraph "as legal arguments". This paragraph is meant to be, however, a political evaluation of the situation based upon a legal background.
11 11Soviet time residence permits were meant to expire on 12 July 1996, thus giving people who are not willing to register a grace period of one year, after which they could be treated as illegal immigrants.
12 12Estimations concerning the size of this hard core vary from 20.000 to 50.000 people.
13 13AS/Jur (1995) 29, page 7, par. 25.
14 14The language ability exam tests listening comprehension (in a format similar to radio broadcasts), reading comprehension (in a format similar to newspaper articles), writing ability (for example, to fill in an official form or write a brief CV), and speaking ability (tested individually with topics assigned according to candidates' ability). During the Constitution and Citizenship exam, each candidate is provided with a copy of these laws. Questions for this exam are decreed by law and are readily available to everyone. Some questions may be answered yes or no, others may be answered with phrases found in the laws provided.
15 15Candidates who have graduated from an Estonian-language school are already exempt from this exam, and have to take only the constitutional one.
16 16Please refer to AS/Jur (1995) 29, pages 7 and 8, for details.
17 17Pursuant to my request last year, all prisoners, including those on death row who previously were denied it, now have the right to walk in the courtyard for an hour once a day.
18 18Council of Europe Doc. Themis 4 (95) Estonia, page 25.
19 19The number of illegal immigrants is currently being put at 67 by the Estonian authorities.
20 20The Estonian parliamentary delegation considers this topic as being outside the context of this report. However, Estonia is bound by the ECHR and its First Protocol, with the former guaranteeing the freedom of religion (Article 9) and the latter entitling every natural or legal person to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions (Article 1). Thus Estonia is under a direct obligation to guarantee these rights. When it is alleged that the Estonian authorities are violating the freedom of religion, as the Russian authorities have done, or that the Estonian authorities are hindering natural or legal persons' peaceful enjoyment of their possessions, it is the duty of the Rapporteurs to investigate and report on these claims, even if the conclusion is later reached that the claims are not valid.
21 21Please see footnote no. 18.