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Estonia - Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 44 of the Convention: Second, third and fourth periodic reports of States parties due in 2008 [2015] UNCRCSPR 15; CRC/C/EST/2-4 (30 April 2015)
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United Nations
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CRC/C/EST/2-4
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Distr.: General 30 April 2015
Original: English English,
French and Spanish only
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Committee on the Rights of the Child
Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 44 of
the Convention
Combined second, third and fourth periodic reports of States parties due
in 2008
Estonia[*]
[Date received: 30 April 2013]
Contents
Paragraphs Page
Introduction 1–5 4
1. General measures of implementation (Articles 4, 42 and
44 (6)) 6–124 5
1.1. Bringing Estonian legislation into conformity with Articles of the
Convention
(Article 4): new laws and amendments to
laws 6–40 5
1.2. Implementation of the
Convention in case-law 41–51 11
1.3. International
agreements 52 13
1.4. Coordination of
national actions 53–71 14
1.5. Institution
exercising supervision over the rights of the child 72–74 17
1.6. Collection of data
75–83 18
1.7. Preparation of report
and cooperation with civic associations 80–85 19
1.8. Allocation of state
funds 86–97 20
1.9. International
cooperation 98–115 22
1.10. Introducing the
Convention (Article 42) 116–123 25
1.11. Publishing and
introducing the report (Article 44 (6)) 124 26
2. Definition of the child
(Article 1) 125–140 26
2.1. Passive and active
legal capacity 126–140 27
3. General principles
141–184 29
3.1. Non-discrimination
(Article 2) 151–160 29
3.2. Right to life,
survival and development (Article 6) 161–169 33
3.3. Right to express
one’s views (Article 12) and best interests
of the child (Article 3) 170–184 35
4. Civil rights and
freedoms 185–248 37
4.1. Registration of
birth, name and nationality (Article 7) 185–213 37
4.2. Preservation of
identity (Article 8) 214–220 44
4.3. Freedom of expression
and access to appropriate information
(Articles 13 and 17) 221–224 45
4.4. Freedom of thought,
conscience and religion (Article 14) 225–228 46
4.5. Freedom of
association and peaceful assembly (Article 15) 229–233 47
4.6. Protection of privacy
(Article 16) 234–235 48
4.7. Right not to be
subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 37(a)).
236–248 48
5. Family environment and
alternative care 249–313 50
5.1. Parental
responsibilities (Article 5 and Article 18 (1), (2))
249–258 50
5.2. Parental guidance and
support (Article 5) 259–264 51
5.3. Separation from
parents (Article 9) 265–268 53
5.4. Family reunification
(Article 10) 269–271 53
5.5. Illicit transfer
abroad (Article 11) 272 54
5.6. Recovery of
maintenance for the child (Article 27 (4)) 273–274 54
5.7. Children deprived of
a family environment (Article 20) 275–288 55
5.8. Adoption
(Article 21) 289–298 58
5.9. Right of child placed
in care to periodic review of placement (Article 25) 299 59
5.10. Abused and neglected
child (Article 19) and psychological
and physical recovery of the child and social reintegration (Article
39)
300–313 59
6. Protection of health
and social welfare 314–394 62
6.1. Disabled children
(Article 23) 314–328 62
6.2. Health and health
care services (Article 24) 329–350 65
6.3. Standard of living
(Article 27 (1)–(3)) 351–367 69
6.4. Social security,
childcare services, and childcare institutions (Articles 26 and
18 (3)) 368–394 72
7. Education, leisure and
cultural activities (Articles 28, 29 and 31) 395–437 77
7.1. Education, including
vocational training (Article 28) 395–415 77
7.2. Objectives of
education (Article 29) 416–425 82
7.3. Leisure, recreation
and cultural activities (Article 31) 426–437 85
8. Special protection
measures 438–465 87
8.1. Children in refugee
status (Article 22) 438–454 87
8.2. Children in armed
conflicts (Articles 38 and 39) 455–463 90
8.3. Criminal liability
and administration of justice over children (Article 40)
464–465 93
9. General strategic
changes in criminal policy 466–531 93
9.1. Criminal policy 466–492 93
9.2. Deprivation of
liberty (Article 37) 493–504 99
9.3. Children as victims
of exploitation 505 101
9.4. Abuse of narcotic
drugs (Article 33) 506–510 101
9.5. Sexual exploitation
and sexual abuse (Article 34) 511–516 102
9.6. Abduction of, the
sale of or traffic in children (Article 35) 517–520 104
9.7. Children belonging to
ethnic minorities or who are indigenous (Article 30)
521–531 105
Annex Tables 109
Introduction
- The
Republic of Estonia acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(hereinafter the Convention) by the resolution of the
Supreme Council of the
Republic of Estonia of 26 September 1991 (RT 1991, 35, 428), the
letter of accession was deposited with the
Secretary-General on 20 October
1991 and the Convention took effect in relation to Estonia on 20 November
1991. The text of the Convention
has been published in Part II of the Riigi
Teataja (RT II 1996, 16, 56). The Riigi Teataja is an official gazette for
the publication
of Estonian laws and accompanying legislation. Part II of
the Riigi Teataja is for the publication of international agreements and
their
Estonian translations. The legislation published in the Riigi Teataja can be
accessed through the Internet (www.riigiteataja.ee).
- Pursuant
to Article 44 of the Convention, States Parties undertake to submit to the
Committee on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter
the Committee) periodic
reports every five years on the measures they have adopted which give effect to
the rights recognized in
the Convention and on the progress made on ensuring
those rights. Estonia submitted its initial and second periodic report in one
consolidated report in 2001. Estonian non-governmental organisations submitted
their amendments, comments and proposals to the Committee
in 2002. The Committee
considered the initial report of Estonia on 14 January 2003, sent its
concluding observations to Estonia on
31 January 2003, and also invited
Estonia to submit its third and fourth periodic reports in one consolidated
report in 2008. This
report has been prepared based on actions taken from 2003
to 2011 and on statistics published concerning the said period of time,
but also
initiatives and projects which took place from 2012 to 2013 have been
mentioned.
- This
report has been prepared according to the UN General Guidelines for periodic
reports (20/11/96, CRC/C/58 and 29/11/05, CRC/C/58/Rev.1),
and it focuses, inter
alia, on issues raised by the Committee in its concluding observations in 2003.
The report also refers to information
included in the previous report submitted
in 2001. A statistical overview of the situation of children in Estonia has been
annexed
to the report.
- In
preparing the report, the Ministry of Social Affairs also involved the Ministry
of Education and Research, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, the Ministry of
Justice, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of the
Interior, the Office of the
Chancellor of Justice, the Union for Child Welfare,
and the Estonian non-profit association UNICEF National Committee as well as
other non-profit associations. See clause 1.7.1 for the process of drawing
up the report.
- Estonian
reports to international organisations are published on the webpage of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (http://www.vm.ee)
and are available to everyone after their submission to the relevant
organisations. This report is prepared in Estonian and translated
into English,
and published on the webpage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs both in Estonian
and English. The Committee’s
concluding observations have also been
published on the webpage in Estonian and
English.
1. General
measures of implementation (Articles 4, 42 and 44 (6))
1.1. Bringing
Estonian legislation into conformity with Articles of the Convention
(Article 4): new laws and amendments to laws
- Since
the period reflected in this report is long and many considerable amendments
have been made to legislation, only the most important
legislative reforms will
be addressed herein.
1.1.1. Code of Civil Procedure
- The
wording which entered into force on 01.01.2009 includes the court’s
obligation to hear a child of at least 10 years of age
in matters
pertaining to a child. The court may also hear a younger child. If, in the
opinion of the court, it is necessary in the
interests of the matter, the court
hears a child in his or her usual environment and not in court. If necessary, a
child is heard
in the presence of a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker.
The court may also permit other persons to be present at the hearing
of a child
unless the child or representative thereof objects to it (§ 552).
Amendments which entered into force on 01.01.2006
provided for the right of a
child to independently file appeals, which means that a child of at least
14 years of age with sufficient
capacity to exercise discretion and will
has the right, in a family matter on petition pertaining to his or her person,
to file an
appeal against a ruling without the assistance of his or her legal
representative. The same also applies to other matters where a
child must be
heard before adjudication of the matter
(§ 553).
1.1.2. Code
of Criminal Procedure
- A
new Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for more extensive and better
rights of defence for minors, is applicable since 2004.
The Code includes
special provisions concerning the conduct of criminal proceedings against
minors. According to the new wording,
the participation of a counsel throughout
a criminal proceeding is mandatory if the person was a minor at the time of
commission
of the criminal offence. By amendments to the Code of Criminal
Procedure which entered into force on 01.09.2011, the obligation to
involve a
specialist (a child protection official, social worker, teacher or psychologist)
in the hearing of a witness who is a minor
was made voluntary at the discretion
of the body conducting the proceedings provided the body conducting the
proceedings has acquired
higher education in the field of child protection,
psychology or education, or has completed appropriate training.
- In
2006 an amendment to the Code entered into force, providing for an option to
apply a temporary restraining order in criminal proceedings.
A temporary
restraining order is a safeguard measure intended for victims of crime and
persons close to them, above all, in the case
of crimes committed against the
person or against a minor. Also conciliation proceedings facilitating social
rehabilitation were
enacted by amendments in 2006. This means that in the case
of more severe criminal offences, criminal proceedings may be terminated
if the
parties to a crime have completed extra-judicial conciliation proceedings.
Extra-judicial conciliation proceedings are voluntary
for the victim and the
offender, and the objective thereof is to reach an agreement on compensation for
damage caused by the crime
and to make the offender actually contemplate what he
or she had put the victim through. During the year 2006, specialists working
in
the victim support system also received training on how to conduct conciliation
proceedings.
1.1.3. Penal
Code
- The
Code, which was passed in 2002, provides for offences against equality as well
as applicable punishments. In 2006, punishments
prescribed in the Penal Code for
sexual offences against minors were made harsher by increasing the maximum
punishment. In 2007,
a new regulatory framework governing confiscation in the
Penal Code entered into force, creating wider possibilities for combating
organised crime through taking away profit gained from it. For example, in the
case of severe criminal offences, such as crimes related
to drugs, enslaving,
human trafficking (including inducing a minor to prostitution and aiding
prostitution), terrorism, and criminal
offences related to illicit trafficking,
it is possible to apply confiscation of property together with imprisonment of
more than
3 years.
- On
15.03.2010, the section “Sexual enticement of children” was added to
the Penal Code, whereby it was provided that handing
over, displaying or making
otherwise pornographic works or reproductions thereof knowingly available to a
person of less than 14
years of age, or engaging in sexual intercourse in
the presence of such person or knowingly sexually enticing such person in any
other manner is punishable by a pecuniary punishment or up to
3 years’ imprisonment. As of the same date, also grooming, i.e.
agreement of sexual purpose for meeting with a child is an act punishable
pursuant to criminal procedure. A child is deemed to be
a person less than
14 years of age.
- Several
amendments to the Penal Code entered into force on 14.04.2012. Section 175
“Human trafficking in order to take advantage
of minors” provides
that a person who influences a person of less than 18 years of age in order
to cause him or her to commence
or continue commission of a criminal offence,
begging, engagement in prostitution or working under unusual conditions or to
appear
as a model or actor in the manufacture of a pornographic or erotic
performance or work, and a person aiding the above-mentioned activities
of a
person of less than 18 years of age, shall be punished by 2 to
10 years’ imprisonment.
- At
the time of preparation of this report, the Riigikogu is processing a draft
transposing Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament
and of the Council
on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child
pornography, and replacing Council
Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA, into national
law.
1.1.4. Legislative
amendment package addressing restrictions on working with children
- Legislative
amendments enacted in 2007 ensure that persons convicted of a crime which is of
a sexual nature and directed against children
or which is related to child
prostitution or pornography cannot work in positions where they would come into
direct contact with
children as a teacher, kindergarten teacher,
children’s camp instructor, hobby group instructor, or child care provider
and
so on. Employers in said fields are required to check from the punishment
register whether a person to be employed has been punished
for any of the above
crimes.
- The
punishment register is a state database where information concerning a person
punished and the punishment is entered. As of 1
January 2012, the
punishment register is part of the national e-file. The e-file is a central
procedural information system used
in all criminal and misdemeanour proceedings.
Maintaining the punishment register lies within the area of government of the
Ministry
of Justice and it is administered by the Centre of Registers and
Information Systems.
- As
of 1 January 2012, the punishment register is publicly accessible in
Estonia, or more precisely, valid entries in the punishment
register are
publicly accessible. There is one exception — misdemeanour matters where a
person has one valid misdemeanour entry
for which the principal punishment
imposed is less than € 200 (50 fine units) and there is no
supplementary punishment. Also,
information concerning punishment is not
published in case of minors. The public nature of the register serves an
important crime
prevention aspect — for example, it is easier for parents
to check the background of persons with whom their children come
into
contact.
1.1.5. Citizenship
Act
- By
amendments which entered into force on 01.03.2003, an adopted child is deemed,
at the request of the adoptive parent, to have acquired
Estonian citizenship by
birth, provided the adoptive parent was an Estonian citizen at the time of the
birth of the child and provided
the child is not a citizen of another state or
that the child will be released from it as a result of him or her acquiring
Estonian
citizenship. According to the previous wording, an adopted alien child
could acquire Estonian citizenship only by naturalisation.
An amendment which
entered into force on 01.01.2004 provided for a procedure for reimbursement of
language training expenses in order
to help those people apply for citizenship
whose insufficient financial situation could prove to be an impediment.
According to the
amendment, up to one hundred per cent of the fee for Estonian
language training paid by a person who has passed the citizenship examinations
will be reimbursed to the person. By an amendment which entered into force on
20.03.2004, the time-limits for processing citizenship
applications were
shortened both for children less than 15 years of age and others. The
amendment was aimed at expediting the process
for acquiring or restoring
citizenship. In the case of children less than 15 years of age, the
time-limit for submitting documents
to the Government of the Republic for
deciding was shortened by half, meaning that instead of six months the documents
are submitted
to the Government for deciding within three
months.
1.1.6. Act
on Granting International Protection to Aliens
- As
of 1 July 2006, instead of the Refugees Act, the Act on Granting
International Protection to Aliens (hereinafter the AGIPA) is applicable
in Estonia, governing grant of international protection to aliens. As Estonia
joined the European Union (EU)
on 1 May 2004, the main objective of the
AGIPA was to harmonise several Council of the European Union Directives with the
Estonian
law. Furthermore, the AGIPA introduced the regulatory framework of
temporary protection of aliens in Estonia and reorganised provisions
concerning
asylum seekers and refugees. The entry into force of the new Act widened the
definition of family member compared to that
provided by the Refugees Act. If
the Refugees Act specified only a minor child and spouse of an alien who have
been granted protection
(a refugee and a person enjoying subsidiary protection)
as a family member, then the new Act provides for a wider definition. For
example, the new Act includes an unmarried minor child, including an adopted
child, of the spouse of the applicant. Family members
of an unaccompanied minor
refugee and unaccompanied minor enjoying subsidiary protection have been
separately specified. Therefore,
children now have better chances to be with
their family. A provision according to which an unaccompanied minor seeking
asylum at
a border checkpoint, who has no legal basis for entry in Estonia, is
permitted to enter Estonia and be handed over to the Citizenship
and Migration
Board (the Police and Border Guard Board as of 01.01.2010) was also added.
Therefore, an application of unaccompanied
minor asylum seekers cannot be
refused at the border. The new Act also specified several principles of
processing children’s
applications. For example, pursuant to
subsection 18 (5) of the AGIPA, the possibility of questioning shall
be granted to a minor
of at least ten years of age or to a younger minor if the
level of development of the minor so permits; according to
subsection 17
(6), in asylum proceedings involving an unaccompanied
minor, the rights and interests of the minor shall be taken into consideration
above all; and on the basis of subsection 18 (10), priority may be
given to reviewing the applications of applicants who are unaccompanied
minors.
- Pursuant
to the amendments of 24.12.2010 to the Obligation to Leave and Prohibition on
Entry Act (the amendments were necessary due
to Estonia’s obligation to
harmonise Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
16 December 2008
on common standards and procedures in Member States for
returning illegally staying third-country nationals), the administrative
authority carrying out expulsion shall, before removing an unaccompanied minor
from the territory of the Member State, be satisfied
that he or she will be
returned to a member of his or her family, a nominated guardian or adequate
reception facilities in the country
of origin. An unaccompanied minor alien who
has no legal basis for staying in the country is ensured, through the Social
Insurance
Board, services intended for asylum seekers throughout his or her stay
in the country.
- The
definition of an unaccompanied minor alien was furnished based on the definition
provided by the Act on Granting International
Protection to
Aliens.[1] According to the
definition, an unaccompanied minor alien is an alien under 18 years of age
who arrives or has arrived in Estonia
without a parent or a guardian or another
responsible adult or who loses a parent, guardian or another responsible adult
during the
stay in Estonia. Pursuant to the applicable regulatory framework,
compliance with a precept to leave issued to an unaccompanied minor
alien shall
be arranged by a guardian. As a rule, assignment of a guardian by the court is
an extremely time-consuming process. Until
the court assigns a guardian for an
unaccompanied minor, the functions of a guardian shall be performed by the local
government of
the minor’s place of stay. The Police and Border Guard Board
has been granted additional authority to enter into a contract
with a natural or
legal person who is reliable and has the knowledge and skills needed for
representing an unaccompanied minor, in
order to ensure the protection of the
minor’s interests and rights in procedural acts. The system established
for assigning
a representative should guarantee better efficacy and also
competence.
1.1.7. Aliens
Act
- By
an amendment which entered into force on 01.10.2002 it was provided that a
temporary residence permit may be issued to an alien
to settle with a close
relative who is an Estonian citizen or who is an alien who has permanently
resided in Estonia on the basis
of a residence permit for at least five years if
the alien is a minor child settling with a parent who permanently resides in
Estonia.
In such a case, priority is given to the rights and interests of the
minor. A residence permit shall not be issued if the settling
of the child in
Estonia damages his or her rights and interests and if the legal, financial or
social status of him or her may deteriorate
as a result of settling in Estonia.
The residence permit of a minor child shall not be cancelled and extension
thereof shall not
be refused if this does not correspond to the rights and
interests of the child.
- By
an amendment which entered into force on 01.05.2003 it was provided that a minor
of at least 15 years of age may perform the acts
arising from the Aliens
Act independently, and a minor who resides permanently in a foreign state may
lodge an application for a
temporary residence permit and work permit in person
with the notarised consent of a parent.
- By
an amendment which entered into force on 01.05.2004 it was provided that a minor
who resides permanently in a foreign state may
lodge an application for visa in
person. Upon submission of a visa application in person, a notarially
authenticated consent of a
legal representative may be demanded.
- By
an amendment which entered into force on 01.06.2006, an integration requirement
was provided for persons applying for a long-term
residence permit, which means
that adults aged between 15 and 65 years of age and who have active legal
capacity are required to
have the Estonian language proficiency at least at the
elementary level. The examination shall take place on the conditions provided
by
the Language Act. Persons who have acquired the basic, secondary and higher
education in the Estonian language are not required
to take the
examination.
- Amendments
which entered into force on 01.02.2007 (Chapter IV³) deal, inter alia,
with special cases of issue of a temporary
residence permit to a minor alien.
One amendment concerns issue of a temporary residence permit to human
trafficking victims from
third countries and assistance to unaccompanied
children. It was also provided that upon the assignment of the place of stay of
an
unaccompanied minor alien the priority is given to the rights and interests
of the minor. If possible, unaccompanied minor siblings
shall not be separated
from one another. According to amendments which entered into force on
28.04.2013, victim support services
provided by the Victim Support Act shall be
provided for human trafficking victims, including child
victims.
1.1.8. Basic
Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act
- A
new Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act was passed on 09.06.2010 and
it entered into force on 01.09.2010, providing for
the bases for organisation of
studies of basic schools and upper secondary schools, the rights and duties of
students and students’
parents or guardians, the rights and duties of
school employees, the bases for management and funding of schools, and the bases
for
state supervision over the teaching and education activities of schools. The
need to prepare a new Act was due to the fact that the
old Basic Schools and
Upper Secondary Schools Act (entered into force on 10.10.1993) had already been
amended 43 times, as a result
of which the text was difficult to read and
ambiguous in several aspects. It was necessary to renew the entire regulatory
framework
concerning several issues. Changes in society had given rise to the
need to significantly specify and amend the legal basis for general
education
school: to specify several existing provisions (fulfilment of students’
duty to attend school, participation in studies,
and absence), to provide
conditions for better educational opportunities for students with special
educational needs, for establishment
of a school network which would guarantee
quality education, for ensuring a safe mental and physical school environment,
for determining
by law the fundamental principles of curricula, etc. For
example, § 3 of the new Act incorporates for the first time
fundamental principles of curricula. It states the principles of
studies in basic and upper secondary school, which were only established within
the curriculum
itself before. There is a separate division for supporting
development of students at school. According to the new Act, class or
subject
teachers observe the development and ability to cope of students at school and,
where necessary, adjust studies according
to the needs of students. Several new
provisions are intended to improve the fulfilment of students’ duty to
attend school
and to decrease dropping out of
school.
1.1.9. Study
Allowances and Study Loans Act
- The
Act, which entered into force on 01.09.2003, establishes the bases, conditions
and procedure for the grant of study allowances
and study loans in order to
ensure access to higher education and motivate pupils completing vocational
education and students acquiring
higher education to study full time and
successfully and to complete the curriculum in the nominal
period.
1.1.10. Vocational
Educational Institutions Act
- As
of 2007, also the school lunch of pupils studying according to the curricula of
vocational secondary education, vocational training
on the basis of basic
education and vocational training without the requirement of basic education is
covered by the state
budget.
1.1.11. Hobby
Schools Act
- The
Act was passed in 2006 and it entered into force on 01.09.2007. The Act governs
the bases for the foundation, organisation of
studies and financing of hobby
schools, and state supervision over hobby
schools.
1.1.12. Parental
Benefit Act
- According
to the Act passed in 2004, a parent taking a parental leave shall be paid 100%
of his or her wages for the period of 435
days after the end of pregnancy
and maternity leave. The purpose of the benefit is to provide the parent with
income during absence
from
work.
1.1.13. Maintenance
Allowance Act
- The
Act passed on 21.02.2007 entered into force on 01.01.2008. The Act ensures state
maintenance allowance for a child whose parent
is not performing his or her
maintenance
obligation.
1.1.14. Victim
Support Act
- In
2004 the Victim Support Act entered into force, providing for the bases for
state organisation of victim support, organisation
of conciliation services,
compensation for the cost of the psychological care paid within the framework of
provision of victim support
services and the organisation of payment of state
compensation to victims of crimes.
- On
18.04.2013, amendments to the Victim Support Act entered into force, bringing
the Act into conformity with Directives 2011/36/EU
and 2011/93/EU of the
European Parliament and of the Council. The amendments extended access to victim
support services and compensation,
among others, to minor victims of human
trafficking and sexual
offences.
1.1.15. Equal
Treatment Act
- The
objective of the Act passed on 11.12.2008, and which entered into force on
01.01.2009, is to ensure the protection of persons
against discrimination on
grounds of nationality (ethnic origin), race, colour, religion or other beliefs,
age, disability or sexual
orientation. The Act provides for the principles of
equal treatment, duties upon implementation and promotion of the principle of
equal treatment, and resolution of discrimination disputes (see
clause 3.1.1).
1.1.16. Social
Welfare Act
- The
provisions of the Social Welfare Act governing substitute home services and
foster care were amended in 2007 (see clause 5.7.2).
- On
18.04.2013, amendments to the Social Welfare Act entered into force, bringing
the Act into conformity with Directives 2011/36/EU
and 2011/93/EU of the
European Parliament and of the Council. The amendments extended access to
substitute home services and foster
care services to minor victims of human
trafficking and sexual
offences.
1.1.17. Youth
Work Act
- On
17.06.2010, a new Youth Work Act was passed, making several fundamental changes
in the organisation of youth work. Principles of
youth work (§ 4),
restriction on working with young people (§ 5) and liability for
violation of the restriction (§
16) as well as the procedure for
establishing a youth council (§ 9) were
instituted.
1.1.18. Renewal
of Child Protection Act
- At
the time of drawing up this report, a new Child Protection Act is being prepared
by the Ministry of Social Affairs. The part “Development
of Draft Child
Protection Act” of the Government of the Republic action programme for
2011–2015 has created a favourable
environment for updating the Child
Protection Act which entered into force in 1993 and for increasing its
application efficiency.
The new Child Protection Act is based on the Convention
on the Rights of the Child and on the recommendations of the Committee on
the
Rights of the Child from 2003. It is also based on the national need to raise
the competence of the Ministry of Social Affairs
for efficient coordination of
child protection related activity across several fields and for providing
extensive support to child
protection related local activity. Significant
principles addressed in the Draft Child Protection Act are emphasis on
prevention,
quality and success of interventions as well as unification of
interventions and routines. The draft requires that a child’s
opinion is
to be heard, a child is to be informed based on his or her age, and feedback is
to be provided for a child. The draft
includes a provision of unconditional
prohibition on physical punishment of a child. According to the draft, the state
is assuming
an obligation to provide in-service training and supervision to all
local child protection officials; however, the draft expects
child protection
officials to have basic education and previous work experience.
- Another
significant amendment is establishment of a state implementing authority on the
basis of an existing state authority which
allows to implement state strategies
more efficiently and also to develop interventions based on specific regional
needs. An entirely
new solution is the establishment of mobile consultation
teams within the regional state implementing units, whose competence would
include the provision of general support to child protection related local
activity (for example, support for the development of
local development plans
and counselling of employees) and solving complicated cases with multiple
problems or related to several
fields. The new implementation structure is
planned to be open and flexible, allowing interventions by other fields.
- The
draft has been drawn up keeping in mind all good practices of involvement; in
addition to specialists and officials of other ministries,
children and young
people have been involved in the process. The Ministry of Social Affairs has had
a remarkably good cooperation
with the Children’s Rights Department of the
Office of the Chancellor of
Justice.
1.2. Implementation
of the Convention in case-law
- According
to the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, generally recognised principles
and rules of international law are an inseparable part of the Estonian
legal
system. Pursuant to § 3 and § 123 of the Estonian
Constitution, when laws or other legislation of Estonia are in conflict with an
international treaty ratified by the Riigikogu, provisions of
the international
treaty apply. Therefore, the Convention on the Rights of the Child is an
inseparable part of the Estonian legal
system and directly applicable in
court.
1.2.1. Supreme
Court
- During
recent years, the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been referred to
somewhat more frequently in the Supreme Court
judgments. In two cases the
Supreme Court referred to the principle of primary consideration for the best
interests of the child
provided by Article 3 of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child in a case concerning interpretation of the 1980 Hague
Convention
on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The court also
referred to Article 12 of the Convention which deals with the
obligation to
hear the child and to give due weight to the views of the child (the Civil
Chamber of the Supreme Court judgment no.
3-2-1-142-06 of 22.02.2007).
- In
a case concerning decrease of maintenance allowance for children living abroad,
the Supreme Court has referred to the principle
of equal treatment of children
and relied on Article 2 of the Convention according to which States Parties
shall respect and ensure
the rights set forth in the Convention equally to each
child. The court also referred to Article 18 of the Convention pursuant to
which States Parties shall recognise the principle that both parents have common
responsibilities for the upbringing and development
of the child. The court
stated that parents or, as the case may be, legal guardians, have the primary
responsibility for the upbringing
and development of the child and that the
interests of the child must be their basic concern (the Civil Chamber of the
Supreme Court
judgment no. 3-2-1-21-07 of 28.03.2007).
- The
Supreme Court has also taken the position that unemployment is not a sufficient
reason to be released from the obligation to pay
maintenance allowance. The
court referred to Article 18 of the Convention which provides that parents
have the primary responsibility
for the upbringing and development of the child
and that the interests of the child must be their basic concern, and found that
the
duty of a parent to maintain the child also means the duty to do everything
in their power to find work and earn an income for themselves
and for the
children. The court is of the opinion that it is not fair for a child to be
needy because the parent, due to personal
reasons, does not deem it necessary to
work (the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court judgment no. 3-2-1-65-07 of
19.06.2007).
- Furthermore,
in connection with a case of illicit transfer of a child, the Supreme Court has
referred to the Convention in conjunction
with Article 25 (2) of the
Declaration of Human Rights according to which motherhood and childhood are
entitled to special care and
assistance. The court indicated that according to
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the child, by reason of his physical
and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care (the Civil Chamber of
the Supreme Court judgment no. 3-2-1-123-06 of 06.12.2006).
- It
is stressed in clause 17 of court ruling no. 3-2-1-45-11 of the Civil
Chamber of the Supreme Court (divorce, division of joint
property, receipt of
maintenance allowance, and determination of right of access) that the right of
custody is the vital part of
the rights of a parent and child.
- In
clause 20 of court ruling no. 3-2-1-6-12 of the Civil Chamber of the
Supreme Court (determination of right of access), the Chamber
is of the opinion
that determination of the right of access to a child in a situation where a
child with sufficient power of understanding
does not know his or her parent
living separately is not in the child’s interests because it is not known
how finding out the
truth may affect the child or whether and how quickly the
child will adjust to the situation, and what kind of a connection he or
she will
have with the parent living separately and how frequent access is best in the
interests of the
child.
1.2.2. Courts
of lower instance
- Courts
of lower instance rarely refer to the Articles and general principles of the
Convention; however, they are doing so more and
more frequently. The Convention
is referred to mostly in matters of ordering maintenance allowance, conciliation
and granting the
right of custody.
- A
court of first instance has referred to Article 41 of the Convention as a
generally recognised principle of international law according
to which nothing
in the present Convention shall affect any provisions which are more conducive
to the realisation of the rights
of the child and which may be contained in the
law of a State party or international law in force for that State. The court of
first
instance applied said provision in several similar cases which did not
concern children, but grant of pension.
- Once
in a case concerning changing of name the court referred to Article 3 of
the Convention pursuant to which the best interests
of the child shall be a
primary consideration. Above all in cases of ordering maintenance allowance the
courts have referred to Article
21 (1) of the Convention according to which
parents have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of
the child.
The best interests of the child will be their basic concern.
- In
a case concerning determination of the place of residence of children a court
referred to Article 3 and 9 (3) of the Convention
on the basis of
which the child who is separated from one or both parents has the right to
maintain personal relations and direct
contact with both parents on a regular
basis.
1.3. International agreements
- During
the reporting period, Estonia signed and/or ratified the following
agreements:
(a) Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction, drawn up in The Hague on 25 October 1980, entered into
force
in relation to Estonia on 01.07.2001.
(b) European Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions
Concerning Custody of Children and on Restoration of Custody
of Children, drawn
up in Luxembourg on 20 May 1980, entered into force in relation to Estonia
on 01.09.2001.
(c) Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of
Intercountry Adoption, drawn up in The Hague on 29 May 1993,
entered into
force in relation to Estonia on 01.06.2002.
(d) Amendment to article 43 (2) of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child entered into force in relation to Estonia on 18.11.2002.
(e) Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and
Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and
Measures for the
Protection of Children, adopted at the Hague Conference on Private International
Law on 19 October 1996, entered
into force in relation to Estonia on
01.06.2003.
(f) Protocol
to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention
against Transnational
Organized Crime, signed on 20.09.2002, entered into force in relation to Estonia
on 11.06.2004.
(g) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography,
signed on
24.09.2003, entered into force in relation to Estonia on 03.09.2004.
(h) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Estonia signed
the convention on 25.09.2007 and it entered into force
in relation to Estonia on
29.06.2012. The optional protocol to the convention was acceded to at the same
time.
(i) ILO Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the
Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (ILO No.
182) entered into
force in relation to Estonia on 24.09.2012.
(j) Optional
Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of
children in armed conflict was signed on
24.09.2003 and entered into force in
relation to Estonia on 12.03.2014.
(k) Council
of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation
and Sexual Abuse (CETS No. 201) was signed
on 17.09.2008.
(l) Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human
Beings (CETS No. 197) was signed on 03.02.2010.
(m) European
Social Charter (Revised) (Article 10. The right to vocational training
(sections 1–4), Article 30. The right to protection against
poverty and social exclusion (entire Article) was ratified on 02.05.2012, and
amendments
entered into force in relation to Estonia on 01.09.2012.
1.4. Coordination
of national actions
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 14 of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.196)
- An
underlying analysis of the Child Protection Act was prepared in the Ministry of
Social Affairs in 2003. “Strategy for ensuring
the rights of the
child”, the goal of which was to implement the Convention better in
Estonia and in coordination between various
fields of activity, was applicable
from 2004 to 2008. An inter-ministerial working group was established for
preparing the strategy
and annual action plan for ensuring the rights of the
child, and for carrying out and supervising the actions. The Union for Child
Welfare participated in the working group as a representative of the voluntary
sector. The person responsible for preparing the action
plan and for providing
the Government with reports related to the plan was the Ministry of Social
Affairs. In 2009 the Ministry of
Social Affairs prepared a report on the
execution and efficiency of the strategy for ensuring the rights of the child
during the
period from 2004 to 2008. The strategy was criticised for lack of
independent funding, for which reason not all the measures were
directly related
to the goals. The report proposed subsequent actions, the most important ones
being: preparation of a complete development
plan dealing with the rights of
children and the welfare of families, assessment of the capability of the state
in ensuring the efficient
organisation of child protection and the rights of
children, and improvement of the availability of information and statistics
about
children.
- In
2005 the Government of the Republic approved the child protection concept. The
child protection concept provided a basis for developing
uniform principles in
the field of child protection work in order to harmonise child protection work
practices across Estonia to
guarantee quality assistance in compliance with
standards to children and families in Estonia, established an integral system
for
organising the protection of the rights of children, and proposed necessary
amendments to laws providing for and governing the rights
and protection of
children (for example, the Family Law Act). As a possible measure for achieving
the goal, the concept set out to
prepare a new Child Protection Act enabling
practical implementation. Preparation of the child protection concept served the
goal
of specifying the requirements of the Convention in the context of Estonia
by giving clear and unambiguous guidelines.
- In
the Ministry of Social Affairs development plan for 2007–2010, goals
related to the rights of children were dealt with by
measures No. 3.1 and
3.2, based on which the following main goals were set for the period up to the
year 2010: implementation of
the anti-trafficking in children action plan,
development of welfare services aimed at children, and establishment of a safe
development
environment which supports health. The Ministry of Social Affairs
development plan for 2011–2014 deals with goals related to
the rights of
children together with measures of family policy in clause 3 —
supporting the welfare of children and families.
The course of action
No. 3.1 includes, inter alia, actions related to ensuring the rights of
children, including implementation of
actions for aiding unaccompanied children
and children who have been trafficked, development of welfare services aimed at
children,
and development of policies and improvement of the child protection
system for ensuring the rights of children. The course of action
No. 3.2
deals with promoting and supporting the health of children. The course of action
No. 3.3 concerns measures aimed at improving
the quality of life of
families: supporting the adjustment of work, family and private life to one
another, and supporting parenthood.
The Ministry of Social Affairs went through
significant structural changes in 2010 — Department of Children and
Families was
established, which was a considerable initiative. From 2009 to 2010
the state had suffered extensive budget cuts, and the establishment
of a new
department in the conditions of economic difficulties showed how much the state
values children and families. As of 2013,
the department has
8 employees.
- Ensuring
the rights of children has been consistently reflected in various national and
specific strategy documents.
- The
bases for population policy for 2009–2013 voices the general bases for the
rights of children and the establishment of family
policy as well as the
principles of Estonia’s population policy, and outlines the goals of
Estonia’s population policy
and the main actions to be taken for achieving
those goals. According to the document regarding the bases for population
policy,
the main goal of Estonia’s policy on children and families is to
ensure the security of families with children which allows
for the birth of
children longed for, and to ensure a safe environment for children and young
people to grow up in.
- See
clause 6.2.4 for the development plan for the health of the population for
2009–2020.
1.4.1. Development
plan for children and families for 2012–2020
- The
strategy document currently governing actions related to the rights of the child
in different fields is the “Development
plan for children and families for
2012–2020”, approved by the Government of the Republic in 2011, and
the implementation
plan of the development plan for 2012–2015, which
includes a detailed action plan with persons responsible and planned expenses.
The following have been involved in carrying out the actions in the
implementation plan: research institutions, representatives of
the voluntary
sector, the Union for Child Welfare, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of
Education and Research, the Ministry
of Economic Affairs and Communication, and
the Ministry of Culture. A report on the implementation of the development plan
is submitted
to the Government of the Republic each year.
- Through
the working groups, more than a hundred experts on children and families were
involved in the preparation of the development
plan, and prior to its approval
by the Government of the Republic, the development plan was sent for commenting
to most non-profit
associations dealing with children and families or engaged in
areas related to them, to ministries and to every local government,
and the
opinion of citizens was asked through the Participation Web. In cooperation with
the Union for Child Welfare, a nationwide
youth panel was summoned to consult on
issues concerning development plans and to get the input of young people, and
also the input
of youth organisations was requested.
- The
main goal of the development plan is to increase the welfare of children and
families and to improve the quality of life, thereby
contributing to the birth
of children. The development plan includes 5 sub-goals which, in turn,
include specific measures and courses
of
action.
1.4.2. Network
related to the various children’s rights initiatives
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 8 (b) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- The
most common method of national cooperation is the establishment of working
groups involving ministries and other relevant institutions,
the purpose of
which is to develop and implement development plans or to prepare legislative
amendments. Here are some examples.
- The
development plan for combating human trafficking for 2006–2009 was carried
out by the network for combating human trafficking,
which also included
children’s experts from different ministries and non-profit
associations.
- To
carry out the HIV and AIDS strategy for 2006–2015, a Committee of the
Government of the Republic was established.
- To
carry out the national strategy for drug addiction prevention up to the year
2012, an interministerial working group was established,
currently known as the
drug addiction prevention government committee, a member of which is also the
Union for Child Welfare.
- The
development plan for reducing juvenile delinquency for 2007–2009 was
carried out under the leadership of the Ministry of
Justice in cooperation with
the inter-ministerial network.
- The
implementation of the youth work strategy for 2006–2013 is supported by
the Youth Politics Council, an advisory body to
the Ministry of Education and
Research.
- The
development plan for reducing violence for 2010–2014 was prepared under
the guidance of the Ministry of Justice in cooperation
with other ministries,
authorities and non-profit associations.
- The
Ministry of Social Affairs, the Police and Border Guard Board, the Union for
Child Welfare, the Tiger Leap Foundation, the Information
Technology Foundation
for Education and the NGO Estonian Advice Centre protect children from violence
inflicted through the Internet,
mostly by means of the Safe Internet programme.
The project was initiated in 2010 is going to be carried out until the end of
2014.
As a part of the project a number of informative trainings, seminars and
other events are taking place; informing takes also place
via published
materials and the Internet. The actors are cooperating with different
stakeholders in Estonia and in Europe, including
participating in INHOPE and
Insafe networks.
- In
cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the Police and Border Guard Board
coordinates the area of reduction and prevention of
juvenile violence and
delinquency, where children at risk are helped and supported through
community-based and family-centred actions,
alcohol consumption is reduced and a
system for more efficient response to juvenile delinquency is
established.
1.4.3. Joint
programme for children and youth at risk
- The
Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the
Ministry of Justice have prepared a joint programme
for children and youth at
risk for 2013–2016, and they have received funding for the programme
actions from the support fund
of the European Economic Area. Within the
framework of the joint programme, the ministries are planning several
sub-projects and
actions for reducing risks concerning children and young people
through education, youth work, children’s welfare and the legal
system.
The programme for children and young people at risk aims to prevent and reduce
risks concerning children and young people,
and to improve their welfare. The
following is to be done as a result of the programme: 1) evidence-based
interventions for children
and young people in the risk group are developed and
implemented; 2) intervention measures necessary for protecting the rights of
juvenile delinquents and for reintegrating them into society are developed and
implemented; 3) a joint support system is established
for joint and
inter-sectoral coordination of services in various areas (education, justice,
child protection, and children’s
mental health). Actions to be done
include school-based preventive interventions, family-based interventions for
decreasing juvenile
delinquency, and youth work measures as well as studies and
analyses. An evidence-based parenting programme is implemented as an
intervention and prevention work measure for developing parental skills. The
amount of funding for the programme from the European
Economic Area Financial
Mechanism is 6.5 million euros, and Estonia’s co-funding amounts to
1,147,941 euros.
1.5. Institution
exercising supervision over the rights of the child
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 12 of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- At
the end of 2010 the state decided to allocate additional resources to the
institution of the Chancellor of Justice, and on 19.03.2011
the institution of
Ombudsman for Children was established. The Ombudsman for Children in Estonia is
the Chancellor of Justice. To
carry out the duties of the Ombudsman for
Children, the Children’s Rights Department was established within the
Office of the
Chancellor of Justice, comprising 4 employees. The basis for
the activity of the Ombudsman for Children is provided in
subsection
1 (8) of the Chancellor of Justice Act, which states that
the Chancellor of Justice performs the functions of protection of the rights
of
children and promotion thereof according to Article 4 of the Convention.
The Ombudsman for Children is assisted by the Advisory
Committee the task of
which is to support and advise the Ombudsman for Children in his activities. The
Advisory Committee includes
representatives of various youth organisations.
- The
Ombudsman for Children pursues, inter alia, better understanding of the rights
of children in the society and the ability to take
them into account. To this
end, the Ombudsman for Children organises trainings on specific subjects,
seminars, and competitions and
events, cooperates with other state authorities,
local governments and non-profit associations, and voices his opinions in the
media.
In 2011 the Ombudsman for Children, in cooperation with the Data
Protection Inspectorate and experts in the field, developed a handbook
on what
steps should be taken to notify the state when you identify a child in need of
assistance. Furthermore, in 2011 the Ombudsman
for Children prepared an overview
of children’s poverty, basing it on the information received from
Statistics Estonia and
on profound interviews with child protection officials
from different local governments of Estonia arranged in cooperation with the
Child Advocacy Chamber. In 2012, an analysis of the situation of children living
in substitute homes was completed.
- In
addition to being the Ombudsman for Children, the Chancellor of Justice is also
the national preventive mechanism for torture and
degrading treatment since
2007. The existence of the preventive mechanism is required by the Optional
Protocol to the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, which has entered into force in relation to Estonia.
The task of the preventive mechanism of the states which have acceded to the
Convention is to regularly visit places where people
are deprived of their
liberty and all other places (including private places) where the liberty of
persons is limited, in order to
prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment. The authorities supervised by the Chancellor of Justice as
the national
preventive mechanism for degrading treatment are child care and
educational institutions (for example, specialised schools for children
with
behavioural problems or special requirements concerning health), welfare and
health care institutions (for example, care homes,
substitute homes, psychiatric
hospitals), units of the Defence Forces and custodial institutions (for example,
prisons and houses
of detention of police
prefectures).
1.6. Collection
of data
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 10 (a) and (b) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- The
Ministry of Social Affairs is the official body accumulating statistics on child
protection and child welfare. Information is
collected from county governments,
local governments and providers of welfare services. Child protection
information is collected
on a regular basis by services providing substitute
care for children as well as on children in need of care and help. Annual
overviews
of statistical data are published on the website of the Ministry of
Social Affairs, and they are also reflected in the ministry’s
publications
and topical editions (issued with periodicals). In addition to statistics, the
Social Policy Information and Analysis
Department of the Ministry of Social
Affairs organises different studies, which deal in depth with topics related to
child protection
and
welfare.
1.6.1. Estonian
Education Information System
- There
has been a considerable progress in the field of education since the Estonian
Education Information System was launched. The
Estonian Education Information
System is a web-based information system which includes all educational
institutions holding an education
licence for providing formal education in
Estonia, and which is intended for maintaining a register of students, teachers
/ teaching
staff, the infrastructure of schools, study programmes and final
documents. The Estonian Education Information System provides data
on all
students, including students with special needs, on support systems and study
programmes applicable to them, and also on sanctions
applied to minors by
juvenile committees. The information contained in the Estonian Education
Information System also serves as the
basis for allocation of financial
resources to owners of schools. As of 2008 the Estonian Education Information
System also provides
information on hobby schools to inform young people and
parents of hobby schools and their study
programmes.
1.6.2. Information
system STAR
- As
an Internet-based information system the register of social services and social
benefits, which was launched in 2010, is intended,
above all, as a tool for
specialists working in local government units and county governments, but also
for specialists working in
various social welfare institutions. It is an
electronic working environment where the social worker of a local government can
register
all cases of being contacted by citizens, and all actions or decisions
taken or being taken in order to settle the problems. It is
also possible to
analyse through the system information related to social work, making it easier
to manage information concerning
children.
1.6.3. Criminal
statistics
- There
has been a significant progress in collecting, processing and publishing
criminal statistics. As of 2006, the Ministry of Justice
publishes weekly,
quarterly and annual overviews of crime statistics. The overviews are available
on the website of the Ministry
of Justice (http://www.just.ee/kriminaalstatistika).
It is also possible to send ad hoc inquiries to the Criminal Information and
Analysis Division of the Ministry of Justice. The
annual publication
“Crime in Estonia”, which is published in print, includes a separate
chapter on juvenile delinquency
(including crimes committed against and by
minors) as well as on crimes related to human trafficking. As of 2008, an
overview of
the length of criminal proceedings against minors is published twice
a year (www.just.ee/39068). On
3 January 2009 the e-file was launched: it is a digital information system
containing all the information from various stages
of procedure, so that
information could be exchanged between different authorities faster and more
easily in the case of juvenile
crimes (and all other crimes) and so that the
processing of a criminal matter could be monitored from the beginning until the
end
— from notifying the police until a court judgment, prison and
probation
supervision.
1.6.4. Police
activity upon gathering statistics
- By
the Minister of the Interior Regulation No. 66 of 3 October 2007 a
police database was established and the statutes on the maintenance
of the
database were approved. The police database includes, inter alia, information on
criminal and misdemeanour proceedings as
well as information on minors who have
committed an unlawful act. The police also register cases of close relationship
violence and
domestic violence. The information is used in everyday police work
and in planning future
actions.
1.7. Preparation
of report and cooperation with civic associations
1.7.1. Preparation
of report
- The
preparation of the report started in 2008. Non-profit associations, the Office
of the Chancellor of Justice and ministries all
have contributed to the report.
On the initiative of the Ministry of Social Affairs, an inter-ministerial
working group was assembled
and tasks for compiling the report were assigned.
Also non-profit associations were involved in the process, and in December 2008
a seminar was held for all parties for the purpose of preparing the report and
discussing the situation of the rights of children.
From 2008 to 2009
discussions were held with children and young people in connection with the
report, for example, concerning issues
of prohibition of physical punishment,
participation of children, establishment of the institution of Ombudsman for
Children, and
supporting the relationship between children and their parents,
etc. Non-profit associations held a meeting in the spring of 2009
under the
leadership of the Union for Child Welfare.
1.7.2. Cooperation
with civic associations
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 18 of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- Non-profit
associations are actively engaged in the field of the rights of children by
carrying out various projects and campaigns,
offering services and contributing
to the establishment of policies. Involving non-profit associations in
discussions on issues concerning
the welfare of children, in taking decisions,
and in shaping the legislation has become everyday practice. The largest
non-profit
associations engaged in the field of the rights of children are the
Union for Child Welfare, UNICEF, Estonian Children’s Fund,
Family Centre
You and Me, Estonian Parents’ Association, Tartu Child Support Centre,
Tallinn Child Support Centre, SOS Children’s
Village Estonia, Living for
Tomorrow, Caritas Estonia, Estonian Student Union, A Family of My Own, Bringing
Abandoned Children Home,
Crisis Programme for Children and Youth, Estonian
Society for School Psychologists, Before and After Birth, Estonian Society for
Mental Health, etc. For speaking on behalf of the interests of children, an
unofficial network of non-profit associations “Child
Advocacy
Chamber” was established in 2009, and at the beginning of 2013 it became a
non-profit association.
- Cooperation
with non-profit associations has been addressed throughout the report in
connection to specific subjects. For example,
see clause 5.2 for
cooperation related to parenting, and clause 5.8.3 for development of
practices related to adoption.
- In
the field of education, the main partners are the Union for Child Welfare and
the Estonian Parents’ Association. Being financed
by the ministry, these
organisations have for several years informed parents of their parental rights
and obligations, the rights
of children, promotion of cooperation between the
home and school, and activities related to preventing and combating school
bullying,
and they have also organised relevant trainings.
- Cooperation
with non-profit associations is also important in crime prevention. For several
years the Ministry of Justice has organised
crime prevention project
competitions. Crime prevention projects have focused, for example, on developing
social skills and reducing
drug consumption. When shaping the criminal policy,
the Ministry has been engaged in active collaboration with various research
institutions
which carry out analyses and surveys.
- Non-profit
associations are financed through various funds, and certain tasks have been
procured by the state from the organisations,
financing it from the state
budget. The most important source supporting the activities of non-profit
associations is the Council
Of Gambling Tax, which supports educational,
research, social and cultural projects as well as children’s and youth
projects.
Non-profit associations can submit to the Council Of Gambling Tax
annual applications to apply for funds for the organisation, and
it is also
possible to submit applications for small projects each
month.
1.8. Allocation
of state funds
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 16 (a) and (b) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
1.8.1. Expenditure
from state budget on children’s welfare during 2008–2011
- The
following children’s welfare services were funded from the state
budget:
(a) Taking care of orphans and children without parental
care in social welfare institutions (substitute home service).
(b) Social welfare services for children with severe or profound disability
who are being cared for in social welfare institutions
at the request of the
parents (substitute home service).
(c) Foster care.
(d) Guardianship.
(e) Child care service.
- Funding
of the above services from 2008 to 2011 was stable, and even increased slightly
(17,137,000 euros in 2008 and 17,325,700 euros
in 2011). State funding
for children’s welfare remained steadily around 90% from 2008 to 2011. The
remaining funds come from
local governments, persons with maintenance obligation
and other sources. The number of persons provided with those services has
constantly decreased (except for welfare of disabled children and child care
service). Therefore, the percentage of expenses on one
person provided with
services has increased in respect of all services provided for children (see
Annex, table 1).
- According
to the Social Welfare Act, a new service funded by the state in caring for
children with severe or profound disability,
is child care service for children
with severe or profound disability. The number of persons using the service and
also the funding
have continued to increase over the recent years.
- Concerning
the child care service it is important to remember that state funding includes
only the expenses related to the child care
service for children with severe or
profound disability. Child care service expenses on children not included in
that group have
been divided between local governments and individuals. From the
EU structural funds for 2014–2020 the state plans to establish
child care
service and a place in kindergarten for children aged 0–7 years,
offer child care service and support service (support
person, personal
assistant, etc.) for disabled children aged 0–17 years, support youth
work and children’s hobby education,
mitigate youth
(15–24 years of age) unemployment, develop labour market measures,
and develop services targeted at health and
children’s risk
behaviour.
- Guardianship
services are funded 100% from the state budget. Substitute home services are
funded by the state to the extent of 90%.
In the case of children with severe or
profound disability who are being cared for in a substitute home at the request
of the parents,
62% of the substitute home service is funded by the state and
31% by local governments (see Annex, table 1).
- During
the reporting period, money was allocated from the state budget to the following
programmes: boarding school facilities programme
(see clause 7.1.8); long
day group project (see clause 7.3.3); free school lunch programme and free
learning materials (see clause
7.1.8), open youth centres programme (see
clause 7.3.1); youth and project camps programme (see
clause 7.3.2).
Information on the issues raised in
paragraph 16 (d) and (e) of the Committee’s previous concluding
observations
1.8.2. Support
to child protection work
- The
number of child protection officials in local governments has been constantly
increasing. At the end of 2011 there were total
of 177 child protection
officials in Estonia. At the end of 2011 there were 1392 children on
average per one child protection official
(see Annex, table 2 — Child
protection officials in county governments and local governments, and the number
of children per
one child protection official, 2005–2011).
- In
addition to noting the number of child protection officials it is important to
emphasise that every local government is required
to ensure child
protection-related work. Therefore, the responsibility related to employing
local government child protection officials
lies with the local government. In
the absence of a special child protection official the same duties are performed
by a social worker
or a designated official. To even out the level of
qualification of the child protection officials, the implementation plan of the
development plan for children and families for 2012–2020 prescribes the
preparation of instructions and in-service training
programmes for child
protection officials, the organisation of trainings and seminars for child
protection officials as well as the
development of and supervision over a
regular system of supervision aimed at child protection officials has also been
focused on.
From 2010 to 2013 the Ministry of Social Affairs together with the
Counsel Centre for Families and Children organised seminars and
discussions for
child protection officials on a regular basis.
- In
2012 a child welfare assessment guide was developed, which will assist child
protection officials, and in 2013 a parental skills
assessment tool is being
adopted in cooperation with third party specialists. At the end of 2012 the
Ministry of Social Affairs began
cooperation with the Estonian Supervision and
Coaching Institute with the aim of developing a regular system of supervision
aimed
at child protection officials.
- The
Ministry of Social Affairs is planning important developments in the existing
child protection system in compliance with the development
of the new Child
Protection Act and with activities of the programme for children and youth at
risk planned to be carried out from
the resources provided by the Norwegian and
European Economic Area Financial Mechanisms. The developments are aimed, above
all, at
increasing state support in order to make child protection work at the
local government level more efficient. There are plans to
establish a national
child protection implementation unit with regional sub-units which would
coordinate child protection work across
various areas at the state level and
which would support the local government as to the development and availability
of services.
By means of the state implementation mechanism, local governments
are supported in solving more complicated child protection cases
and in
developing local strategies. The Ministry of Social Affairs has also organised
regular information days for county governments,
local governments and social
services
providers.
1.8.3. Preschool
child care institutions and schools
- The
state has imposed on local governments the obligation to ensure for all children
aged 1–7 years, whose parents so wish,
a place in a preschool child
care institution to guarantee the right to education for all children. In 2008
local governments were
supported with 9,615,385 euros in performing the
said obligation to modernise child care institutions and to create new places in
kindergartens. In bigger settlements there could still be problems with getting
a place in kindergarten as local governments are
not always able to ensure a
place for all those applying for it. In 2010 the Preschool Child Care
Institutions Act was amended so
that a basic school and a preschool may operate
as one institution, and also the authorisation of the director to make decisions
was extended, and the duties of teachers and the entry of children with special
needs into a preschool was specified. The amendments
also focused on the
preparation of activity plans and daily schedules. Each year, allocations to
local governments are made from
the state budget for the in-service training of
preschool teachers to the extent to 3% of the annual salary fund
(1,311,628 euros
in 2010 and 1,270,225 euros in 2011). As of 2009
money is allocated for organising teaching of the Estonian language to preschool
child care institutions’ groups with another language of instruction and
groups with mixed languages of instruction where children
of
3–7 years of age, whose home language is not Estonian, are studying,
including for the wages of teachers and for acquiring
learning materials
(319,484 euros in 2011).
- Each
year allocations are made from the state budget to local governments for
covering educational costs of general education schools,
including for wages and
in-service training of teachers (3% out of the salary fund), school
management costs, investments, purchasing
textbooks and learning materials. In
2010 and 2011, nearly 170 million euros were allocated for the wages of
teachers (170,671,788
euros in 2010, and 169,979,132 euros in
2011).
1.9. International
cooperation
- A
representative of the Department of Children and Families of the Ministry of
Social Affairs is taking part in the Council of the
Baltic Sea States Expert
Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk, whose priorities are: 1) activity
combating sexual abuse of children
(including abuse on the Internet);
2) children in institutions; 3) young criminals; 4) unaccompanied
children and children who have
been trafficked. Additional information: http://childcentre.info.
- From
2011 to 2012 Estonia participated in a system-based auditing project
“AudTrain” concerning the rights of children
living in institutions,
funded from the EU Leonardo Fund and in addition to Estonia also involving
Latvia, Sweden, Iceland and Norway.
The project is based on a system-based
supervision model developed in Norway, on which the so-called Baltic model has
been developed.
The project is an experimental project in the framework of which
4day training sessions for supervisory specialists have been organised
in
Estonia, Sweden and Latvia. The representative of the Ministry of Social Affairs
is participating in the project as a cotrainer
alongside the Norwegian
expert.
- A
representative of the Department of Children and Families of the Ministry of
Social Affairs is participating in the Council of Europe
network of national
coordinators of the rights of children and violence against children. Various
recommendations of the Council
of Europe on the rights of children living in
substitute homes and on positive parenting and so on are important guidelines
for Estonia.
Estonia has signed the Lanzarote Convention, and is currently
making preparations for its ratification process.
- In
2003 Estonia joined the unofficial working group L’Europe de
L’Enfance established by the European Union Member States,
in the
framework of which experiences and good practices are shared and joint positions
are formed. Estonia is participating as an
observer in the so-called satellite
group ChildONEurope of the L’Europe de l’Enfance, which aims to
gather and analyse
information and statistics concerning mostly children.
- The
National Institute for Health Development represents Estonia in the
international network Schools for Health in Europe (formerly
Health Promoting
Schools Association) supporting school health promotion. In the field of
prevention of injuries of children and
young people the Ministry of Social
Affairs participates in work-related meetings organised by the European Child
Safety Alliance,
and follows the Alliance’s recommendations in planning
its activities. In the framework of the Northern Dimension, Estonia
is
participating in the youth health behaviour sub-group of the working group
Social Inclusion, Healthy Lifestyles & Work Ability
(SIHLWA).
- In
the field of the rights of children the Ministry of Justice is cooperating also
with several international organisations, for example,
with the European Crime
Prevention Network (EUCPN) of the European Union in issues of crime prevention,
and with the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) in connection with
human trafficking, with the unofficial network of the European Union rapporteurs
on anti-trafficking in human beings or of equal mechanisms, and with the human
trafficking task force of the Council of the Baltic
Sea States.
- The
Ministry of the Interior cooperates with the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International
Organization for
Migration (IOM). The Ministry of Education and Research is engaged in continuous
cooperation with the Nordic Council
of Ministers, UNICEF and the European Agency
for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. There has also been cooperation with
the
OECD and the International Committee of the Red Cross in initiating an
educational programme in humanitarian law. The Ministry of
Education and
Research is also participating in the work of committees and working groups of
the Council of Europe.
- Several
projects have been carried out in Estonia within the framework of international
cooperation. The IOM helped to prepare and
translate booklets intended for
asylum seekers. As of 2011 the Estonian Human Rights Centre, with the help of
the European Refugee
Fund, is providing legal aid for asylum seekers to ensure
access to a fair and appropriate asylum procedure.
- From
2004 to 2005 the AGIS programme of the European Commission was carried out
— a framework programme carried out jointly
by Sweden, the United Kingdom,
Germany and Estonia for the protection of children in connection with physical
and sexual abuse, and
over the period of 2005–2006 a close relationship
violence training was organised in Germany, with the main emphasis on violence
against children.
- Estonia
participated as a trainer in a training session on violence against children and
the rights of children, which took place
in Baku in the framework of a joint
programme of UNICEF and the Azerbaijani Union for Child Welfare.
- Estonia
has cooperated with Finland in the framework of various projects aimed at crime
prevention and explaining to children their
rights and obligations (project
“Majakas” (“Beacon”) in Rapla County, 2004–2006);
and also cooperation
projects with Germany, Belgium, Malta and Finland aimed at
preventing violence and consumption of addictive substances by children
have
been carried out in the Southern Police Prefecture.
- In
2007 a joint project with Latvia and Lithuania was initiated in the Southern
Police Prefecture for preventing consumption of addictive
substances by children
and for explaining the rights and obligations of children to them. In 2008 a
joint training project was launched
with Poland and the Western Police
Prefecture.
- In
the framework of a development programme for heads of school, 20 heads of
school were trained together with the British Council,
and they will become the
trainers of next heads of school. The purpose of the training was to improve the
knowledge of heads of school
about instructing others, and to allow them to
experience and study manners of leadership in other countries and to analyse
their
experience in heading a school so far. 40 schools participated in the
project, launched with the support of the British Council,
for setting up and
supporting self-assessment of schools. The participants learnt to see their
strengths and weaknesses, to assess
themselves with criticism, and to improve
methods of cooperation with different parties.
- 11 EU
countries participated in the SYNEVA project; the target group of the
cooperation network consisted of heads of school and development
teams of
educational institutions, experts and inspectors as well as trainers of
teachers. The participants aimed to gather, analyse
and disseminate positive
experiences of internal and external assessment of educational institutions of
different countries, and
to support school teams in the development of
educational institutions and the improvement of the quality of educational
work.
- With
the support of Norway a project for reinforcing the Estonian prison system was
initiated in 2008, the main goals of which were
to train new prison officers and
decrease recurrent crimes committed by juvenile prisoners by helping them
acquire basic vital skills.
Norway has also given our prison officers a chance
to adopt several social assistance programmes to apply to prisoners and
probationers.
A good example is the social assistance programme VÕIDA
aimed at female criminals, used for developing social skills and decreasing
recurrent commission of
crimes.
1.9.1. Foreign
aid programmes
- 1Estonia
has also participated in foreign aid programmes concerning children. From 2003
to 2010 the Government supported development
and humanitarian aid activities and
organisations related to children in the amount of 3 million euros. It
includes both international
organisations, including humanitarian aid donations
(support is mostly aimed at the most vulnerable target groups — women and
children), and bilateral projects, some of which target directly children, for
example, children’s playgrounds in Georgia and
the implementation of the
Child Protection Convention in Ukraine. There have also been projects which are
aimed more at women (for
example, AFG health care projects) and which contribute
directly to improving the welfare of children.
- Through
the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) a total of 3.3 million
kroons were donated, of which:
- Voluntary
donation for the year 2009 was 800,000 kroons (in 2007 voluntary donation
for the year 2008 amounted to 600,000 kroons);
- Humanitarian aid
of 500,000 kroons for children who had suffered in the cold waive in
Tajikistan;
- Humanitarian aid
of 500,000 kroons for children who had suffered in cyclones in
Madagascar;
- Humanitarian aid
of 500,000 kroons for schools which had suffered in cyclones in Haiti;
- Humanitarian aid
of 1 million kroons for children of South Ossetia who had suffered in the
conflict between Georgia and Russia in
August 2008.
- Small
children who had suffered in the conflict between Georgia and Russia were sent
clothes, diapers and food for small children
with the total value of
23,932 euros. The campaign took place through the cooperation between the
Union for Child Welfare and the
Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
1.10. Introducing
the Convention (Article 42)
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 20 (a) and (b) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- The
state has supported the activities of non-profit associations in introducing the
contents of the Convention to both adults and
children. The Convention is
disseminated and implemented in society by UNICEF Estonia and the Union for
Child Welfare.
- The
Union for Child Welfare informs both children and adults of the rights of
children through its website, and it has also issued
various information
materials and publications on the rights of children. From 2003 to 2006 the
Union for Child Welfare organised
for child protection officials
10 training sessions (in 6 counties) on the Convention on the Rights
of the Child and its implementation.
Preparation of social education as well as
civics and citizenship education textbooks has also been contributed to.
Following the
Convention on the Rights of the Child is one of the fundamental
principles of basic school and upper secondary school state curricula
approved
in 2011.
- From
2007 to 2009 in cooperation with the Society of Personal Education and the
Estonian Debating Society, the Union for Child Welfare
organised for 3rd level
upper secondary school pupils a competition “Do I know?”, the
purpose of which was to improve
the knowledge of upper secondary school pupils
on human rights, including the rights of children. The competition was held both
in
Estonian and Russian, and over 500 pupils from all over Estonia studying
in grades 8–9 took part in the competition.
- In
2012 the Ministry of Social Affairs finally issued a children’s book
“Kreete”, which introduces the principles
enshrined in the
Convention and the goals of the development plan for children and families for
2012–2020 and which targets
children in preschool child care institutions
and in elementary schools as well as their parents. In 2013 the book was given
to all
3rd grade pupils, and animated films in Estonian and Russian were made to
introduce the book and its content.
- The
Office of the Chancellor of Justice has organised various trainings on the
rights of children for teachers in schools for children
with special educational
needs, school psychologists and other specialists.
- The
national development plan for children and families for 2012–2020 and its
implementation plan for 2012–2015 prescribes
several actions for improving
awareness of the rights of
children.
1.10.1. Training
sessions for judges and prosecutors
- In
the recent years, trainings concerning minors have been organised for judges.
For example, in 2009 two training sessions were held:
questioning of minors and
minors in criminal proceedings. The latter also focuses on the rights of
children. Also prosecutors have
the possibility to attend those trainings. Each
year as an internal training, round tables for prosecutors specialised in minors
take place, to which other specialists are also invited according to the subject
in question (child protection officials, members
of juvenile committees, etc.).
In the spring of 2012 the Estonian Women’s Associations Roundtable in
cooperation with the Ministry
of Social Affairs organised for judges, police
officers processing domestic violence cases and prosecutors a training session
where
issues of domestic violence and violence against children were addressed
by psychiatrists, paediatricians and representatives of
shelters. The said
trainings have been reflected in the implementation plan of the development plan
for decreasing violence.
- In
2009 the Ministry of Justice conducted a survey concerning the knowledge of
specialists in questioning minor witnesses and victims.
The results were
introduced to prosecutors and police officers, and the Police and Border Guard
Board took the results into account
in developing a procedural guide for
treatment of children and in planning
trainings.
1.11. Publishing
and introducing the report (Article 44 (6))
- The
previous report and the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the
Child have been made available for the public in
English and in Estonian on the
website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at http://www.vm.ee/?q=node/10128.
Recommendations on the report have been taken into account in activities related
to ensuring the rights of children, for example,
in preparing strategic
documents and in introducing them. Also this report will be made available on
the website the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, and its dissemination will be made
possible also through the websites of other authorities and
organisations.
2. Definition
of the child (Article 1)
- According
to Article 1 of the Convention, a child means every human being below the
age of eighteen years. Also Estonian legislation
provides that full active legal
capacity is acquired at the age of 18 years. However, Estonian legislation
also provides for several
exceptions where a child is deemed an adult at an
earlier or later age. Since the definition of the child has been addressed in
the
first and second report of Estonia submitted to the Committee in 2001, this
report deals more thoroughly with changes that have taken
place during the
reporting
period.
2.1. Passive
and active legal capacity
- All
natural persons have uniform and unrestricted passive legal capacity in the
Republic of Estonia. Passive legal capacity begins
with the live birth of a
human being and ends with his or her death. In certain cases, a foetus has
passive legal capacity from conception
if the child is born alive. Active legal
capacity of a natural person is the capacity to enter independently into valid
transactions.
Persons who have attained 18 years of age (adults) have full
active legal capacity. Persons who are under 18 years of age (minors)
have
restricted active legal capacity. A court may extend the restricted active legal
capacity of a minor of at least 15 years of
age if this is in the interests
of the minor and the level of development of the minor so permits. In such case,
the court shall
decide the transactions which the minor is independently
permitted to enter into. The restricted active legal capacity of a minor
may be
extended with the consent of his or her legal representative. If refusal to
grant consent is clearly contrary to the interests
of the minor, the court may
extend the active legal capacity of the minor without the consent of the legal
representative. With good
reason, a court may revoke an extension of the
restricted active legal capacity of a minor in full or in part. Unilateral
transactions
made by a person with restricted active legal capacity without the
prior consent of his or her legal representative are void. A multilateral
transaction entered into by a person with restricted active legal capacity
without the prior consent of his or her legal representative
is void unless the
legal representative subsequently ratifies the transaction. If the person
acquires full active legal capacity
after entry into the transaction, he or she
may ratify the transaction himself or herself. A transaction entered into by a
person
with restricted active legal capacity without the prior consent or
subsequent ratification of his or her legal representative is
valid if no direct
civil obligations arise from the transaction for the person, or if the person
performed the transaction by means
which his or her legal representative or a
third person with the consent of the legal representative had granted to him or
her for
such purpose or for free use (§§ 7–11 of the
General Part of the Civil Code Act).
- Unilateral
transactions made by a minor of less than 7 years of age are void. A
multilateral transaction entered into by a minor of
less than 7 years of
age is void unless he or she performs the transaction by means which his or her
legal representative or a third
person with the consent of the legal
representative has granted to him or her for such purpose or for free use (for
example, items
purchased using pocket money; § 12 of the General Part
of the Civil Code
Act).
2.1.1. Marriage
and consenting in sexual relationship
- Only
adults may get married. A court may extend the active legal capacity of a person
who has attained at least 15 years of age pursuant
to the provisions
concerning the extension of active legal capacity of minors for the performance
of acts required for the contraction
of marriage and for the exercise of the
rights and performance of the obligations related to marriage.
(Subsections 1 (2) and (3)
of the Family Law Act.) See also the Annex,
table 4: Married persons less than 18 years of age,
2003–2009.
- Sexual
intercourse with a child (§ 145) and satisfaction of sexual desire
with a child (§ 146) are punishable pursuant to
criminal procedure. An
adult person who engages in sexual intercourse with a person of less than
14 years of age shall be punished
by up to 5 years’
imprisonment, and an adult person who involves a person of less than
14 years of age in satisfaction of sexual
desire in a manner other than
sexual intercourse shall be punished by up to 5 years’ imprisonment.
In 2006 the punishments
for the said crimes were increased: instead of
2–3 years’ imprisonment the punishment was set to up to
5 years’
imprisonment.
2.1.2. Guilt
capacity
- Pursuant
to the Penal Code, a person is capable of guilt if at the time of commission of
the act he or she is mentally capable and
at least 14 years of age.
Therefore, children are liable for the commission of offences starting from the
age of 14 years. According
to the Juvenile Sanctions Act, one or more
sanctions may be applied to minors from the age of 7 years to prevent the
recurrence of
violations of
law.
2.1.3. Child
as party to proceedings
- Both
in civil court procedure (§ 38 of the Code of Civil Procedure) and
criminal procedure (clause 12 (1) 3) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure) the court may declare proceedings or a part thereof closed if this is
necessary in the interests of a minor. In civil
court procedure the court may
declare a proceeding closed at the initiative of the court or based on a
petition of a participant
in the proceeding if this is clearly necessary for the
protection of the life, health or freedom of a participant in a proceeding,
witness or other person, for the protection of private life, to maintain the
confidentiality of adoption, or in the interests of
a minor or a mentally
handicapped person and above all, for hearing such persons. Persons with
restricted active legal capacity do
not have active civil procedural legal
capacity. A participant in a proceeding without active civil procedural legal
capacity is
represented in court by his or her legal representative
(subsection 217 (3) of the Code of Civil Procedure). A minor of at
least
15 years of age has the right to participate in a proceeding together
with his or her legal representative (subsection 202 (2) of
the Code
of Civil Procedure).
- In
civil court procedure in a family matter on petition a child has the right to
independently file appeals. A child of at least 14
years of age with
sufficient capacity to exercise discretion and will has the right, in a family
matter on petition pertaining to
his or her person, to file an appeal against a
ruling without the assistance of his or her legal representative. The same also
applies
to other matters where a child must be heard before adjudication of the
matter. A child shall be personally informed of the rulings
against which he or
she may file an appeal. The reasoning of a ruling need not be communicated to a
child if this could result in
harmful consequences to the development,
upbringing or health of the child (§ 553 of the Code of Civil
Procedure).
- The
court decides the extension of the active legal capacity of a minor at least
15 years of age based on the petition of the minor
himself or herself, or
the minor’s parent or guardian, or a rural municipality or city government
of the residence of the minor.
The court hears a minor in person. The court
hears a minor in his or her usual environment if the minor so requests or if, in
the
opinion of the court, this is necessary in the interests of the matter and
the minor does not object to it. The course of the proceeding
shall be explained
to the minor.
- See
clause 4.7.2 for specifications of questioning a
minor.
2.1.4. Succession
capacity and capacity in property law
- Any
person with passive legal capacity has succession capacity. A natural person who
is alive at the time of death of the bequeather
or a legal person who exists at
that time may be a successor. A child born alive after the opening of a
succession shall be deemed
to have succession capacity at the time of opening of
the succession if the child was conceived before the opening of the succession.
The general regulatory framework of making transactions extends to transactions
related to real rights in immovable property; see
clause 2.1.
2.1.5. Alcohol,
tobacco and illegal substances
- According
to §§ 46 and 47 of the Alcohol Act, persons under 18 years
of age are prohibited from consuming alcoholic beverages,
and they are also
prohibited from owning or possessing alcoholic beverages. It is also prohibited
to offer, transfer or hand over
alcoholic beverages to minors. It is prohibited
to employ minors for work related to the handling of alcohol, except upon
storage
or distribution of such alcohol for commercial purposes if it is ensured
that in the course thereof minors come into contact with
alcohol only in
unopened packaging.
- The
Alcohol Act prescribes a fine as a punishment for a misdemeanour for a violation
of the age limit upon the handling of alcoholic
beverages. The purchase of
alcoholic beverages for minors is also punishable by a fine. Also the
consumption of alcoholic beverages
by minors and the purchase of alcoholic
beverages by minors are punishable pursuant to misdemeanour procedure
(§§ 67, 69,
71 and 72 of the Alcohol Act). As a preventive
measure, the sale of alcohol at night (22.00–10.00) is prohibited in
Estonia.
- Inducing
minors to consume alcohol and selling alcohol to and purchasing alcohol for
minors are punishable pursuant to criminal procedure.
An adult person who
induces a person of less than 18 years of age to consume alcohol shall be
punished by a pecuniary punishment
or up to one year of imprisonment
(§ 182 of the Penal Code). An adult person who sells alcohol to or
purchases alcohol for a
person of less than 18 years of age, if a
misdemeanour has been imposed on the offender for the same act, shall be
punished by a
pecuniary punishment or up to one year of imprisonment. Sale of
alcohol to a person of less than 18 years of age, if committed by
a legal
person, is punishable by a pecuniary punishment (§ 1821 of the Penal
Code).
- The
Tobacco Act provides that persons less than 18 years of age (minors) are
prohibited from smoking or consuming smokeless tobacco
products. Minors are
prohibited from acquiring or possessing tobacco products, and it is prohibited
to sell tobacco products to minors.
In order to observe the prohibition, a
seller may demand identification from the buyer and refuse to sell tobacco
products if the
buyer fails to present such identification. Adults are
prohibited from buying tobacco products for, offering tobacco products to
and
handing tobacco products over to minors, and it is also prohibited to offer for
sale or sell to minors products the shape of
which is similar to tobacco
products. It is prohibited to employ minors for work related to the handling of
tobacco products (§§
27 and 28 of the Tobacco Act).
- In
connection with minors the following are punishable pursuant to criminal
procedure: providing narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances
to persons less
than 18 years of age, instigating minors to provide narcotic drugs or
psychotropic substances or aiding it, and inducing
minors to illegally consume
narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances or other narcotic
substances.
3. General
principles
3.1. Non-discrimination
(Article 2)
- Section 9
of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia provides that the rights,
freedoms and duties of all persons and of everyone, as set out in the
Constitution, apply equally to citizens of Estonia and to citizens of foreign
states and persons with undetermined citizenship in Estonia.
- Section 12
of the Constitution provides that everyone is equal before the law, and no one
may be discriminated against on the basis of nationality, race, colour,
sex,
language, origin, religion, political or other views, property or social status,
or on other grounds. Incitement to ethnic,
racial, religious or political
hatred, violence or discrimination is prohibited and punishable by law. Also
incitement to hatred
and violence between social classes or to discrimination
against a social class is prohibited and punishable by
law.
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 24 of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
3.1.1. Gender
equality and equal treatment
- Section 12
of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia provides both for general
fundamental right to equality and prohibition on discrimination: “Everyone
is equal before the law. No one may be discriminated against on the basis of
nationality, race, colour, sex, language, origin, religion,
political or other
views, property or social status, or on other grounds”. In 2004 the Gender
Equality Act entered into force,
the purpose of which is to ensure equal
treatment of men and women and to promote equality of men and women as a
fundamental human
right and for the public good (§ 1). The scope of
application of the Act is extensive and it covers all areas of social life.
Discrimination on the grounds of sex is prohibited in the private and public
sectors. State and local government authorities, educational
and research
institutions and employers are obligated to promote equality between men and
women (clause 1 (2) 1)). The requirements
of the Act do not apply
to professing and practising faith or working as a minister of a religion in a
registered religious association,
or to relations in family or private life
(subsection 2 (2)).
- In
2009 the Equal Treatment Act entered into force. The Act was passed, above all,
to transpose into national law framework directives
of the European Union
concerning equal treatment, and the Act follows the minimum requirements
specified in Directives 2000/43/EC
(the Racial Equality Directive) and
2000/78/EC (the Employment Equality Directive), which have been adopted under
Article 13 of the
Treaty of Amsterdam.
- Section 1
of the Equal Treatment Act provides that discrimination on grounds of
nationality (ethnic origin), race, colour, religion
or other beliefs, age,
disability or sexual orientation is prohibited. The Act does not preclude the
requirements of equal treatment
in labour relations on grounds of any
characteristic not specified above, in particular due to family-related duties,
social status,
representation of the interests of employees or membership in an
organisation of employees, level of language proficiency or duty
to serve in
defence forces.
- Compliance
with the requirements of the Equal Treatment Act and the Gender Equality Act is
monitored by the Gender Equality and Equal
Treatment Commissioner. Due to the
entry into force of the Equal Treatment Act and amendments to the Gender
Equality Act, the institution
of the Gender Equality Commissioner was expanded
to the institution of the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner at
the
beginning of 2009. The Commissioner is an independent and impartial expert
who receives applications from persons and gives opinions
concerning alleged
cases of discrimination. The Commissioner is competent
to:
(a) Monitor compliance with the requirements of the Equal
Treatment Act and the Gender Equality Act;
(b) Advise and assist persons upon filing of complaints regarding
discrimination;
(c) Provide opinions concerning alleged cases of discrimination;
(d) Analyse the effect of laws on the situation of persons classifiable on
grounds of any characteristics specified in subsection
1 (1) of the
Equal Treatment Act and on the situation of men and women in society;
(e) Make proposals to the Government of the Republic, government
authorities, local governments and their authorities for alteration
of and
amendments to legislation;
(f) Advise and inform the Government of the Republic, government authorities
and local government authorities on issues relating
to the implementation of the
Acts;
(g) Publish reports on implementation of the principle of gender equality
and equal treatment;
(h) Take measures to promote equal treatment and gender equality.
- The
Commissioner does not provide legally binding opinions. Discrimination
disputes shall be resolved by a court or a labour dispute committee.
Discrimination disputes shall be resolved by the
Chancellor of Justice by way of
conciliation procedure.
- Section 24
of the Gender Equality Act also prescribes the establishment of the Gender
Equality Council. The Council is an advisory
body within the Ministry of Social
Affairs which:
(a) Approves the general objectives of gender
equality policy and performs the duties prescribed in the Gender Equality Act
and in
the statutes of the Gender Equality Council;
(b) Advises the Government of the Republic in matters relating to strategies
for the promotion of gender equality;
(c) Presents its opinion to the Government of the Republic concerning the
compliance of national programmes presented by the ministries
with § 9
of the Gender Equality Act, which provides for the role of state and local
government authorities as promoters of gender
equality.
- According
to subsection 67 (1) of the Government of the Republic Act, the area
of government of the Ministry of Social Affairs includes,
inter alia, “the
promotion of equal treatment and the equality of men and women and co-ordination
of activities in this field,
and the preparation of respective draft
legislation”.
- In
2004 the Gender Equality Department of the Ministry of Social Affairs was
established, the main duties of which are to plan gender
equality policy and
measures for decreasing inequality and to ensure equal treatment. The department
also analyses the effect of
laws and other legislation on the situation of men
and women in society, coordinates the wide spread of gender equality and the
development
of measures for combating violence against women. The area of equal
treatment was added to the functions of the department in connection
with the
entry into force of the Equal Treatment Act at the beginning of 2009. Gender
equality plays an important role in shaping
the equal treatment policy since in
the case of multiple discrimination, or in other words discrimination on two or
more grounds,
sex is often one of them.
- Within
the framework of the European Social Fund and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism,
the Gender Equality Department of the Ministry
of Social Affairs has engaged in
activities which also affect the welfare of children and families. The ESF
programme “Promotion
of gender equality in 2008–2010” included
an action “Balancing work, and family and private life better”,
one
of the goals of which was to improve the awareness of and to value the role of
the father in society and to strengthen family
ties. A desk calendar which
introduces and popularises the active role of the father was prepared and also
translated into Russian
and disseminated in women’s clinics and maternity
hospitals, local governments and also at the conference “Caring
Fatherhood”,
see www.hooliv-isadus.ee. The
conference was held in February 2009.
- From
2011 to 2013 the Gender Equality Department carried out the ESF programme
“Promotion of gender equality in 2011–2013”.
At the beginning
of the programme period a procurement was announced, the purpose of which was to
determine the possibilities for
making the leave for parents, benefits, rights
and support services for Estonian parents more flexible to enable better
possibilities
for women and men to balance their work and family life. The
winner of the procurement prepared a draft analysis by autumn 2013.
One of the
outputs of the analysis is stating and introducing policy recommendations.
- The
programme “Promotion of gender equality in 2011–2013” also
includes a campaign on introducing so-called gender
stereotypes, aimed at young
people aged 15–24 years and addressing the negative effect of gender
stereotypes on work and career
choices as well as introducing solutions by way
of positive examples. Some of the campaign materials are also available in
Russian
and English (campaign website http://www.stereotyyp.ee/).
- The
purpose of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009–2014 programme
“Mainstreaming Gender Equality and Promoting Work-Life
Balance” is
to develop and carry out, by way of projects selected from open application
rounds, knowledge-based actions favouring
the balance between work, and family
and private life and aimed both at employees and employers to promote a
family-friendly and
employee-friendly
environment.
3.1.2. Penal
Code
- On
01.09.2002 a new Penal Code entered into force in Estonia, which celebrated the
end of an important stage of the thorough penal
law reform started in 1995. The
first Division of Chapter 10 of the Penal Code deals with offences against
equality.
- Section 151
of the Penal Code prohibits incitement of hatred. According to the amended
wording of the said section, which entered
into force on 16.07.2006, activities
which publicly incite to hatred, violence or discrimination on the basis of
nationality, race,
colour, sex, language, origin, religion, sexual orientation,
political opinion, or financial or social status if this results in
danger to
the life, health or property of a person are prohibited. Such an act is
punishable by a fine of up to 300 fine units or
by detention. The same act, if
it causes the death of a person or results in damage to health or other serious
consequences, or it
was committed by a person who has previously been punished
for such act, or the act is committed by a criminal organisation, is punishable
by a pecuniary punishment or up to 3 years’ imprisonment. Until
1 July 2004 the preliminary investigation of crimes indicating
incitement
of social hatred belonged exclusively to the jurisdiction of the Estonian
Internal Security Service, but from that date
forward the Estonian Internal
Security Service investigates such crimes only if there are aggravating
circumstances. One of the functions
of the Estonian Internal Security Service is
to protect the constitutional order. The said function gives rise to the
obligation
of the Internal Security Service to discover and combat the illegal
activity of extremist movements, groupings or persons (including
those who
incite hatred on grounds of nationality or race). Only a few incitement of
hatred proceedings have been commenced because
pursuant to law, a threat to the
life or health of persons caused by a threat must be proven when imposing a
punishment.
- Section 153
of the Penal Code provides that unlawful restriction of the rights of a person
or granting of unlawful preferences to
a person on the basis of his or her
genetic risks is punishable by a fine of up to 300 fine units or by detention.
The same act,
if committed at least twice, or if significant damage is thereby
caused to the rights or interests of another person that are protected
by law or
to public interests, is punishable by a pecuniary punishment or up to one year
of imprisonment. The benefit protected is
the genetic equality of persons, and
the purpose of the provision is to guarantee equal opportunities for every
person irrespective
of their genotype. Collection of data concerning heredity
has been specified in the Human Genes Research Act.
- Section 152
of the Penal Code concerns violation of equality. According to that provision,
unlawful restriction of the rights of a
person or granting of unlawful
preferences to a person on the basis of his or her nationality, race, colour,
sex, language, origin,
religion, sexual orientation, political opinion,
financial or social status is punishable by a fine of up to 300 fine units or by
detention. The same act, if committed at least twice, or if significant damage
is thereby caused to the rights or interests of another
person that are
protected by law or to public interests, is punishable by a pecuniary punishment
or up to one year of
imprisonment.
3.1.3. The
Chancellor of Justice
- In
issues concerning equality and equal treatment, the Chancellor of Justice is
competent to verify compliance of legislation with
the Constitution and laws and
to verify discrimination caused by the activity of a representative of a public
authority (also local government authority
or body and legal person in public
law), in other words the function of ombudsman, and to carry out conciliation
proceedings between
persons in private law. Arising from amendments to the
Chancellor of Justice Act, the Chancellor of Justice is competent, as of
1
January 2004, to resolve discrimination disputes between persons in
private law under the Constitution and other laws. Based on the amended
Chancellor of Justice Act, everyone has the right of recourse to the Chancellor
of Justice for
the conduct of a conciliation procedure if he or she finds that a
natural person or a legal person in private law has discriminated
against him or
her on the basis of sex, race, nationality (ethnic origin), colour, language,
origin, religion or religious beliefs,
political or other opinion, property or
social status, age, disability, sexual orientation, or other discrimination
attributes specified
by law. Performance of an agreement approved by the
Chancellor of Justice is mandatory to the parties to conciliation proceedings.
On of the reasons to the low number of applications for conciliation proceedings
might be low public awareness of such an opportunity.
- Pursuant
to the Chancellor of Justice Act, the Chancellor of Justice is also required to
apply the principles of equality and equal
treatment. The annual overview
prepared by the Chancellor of Justice includes a chapter on introducing
proceedings conducted by the
Chancellor of Justice concerning equal
treatment.
3.2. Right
to life, survival and development (Article 6)
- This
subsection reflects the right of children to life and survival. The right of
children to development has been reflected throughout
this report in other
parts, above all in Chapter 7 and clause 5.2.
- Section 16
of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia provides that everyone has the
right to life. The death rate among children and young people aged
0–19
years is a falling trend; 234 deaths were registered in
2003 and 135 deaths in 2010. The main causes of death are accidents,
poisonings
and traumas. The main causes of death among small children are
perinatal period pathologies and congenital anomalies (cause of death
of 70% of
children less than 1 year of age in 2010). See the Annex, table 5
(deaths among children and young people aged 0–19
years by age
groups, 2003–2010), table 6 (most frequent deaths of children and
young people aged 0–19 years, 2003–2010),
and table 7
(percentage of most frequent causes of death by age groups (2003–2010
combined)).
3.2.1. Suicides
- Accidents,
poisonings and traumas also include suicides committed by minors. From 1995 to
2010, a total of 257 cases were registered
in age groups 10–14 and
15–19 years; 1998 and 2002 were exceptions where one suicide was
registered in the age group
59 years. The number of suicides among young
people has decreased. See the Annex, table 8 (suicide as cause of death
among people
aged 0–19 years, 1996–2010).
- Prevention
of suicides is the area of activity of the Estonian-Swedish Mental Health and
Suicidology Institute, whose most important
objective has been to raise the
suicide awareness of Estonian society. The Institute has informed the general
public of the spread
of suicidal behaviour, and drawn attention to significant
problems in people’s health. The Ministry of Social Affairs ordered
the
preparation of a suicide prevention programme and several actions have been
carried out among risk groups. The suicide coefficient
has been constantly
decreasing in Estonia as of 1995.
- In
2010 a SEYLE project was carried out — a programme promoting the health of
teen-aged school children in Europe, the general
purpose of which is to improve
the health of teenagers by decreasing risk and suicidal behaviour, to assess the
efficiency of various
prevention programmes, and to develop culture-wise adapted
recommendations for applying programmes promoting the health of teenagers
in
European countries.
- Rescue
service agencies follow in their activity the Estonian safety policy guidelines
up to 2015, the development plan for the area
of government of the Ministry of
the Interior, and the strategy for prevention work in the rescue field up to
2013. Examples of prevention
work in the rescue field are preparation of
teaching materials intended for preventing fires and aimed at children,
organisation
of children’s hobby groups related to the rescue field,
organisation of a summer camp in the rescue field, carrying out children’s
annual creativity competitions in the rescue field, giving families with
children starting 1st grade a smoke detector and relevant
teaching materials.
Activities related to children have been separately specified in the strategy
for prevention work in the rescue
field.
- The
body responsible for developing children’s traffic education and road
safety is the Road Administration. The traffic education
specialists of the Road
Administration and other road administrations organise both in-service training
of active teachers and provision
of guidance to students studying to become a
teacher. Also an Estonian national road safety programme for 2003–2015 has
been
developed.
3.2.2. Abortion
- Termination
of pregnancy is allowed in Estonia at the woman’s own request and on her
own responsibility until the 11th week
of pregnancy, and with medical reasons
until the 21st week of pregnancy. Abortions are regulated in Estonia by the
Termination of
Pregnancy and Sterilisation Act, pursuant to which a
woman’s pregnancy may only be terminated at her own request. Nobody is
allowed to force or influence a woman to terminate her pregnancy. A request for
termination of pregnancy shall be in written form.
Pregnancy of a woman with
restricted active legal capacity may be terminated at her own request and with
the consent of her guardian.
If a woman does not consent with the termination of
pregnancy or cannot express her will or if the guardian does not consent with
the termination of pregnancy, pregnancy may only be terminated with a
court’s permission. If due to delay of receipt of the
court’s
permission there is a serious risk to the woman’s health, pregnancy may
also be terminated without a court’s
permission but in such case a
permission must be immediately obtained ex post facto (see also the first report
of Estonia).
- The
number of abortions has been consistently decreasing in Estonia and the number
of births has been increasing. Also the following
has decreased: abortion rate
(38.0 in 2003 and 27.8 in 2010 per 1000 women in fertile age) and abortion rate
in relation to live
births (abortion rate per 100 live births was 100 in 2003
and 57.2 in 2010). See the Annex, table 9: Birth and abortion statistics,
2003–2010.
3.3 Right
to express one’s views (Article 12) and best interests of the child
(Article 3)
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 27 of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- See
clauses 1.8.2, 1.10.1 and 5.10.3 for training of specialists. See
clause 7.3.1 for establishment of youth centres.
- One
of the recurring principles in Estonian legislation is the obligation to
consider the opinion of children in issues pertaining
to them. There are several
decisions that may not be made without considering the wishes of the child. The
fourth sentence of §
27 of the Constitution states that the protection
of parents and children is provided by law. This serves as a basis for requiring
the state to take positive
actions in ensuring child protection. The principle
of the best interests of the child has been provided by § 3 of the
Child
Protection Act of the Republic of Estonia, pursuant to which child
protection is based on the principle that the best interests of
the child shall
be a primary consideration at all times and in all cases. Although the
definition of the best interests of the child
rarely occurs in legislation, it
is followed throughout the Estonian legislation.
- In
civil court procedure in matters pertaining to determining the rights of a
parent in respect of his or her child and organising
access to the child, to
adoption, and to appointing a guardian for a minor, the court hears a child of
at least 10 years of age,
with sufficient capacity to exercise discretion
and will, in person. If necessary, a child is heard in the presence of an
expert.
Upon hearing a child, he or she shall be informed of the object and
potential outcome of the proceeding unless this can be presumed
to result in
harmful consequences to the development or upbringing of the child. A child
shall be given an opportunity to present
his or her position. Hearing of a child
shall be denied only with good reason. If a child is not heard due to the reason
that the
delay would damage the child’s interests, the child shall be
heard afterwards at the earliest opportunity.
- Section 123
of the Family Law Act provides that upon hearing any matter pertaining to
Chapter 10 of the Act, that means to the rights
and obligations of parents
as well as to the exercise of a parent’s right of custody, a court shall
make a decision primarily
in the interests of the child, taking into account all
the circumstances and the legitimate interest of the relevant persons. Under
subsection (2) of the same section, a court shall amend a decision made
earlier if this is required due to significant circumstances
which affect
permanently the well-being of a child.
- A
petition to terminate the parents’ joint right of custody shall be
dismissed if a child who has attained at least 14 years
of age objects to
the transfer of the right of custody, or if there is reason to believe that
termination of the joint right of custody
and granting sole right of custody to
the petitioner does not correspond to the interests of the child. In the case of
termination
of the joint right of custody, a court shall decide on the grant of
the right of custody to one parent on the basis of the interests
of the child
and shall take into account, inter alia, the mental and financial readiness of
each parent to raise the child, emotional
relationship with the child and
current commitment to caring for the child and the future living conditions of
the child.
- A
child who is at least 10 years of age may be adopted only with his or her
consent. A child shall grant his or her consent in person.
The wishes of a child
younger than 10 years of age shall also be considered if the development
level of the child so permits. A child
shall grant his or her consent to an
adoptive parent whose person is known to the child (§ 151 of the
Family Law Act.)
- In
hearing a dispute pertaining to a child, the court shall, to ensure the best
interests of the child, involve the local government
of the residence of the
child, who shall provide the court with its opinion from the aspect of
protecting the interests of the child.
If necessary, the court shall appoint a
representative (professional advocate) for a child. In hearing a claim for
restriction, suspension
or deprivation of a parent’s right of custody, the
court shall always involve the local government for provision of an opinion.
If
due to restricting a parent’s right of custody over person or depriving a
parent thereof a child is deprived of parental
care and legal representative,
the life of the child shall be arranged by a guardianship authority and the
court shall appoint a
guardian (Chapter 10 of the Family Law Act).
- According
to subsection 32 (2) of the Social Welfare Act, in the resolution of
issues pertaining to a child, the will of the parent
or, if there is no parent,
the foster parent or guardian and the will of a child who is at least
10 years of age shall be considered.
Upon separation of a child from his or
her home and family, the will of a child who is less than 10 years of age
shall also be considered
if the development level of the child so permits.
- At
the hearing of a juvenile offence matter in a juvenile committee, a minor has
the right to apply for appointment of a new representative
if the interests of
his or her legal representative are in conflict with the interests of the minor
(subsection 21 (3) of the Juvenile
Sanctions Act).
- See
clause 4.2.1 for considering the opinion of a child in connection with
personal name. The principle of the best interests of the
child has also been
provided in the Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens, the Aliens
Act, and the Obligation to Leave
and Prohibition on Entry Act. See
clause 1.2 for application of the principle of the best interests of the
child in the
case-law.
3.3.1. Participation
of children in decision making processes
- Children
participate in decision making processes, above all, through youth organisations
and youth associations. The Ministry of
Education and Research supports youth
work associations and youth associations on an annual basis to ensure the
participation and
involvement of young people, and thereby creating
possibilities for young people to participate in developing activities and for
improving young people’s social competence.
- Student
councils have been established in schools. The nation-wide representative
organisation of student councils is the Estonian
School Student Councils’
Union. State level participation bodies operating within the Ministry of
Education and Research are
the Student Advisory Chamber and the Youth Policy
Council. In spring 2002 the Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) was
established,
and at the beginning of 2011 it had a total of 53 member
organisations and about 38,000 members. The possibility to participate in
decision making processes is also offered by youth participation councils
— youth councils operating within every county government
and youth
councils operating within local governments. In 2012 there were 15 county
participation councils and 70 local level participation
councils. The
Estonian School Student Councils’ Union and the ENL as youth
representative organisations have been involved
in the consultation process of
preparing and approving the “Youth work strategy for
2006–2013” and its annual implementation
plans, and also in the
process of preparing a new long-term strategic document “Development plan
for youth-related field for
2014–2020” initiated in 2013. The
Estonian School Student Councils’ Union and the ENL are also consulted in
preparing
legislation concerning youth work and in determining the need for new
regulatory frameworks. The Estonian School Student Councils’
Union and the
ENL are involved in the Ministry of Education and Research working groups which
pertain to career services, development
plan for vocational education and study
allowances, renewal of the system of treatment of juvenile offenders and
preparation of a
new Act governing the said field.
- As
of 2004, there is a youth council operating within the Union for Child Welfare,
whose activity is aimed at supporting the participation
of children in dealing
with issues concerning their lives. In 2012 the youth council included
35 children and young people from different
regions of Estonia. Members of
youth councils are engaged in notifying people of the same age of the rights of
children, applying
methods which require active involvement, for example, social
theatres, workshops, role playing, etc. Members of youth councils attend
seminars and conferences of the Union for Child Welfare to relay opinions of
children and young people, collected by way of previously
conducted
surveys.
- Active
Estonian Youth (www.ten.ee) is a nation-wide
Estonian organisation established and headed by young people, the mission of
which is to improve the social awareness
of Estonian young people as well as
their self-initiative both at national and European level. This mission is
carried out through
three courses of action: young people’s
self-initiatives, democracy school, and the European Youth Parliament
Estonia.
- Once
a year, the Union for Child Welfare and the Estonian School Student
Councils’ Union organise in the parliament a youth
forum
“101 Children to Toompea”, where serious discussions and
exchange of thoughts take place between students in the
final grade and upper
secondary school on issues selected by the young people themselves. As a summary
of preliminary forums and
the discussions of the final forum in the
parliamentary chamber of the Riigikogu a final document stating the opinions and
proposals
of young people is prepared, which is submitted to the representatives
of the legislative and/or executive power. A few examples
of subjects of the
youth forum over recent years: student’s problems at school,
student’s opportunities to participate
in social life and in organisation
thereof, integration processes in the educational system, young people on the
Estonian labour
market, Estonian youth and the European Union, freedom of speech
and young people, inappropriate
upbringing.
4. Civil
rights and freedoms
4.1. Registration
of birth, name and nationality (Article 7)
4.1.1. Registration
of birth of child
- According
to § 9 of the Child Protection Act of the Republic of Estonia,
every child shall be registered immediately after birth in a medical care
institution. Every child has the right from birth to a name,
nationality,
general education in his or her national culture, and to know and be cared for
by his or her parents. The child shall
be registered in a vital statistics
office during the first month of life.
- The
birth of all children born in Estonia is registered irrespective of the place of
residence or citizenship of their parents. To
this end, a medical birth chart is
filled in at the maternity hospital both for stillborns and children born alive.
The chart is
then sent to the National Institute for Health Development where
information on birth charts is gathered and processed in a medical
birth
register as of 1992. From there statistically processed data is sent to
hospitals, and information on birth charts is compared
with information on birth
sheets arriving at Statistics Estonia from the vital statistics departments.
Statistical data is forwarded
to Statistics Estonia electronically.
- A
birth registration is prepared in a vital statistics office to whom an
appropriate application is submitted. A birth registration
is prepared on the
basis of an application by a parent. If a parent is deceased or unable to file
an application, an application
is filed by a relative of the parent, the head of
the medical institution where the child was born, or by another person. A birth
registration is prepared within one month as of the date the child was born, or
in the case of a foundling as of the date the child
was found, or in the case of
a stillborn as of the date the child was stillborn. No parents are entered in
the registration of birth
of a foundling. Allowing the period for registration
to lapse is not grounds for refusing to register the birth, but it may result
in
liability. Under § 282 of the Penal Code, failure by a person who is
required to give notice of a birth or death to notify
the official registering
births and deaths within the term prescribed by law is punishable by a fine of
up to 100 fine units or by
detention.
- A
birth registration is prepared on the basis of the parents’ application,
the birth certificate issued by the maternity hospital,
and a document which
serves as the basis for entering information on the father in the child’s
birth registration. The following
is entered in the birth registration: the
child’s date and time of birth, sex, given name and surname, place of
birth; the
parents’ given name and surname, personal identification code,
date of birth, place of birth, place of residence; the basis
for filiation from
the father. No state fee is charged for the preparation of a birth registration
(§§ 46 and 47 of the
State Fees
Act).
4.1.2. Name
of child
- A
vital statistics office issues a birth certificate concerning the birth of a
child. The child’s given name and surname, personal
identification code,
date and place of birth and information on the mother and father (given name and
surname, personal identification
code, citizenship) are entered on the birth
certificate. The law does not discriminate between citizens and non-citizens in
the registration
of children and giving them a name.
- The
Names Act provides for a few restrictions on the name. The spelling of an
Estonian personal name shall be in accordance with the
rules of orthography of
the Estonian language. The spelling of a non-Estonian personal name shall be in
accordance with the rules
of orthography of the relevant language. According to
the Names Act, a surname may consist, upon assigning, of one name or two names
linked by a hyphen, and upon application (to an alien on the basis of the name
that already exists), of one or several names. A given
name may consist, upon
assigning, of no more than three names written as several words or two names
linked by a hyphen, and upon
application, of one or several names. A name which
contains numbers or non-alphabetical signs or which separately or together with
the surname is contrary to good morals shall not be assigned as a given name.
The following shall not be assigned as a given name
without good reason:
1) an unconventional given name which is not suitable to be used as a given
name due to its complex spelling
or pronunciation, or spelling or pronunciation
which does not comply with the general language use, or due to its general
linguistic
meaning; 2) a name which does not correspond to the gender of
the person; 3) a well-known name used as a personal name or a shortened
version of the name, a name of a well-known author or a service name. A service
name is a name which is used upon performance of
official duties, but which is
not the official name of the person. Exceptions to the last two requirements may
be made if, due to
their citizenship, family relations, national identity or
other circumstances, a child or the parents of a child have personal connection
to the foreign-language name tradition and the name applied for complies
therewith.
4.1.3. Acquisition
of citizenship
- Estonian
citizenship is acquired by birth or by naturalisation. Pursuant to the
Citizenship Act, Estonian citizenship is acquired
by birth by any child at least
one of whose parents holds Estonian citizenship at the time of the birth of the
child, and any child
who is born after the death of his or her father who, at
the time of his death, held Estonian citizenship. Any child who is found
in
Estonia and whose parents are unknown is declared, in a court proceeding, at the
application of the guardian of the child or the
guardianship authority, to have
acquired Estonian citizenship by birth unless the child is shown to hold the
citizenship of another
state.
Information on the issues raised
in paragraph 29 (a) of the Committee’s previous concluding
observations
- The
main principles of Estonian citizenship policy since Estonia regained its
independence have remained unchanged, supporting the
protection of Estonian
statehood and constitutional order. Supporting the naturalisation of persons
with undetermined citizenship
continues to be one of the priorities of the
Government of the Republic. The main target group consists of minors less than
15 years
of age. It is easy for children less than 15 years of age to
acquire Estonian citizenship because the legislation does not provide
for
complicated application procedures. The parents are only required to express a
wish for their child to acquire Estonian citizenship.
When determining the
citizenship of a child it is important that the initial expression of will for a
child to acquire citizenship
is made by the child’s parents. Estonia does
not grant Estonian citizenship automatically to children who have not acquired
citizenship by birth because that would create a situation where in many cases
the actual will of parents would be left undetermined
upon deciding on a
child’s citizenship. The applicable Citizenship Act has established all
necessary prerequisites for avoiding
statelessness of children.
- Estonia
is carrying out its citizenship and migration policy based on the
Government’s coalition agreement. At the beginning
of 2008 a new
integration plan for 2008–2013 was adopted, greatly focusing on persons
with undetermined citizenship. The state
finds that currently the Estonian
legislation is, in general, in compliance with requirements provided by
international conventions
since all persons (irrespective of their citizenship
or lack thereof) are guaranteed social and economic rights equal to those of
Estonian citizens.
- In
order to decrease the number of children with undetermined citizenship, Estonia
has simplified and improved naturalisation proceedings.
In 2000 the Citizenship
Act was amended by a provision pursuant to which a minor under 15 years of
age who was born in Estonia after
26 February 1992 is granted Estonian
citizenship by naturalisation if: 1) his or her parents apply for Estonian
citizenship on his
or her behalf, provided the parents have lawfully resided in
Estonia for at least five years at the time of submission of the application
and
are not recognised by any other state to be citizens of that state in accordance
with the legislation in force; 2) the single
or adoptive parent applies for
Estonian citizenship on behalf of the minor, provided the single or adoptive
parent has lawfully resided
in Estonia for at least five years at the time of
submission of the application and is not recognised by any other state to be a
citizen of that state in accordance with the legislation in force. A minor under
15 years of age on whose behalf Estonian citizenship
is applied for in
accordance with the above requirements must be staying in Estonia on a permanent
basis and must not have been recognised
by any other state to be a citizen of
that state in accordance with the legislation in force. The definition of
persons who are not
deemed by any other state to be citizens of that state in
accordance with the legislation in force extends to persons who, before
20 August 1991, were citizens of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
and who have not been recognised by any other state to be
citizens of that state
in accordance with the legislation in force.
- On
01.03.2003 an amendment to the Citizenship Act entered into force, significantly
simplifying the procedure for applying for Estonian
citizenship for an adopted
child. According to the previous Act citizenship had to be applied for an
adopted child by way of naturalisation.
The procedure under the applicable Act
is simpler, faster and more convenient. At
the written application of an adoptive parent who is an Estonian citizen, a
minor alien child is deemed to have acquired Estonian
citizenship by birth,
provided the adoptive parent was an Estonian citizen at the time of the birth of
the child and provided that
the child is not a citizen of another state or that
the child will be released from the citizenship of another state as a result
of
him or her acquiring Estonian citizenship. At
the written application of an adoptive parent who was not an Estonian citizen at
the time of the birth of the child, a minor alien
child is deemed to have
acquired Estonian citizenship as of the date on which Estonian citizenship was
granted to the adoptive parent,
provided that the child is not a citizen of
another state or that the child will be released from the citizenship of another
state
as a result of him or her acquiring Estonian
citizenship.
- Citizenship
can be independently applied for by a child at least 15 years of age who:
1) holds a long-term residence permit or the
right of permanent residence;
2) prior to the date on which he or she submits the application for
Estonian citizenship, has lived
in Estonia for at least eight years on the
ground of a residence permit or by right of residence, of which at least the
last five
years on a permanent basis; 3) has lawfully and on a permanent
basis resided in Estonia on the ground of a long-term residence permit
or by
right of permanent residence for six months from the day following the date of
registration of the application for Estonian
citizenship; 4) has a
registered place of residence in Estonia; 5) is proficient in the Estonian
language in accordance with the
requirements provided by law; 6) knows the
Constitution of the Republic of Estonia and the Citizenship Act in accordance
with the requirements provided by law; 7) has a permanent legal
income
which ensures his or her own subsistence and that of his or her dependants;
8) is loyal to the Estonian state; 9) takes an
oath: “In
applying for Estonian citizenship, I swear to be loyal to the constitutional
order of Estonia”.
- A
minor under 15 years of age is granted Estonian citizenship by
naturalisation if this is applied for on behalf of the minor by the
minor’s parents who are Estonian citizens, or by one parent who is an
Estonian citizen following an agreement with the parent
who is not an Estonian
citizen which bears officially certified signatures of the parties, or by the
minor’s single or adoptive
parent who is an Estonian citizen.
- In
2004, the waiting time for being granted citizenship was shortened from one year
to six months, and the period of time for processing
applications for
citizenship was shortened from six months to three months. There are no
particular difficulties for minor children
to acquire citizenship, and the
procedure is simple. All the parents have to do is go to the Citizenship and
Migration Bureau of
the Police and Border Guard Board, where they can fill in an
appropriate application form with the help of an official. The percentage
of
children among those naturalised has increased. As at 01.01.2014, there were
13,246 children less than 15 years of age who had
been with
undetermined citizenship prior to naturalisation.
- A
survey conducted by the Office of the Minister of Population and Ethnic Affairs
in 2008 showed that the reasons why parents did
not apply for citizenship for
persons less than 15 years of age were, above all, of practical nature
(possibility to enrol in school
in Russia, let the child choose his or her own
citizenship), but lack of information was also pointed out. It appeared from a
survey
conducted by the Ministry of the Interior that one of the reasons why
applying for Estonian citizenship has decreased is the decision
of the Russian
Federation to allow stateless persons to travel to Russia without a
visa.
4.1.4. Informing
of options for acquiring citizenship
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 29 (c) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- Providing
parents with information has been made significantly more efficient. As of
February 2008, every parent of a newborn with
undetermined citizenship is
explained the option to apply for Estonian citizenship for their child pursuant
to a simplified procedure.
Whereas, the parents can also express a wish for the
Citizenship and Migration Board (the Police and Border Guard Board as of
01.01.2010)
to contact them for individual counselling in issues related to
applying for citizenship for their child. The current experience
shows that such
personal approach has resulted in positive feedback and good outcome.
- Several
important information and counselling activities were carried out in 2005 within
the framework of a project “Supporting
the integration of persons with
undetermined citizenship in Estonia”, which was part of the programme
“Transition Facility”
initiated with the financial support of the
European Union.
- In
spring 2008 a campaign for informing students was carried out in schools where
also children with undetermined citizenship are
enrolled. For improving the
process of providing information new booklets were prepared, which are aimed at
smaller target groups
to make it easier for people to find information
applicable to them. From 2009 to 2010 every parent who had a child with
undetermined
citizenship meeting the requirements for applying for Estonian
citizenship was sent an information letter to that effect. As of November
2011,
on every working day the Police and Border Guard Board receives directly from
the population register information concerning
newborns and their parents. On
the basis of the said information a procedure for determining whether the
persons hold Estonian citizenship
is carried out in the information system of
the Police and Border Guard Board. If a newborn has not acquired Estonian
citizenship
by birth, his or her parents are sent a letter informing of the need
to obtain a legal basis for their child to reside in Estonia
and explaining the
options for applying for Estonian citizenship for the child. An information
letter is also sent to a parent of
a child of 14 years of age who is person
with undetermined citizenship meeting the requirements for applying for Estonian
citizenship.
- At
the initiative of the National Examination and Qualification Centre (currently
SA Innove), examinations on the knowledge of the
Constitution of the Republic of
Estonia and the Citizenship Act, which are necessary for acquiring citizenship,
and consultations before the examinations
have been organised in
schools.
4.1.5.
Alien child
- A
new Aliens Act was passed in 2009. According to the Aliens Act, a minor child
has the right to a visa under the same conditions
that were applied to the issue
of a short-term visa for his or her parents. If an alien is issued a temporary
residence permit as
an exception, his or her spouse and minor child may also be
issued a temporary residence permit as an exception. A temporary residence
permit may be issued to an alien to settle with a close relative who is an
Estonian citizen or who is an alien who permanently resides
in Estonia and holds
a residence permit if the alien is a minor child settling with a parent who
permanently resides in Estonia.
Upon the issue of a temporary residence permit
to a minor child in order for him or her to settle with a parent, the rights and
interests
of the child shall be considered above all. A residence permit shall
not be issued if the settling of the child in Estonia damages
his or her rights
and interests and if the legal, financial or social status of him or her may
deteriorate as a result of settling
in Estonia. In case of shared custody the
consent of the party sharing custody is necessary before issue of a residence
permit. The
residence permit of a minor child shall not be cancelled and
extension thereof shall not be refused if this does not correspond to
the rights
and interests of the child. If an alien was issued a temporary residence permit
as a minor child to settle with a parent,
the extension of his or her residence
permit shall not be refused due to his or her reaching the age of majority if he
or she is
a dependant of his or her parent. A minor child who resides
permanently in a foreign state and who is at least 15 years of age may
lodge an application for a temporary residence permit independently only with
the notarised consent of a legal representative.
- By
transposing into national law Council of the European Union Directive
2003/109/EU concerning the status of third-country nationals
who are long-term
residents it was provided, inter alia, that certain requirements for acquiring a
long-term residence permit (for
example, valid temporary residence permit,
requirement of previous stay) are not applied to a child under one year of age
who is
a child of a citizen of Estonia permanently residing in Estonia or an
alien permanently residing in Estonia who has a residence permit
for a long-term
resident of Estonia.
- In
connection with transposing Council Directive 2004/81/EU (on the residence
permit issued to third-country nationals who are victims
of trafficking in human
beings or who have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal
immigration, who cooperate with the
competent authorities) into national law,
amending the Aliens Act with the regulatory framework of issue of a residence
permit in
case of a substantial public interest, it was provided by the Aliens
Act that a minor or a person with restricted active legal capacity
may be issued
a temporary residence permit if the issue of the residence permit is in
compliance with her or his rights and interests.
According to the currently
applicable Aliens Act, an unaccompanied alien, who has arrived in Estonia
without a legal representative
or who loses a parent or guardian while staying
in Estonia (also if there is no other person responsible for the minor in
Estonia),
shall be placed for the period of the review of the application for a
temporary residence permit in case of a substantial public
interest and, upon
the issue of the specified residence permit, for the period of validity of the
residence permit to a place designated
by the Social Insurance Board. A human
trafficking victim, including a child victim, is provided with victim support
services prescribed
by the Victim Support Act. Upon determining the place of
stay of an unaccompanied minor alien and upon providing services for him
or her,
the rights and interests of the minor shall be considered above all. If
possible, unaccompanied minor siblings shall not
be separated from one
another.
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 28 and
29 (d) of the Committee’s previous concluding observations
- The
prohibition on the grant or restoration of citizenship provided by
clauses 21 (1) 5) and 6) of the Citizenship Act does not include
children. Clause 21 (1) 5) prohibits the grant or restoration of
citizenship only to a person who has been employed or is currently
employed by
foreign intelligence or security services, and clause 21 (1) 6)
prohibits the same to a person who has served as a commissioned
member of the
armed forces of a foreign state or who has been assigned to the reserve forces
of such state or has retired from such
forces, as well as to his or her spouse
who entered Estonia due to the member of the armed forces being seconded in
relation to service,
assignment to the reserve or retirement.
- Within
the meaning of the Citizenship Act, a child is an independent subject of law.
Estonian citizenship may be applied for a child
less than 15 years of age
by his or her parents who are Estonian citizens, or by one parent who is an
Estonian citizen following
an agreement with the parent who is not an Estonian
citizen which bears officially certified signatures of the parties, or by the
minor’s single or adoptive parent who is an Estonian citizen, or in the
case of children less than 15 years of age who were
born in Estonia after
1992, by his or her parents who have lawfully resided in Estonia for at least
five years at the time of submission
of the application and are not recognised
by any other state to be citizens of that state in accordance with the
legislation in force,
or by his or her single or adoptive parent who has
lawfully resided in Estonia for at least five years at the time of submission
of
the application and is not recognised by any other state to be a citizen of that
state in accordance with the legislation in force.
When a child attains
15 years of age, he or she may apply for Estonian citizenship
independently.
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 29
(e) of the Committee’s previous concluding observations
- Irrespective
of their citizenship or lack of it, all children in Estonia enjoy all the rights
under the Convention, including the
right to acquire
citizenship.
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 29
(f) of the Committee’s previous concluding observations
- Concerning
the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness of 1961 Estonia is of the
opinion that every person has the right to freely
choose his or her citizenship
and this choice cannot be affected by the state. The Estonian Government has
encouraged persons with
undetermined citizenship to choose between Estonian
citizenship or that of another country, but it is not mandatory to choose. In
2005 the number of persons who had been granted Estonian citizenship by
naturalisation exceeded the number of persons with undetermined
citizenship.
- Estonia
has considered the effects of acceding to the Convention relating to the Status
of Stateless Persons of 1954, and has found
that persons with undetermined
citizenship residing in Estonia are currently enjoying all the rights under the
Convention.
- The
state is of the opinion that acceding to the said Conventions does not provide
any significant extra value to persons with undetermined
citizenship. But it may
happen that from certain aspects the Convention relating to the Status of
Stateless Persons of 1954 even
limits the rights of the persons with
undetermined citizenship residing in Estonia. For example, pursuant to the
Estonian legislation
an alien’s passport is valid for 5 years, but
the Convention of 1954 enables the issue of passports only for 2 years. In
2006
in “Global Refugee Trends” the UNHCR stated about Estonia that
nearly every person with undetermined citizenship has
permanent residence permit
and they are enjoying more rights than provided by the Convention relating to
the Status of Stateless
Persons of 1954.
Information on the
issues raised in paragraph 29 (b) of the Committee’s previous concluding
observations
- On
14.06.2008 an amendment to the Aliens Act entered into force, as a result of
which the Citizenship and Migration Board (the Police
and Border Guard Board as
of 01.01.2010) makes a decision on the grant of or refusal to grant a temporary
residence permit within
two months as of the date of commencement of proceedings
of an application for a residence permit or as of the date of elimination
of
deficiencies. According to the previous wording, the Citizenship and Migration
Board had six months as of the date of commencement
of proceedings of an
application or as of the date of elimination of deficiencies to make a decision
if the applicant is considered
in the fulfilment of the immigration quota, or
three months as of the date of commencement of proceedings of an application or
as
of the date of elimination of deficiencies if the applicant is not considered
in the fulfilment of the immigration quota. The annual
immigration quota is the
quota for aliens immigrating to Estonia, which shall not exceed 0.1 per cent of
the permanent population
of Estonia annually. The immigration quota shall be
established by the Government of the Republic. In 2011 the quota was 1008, in
2010 it was 1009, in 2009 it was 1002, in 2008 it was 1013, in 2007 it was 686,
and in 2006 it was 675
persons.
4.2. Preservation
of identity (Article 8)
- Identity,
including citizenship, name and family relations, and preservation thereof is a
fundamental benefit protected by the state.
Children and adults have similar
rights to identity and name. 26 of the Constitution provides for the right of
every person to inviolability of his or her private and family life, which may
only be restricted in cases
provided by law. Although the Constitution of the
Republic of Estonia does not explicitly refer to the protection of name, name as
part of identity is associated with the protection
of private and family life.
Therefore, it is up to the legislator to decide in which cases the right to
change one’s name is
to be restricted, and establish the procedural rules
for changing one’s
name.
4.2.1. Name
- A
minor cannot independently change his or her personal name. A parent who has the
right of custody is the legal representative of
a child. Parents who have joint
custody have a joint right of representation (subsection 120(1) of the
Family Law Act). Consequently,
the conscent of both parents have to be provided
when changing the child’s first name or surname. If it is not possible to
obtain the conscent of the other parent, the parent can turn to the court for
applying for sole custody or for obtaining powers of
decision to change the name
(section 119 of the Family Law Act). If making a joint declaration of intention
of the parents would
cause a delay in conflict with the interests of the child,
one parent has the right to enter into necessary transactions and perform
necessary acts in the interests of the child also alone. In this case the other
parent shall be immediately informed of the acts
(subsection 120(3) of the
Family Law Act).
- A
child older than 10 years of age shall conscent to a new person name. The wish
of a child younger than 10 years of age shall also
be considered if the
development level of the child so permits (subsection 4 (5) of the
Names Act).
- A
child less than 18 years of age also cannot contest in person an entry of
his or her parent in his or her birth registration (subsection
92 (2)
of the Family Law Act); however, he or she can do so through a legal
representative. A person less than 18 years of age is
also not issued his
or her birth
document.
4.2.2. Citizenship
- A
person ceases to be an Estonian citizen when he or she is released from Estonian
citizenship, when he or she is deprived of Estonian
citizenship, or when he or
she accepts the citizenship of another state. On behalf of a child under
15 years of age, the documents
necessary for being released from
citizenship are submitted by his or her parent, adoptive parent or guardian or
by the guardianship
authority. Release from Estonian citizenship may be refused
if the release will render the applicant stateless, the applicant has
outstanding obligations before the Estonian government, or the person is in
active service in the Estonian Defence Forces. According
to § 8 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Estonia and § 16 of the Citizenship
Act, anyone who has lost his or her Estonian citizenship as a minor is
entitled
to its restoration. The procedure for the restoration of citizenship is
significantly simpler than the procedure for the
acquisition of Estonian
citizenship by naturalisation.
- No
one may be deprived of an Estonian citizenship acquired by birth. A person who
has acquired citizenship on other grounds shall
be deprived of Estonian
citizenship by an order of the Government of the Republic if the person, as an
Estonian citizen, enters the
public service or military service of a foreign
state without the permission of the Government of the Republic; joins the
intelligence
or security service of a foreign state or an armed organisation of
such a state, which is set up in accordance with military principles
or which
engages in military exercises; has attempted to change the constitutional order
of Estonia by force; when acquiring Estonian
citizenship by naturalisation or in
relation to the restoration to him or her of Estonian citizenship, submits false
information
to conceal facts which would have precluded the grant or restoration
of Estonian citizenship to him or her; is a citizen of another
state but has not
been released from Estonian citizenship. No one may be deprived of Estonian
citizenship because of his or her beliefs.
In practice, no one has been deprived
of Estonian citizenship.
- If
a child acquires by birth the citizenship of another state in addition to
Estonian citizenship, he or she must renounce either
his or her Estonian
citizenship or his or her citizenship of the other state within three years
after attaining the age of 18 years
(section 3 of the Citizens
Act).
4.3. Freedom
of expression and access to appropriate information (Articles 13 and
17)
- Pursuant
to § 44 of the Constitution, everyone is entitled to free access to
information disseminated for public use. The same section of the Constitution
provides for restrictions on freedom of information. The right to information
may be circumscribed to protect the rights and freedoms
of others, to protect
the confidentiality of a child’s filiation, and in the interests of
preventing a criminal offence, apprehending
the offender, or of ascertaining the
truth in a criminal case. The confidentiality of a child’s filiation is
maintained in
the case of adoption. Section 45 of the Constitution
guarantees every person’s freedom of speech and only allows restrictions
by law and on grounds not in conflict with the Convention.
According to the
Constitution, everyone has the right to freely disseminate ideas, opinions,
beliefs and other information by word, print, picture or other means.
This right
may be circumscribed by law to protect public order, public morality, and the
rights and freedoms, health, honour and
good name of others.
- According
to subsection 25 (4) of the Social Welfare Act, a child who is
separated from his or her home and family has the right to
receive information
about his or her origin, the reasons for separation, and issues pertaining to
his or her future. Since the Constitution does not provide for a restriction
concerning persons in closed institutions, they are guaranteed access to
information equally to
persons at liberty.
- Children
have the right to information, which they can understand, about what is
happening in society. One of the possibilities to
participate in the social life
and express their opinion is through media channels. The Estonian Public
Broadcasting pays attention
to making the opinions of the children and young
people heard. Radio chanel Vikerraadio has children’s programmes that with
educational content that allow also children to participate. The Development
Plan of the Estonian Public Broadcasting has a goal
to widen the selection of
programmes aimed at children and young people both in the radio and television.
The tradition of school
newspapers and school radio is quite strong in Estonia;
newspapers are issued more or less frequently in nearly every upper secondary
school and in many basic schools. To what extent these publications can be
deemed as a forum for students to express their opinions
must be decided case by
case because the influence of the school management and teachers may vary from
guidance and support to censorship.
A remarkable work is being done by the Youth
Media Club, which organises regular media camps in support of school media.
- A
study conducted in 2010 by a research network EU Kids Online among persons of
9–16 years of age from 25 European
countries[2] showed that Estonian
children are one of the youngest in Europe who start using the Internet, and
they are one of the most skilled
in respect to digital literacy. At the same
time, Estonian children are also the ones who see sexual photographs the most,
and sending
messages with sexual contents is more common than average. Estonian
children also stand out for being the ones who have most frequently
met face to
face with their
Internet-acquaintances.
4.4. Freedom
of thought, conscience and religion (Article 14)
- Section 40
of the Constitution provides that everyone is entitled to freedom of conscience,
freedom of religion and freedom of thought. Everyone is free to belong
to any
church or any religious society. There is no state church. Everyone is free to
practise his or her religion, alone or in community
with others, in public or in
private, unless this is detrimental to public order, public health or public
morality. § 41 of
the Constitution provides that everyone has the
right to abide by his or her opinions and beliefs. No one may be compelled to
change his or her opinions
or beliefs. Beliefs are no defence for violating the
law. No one may be held legally liable for his or her beliefs. Both sections
protect religious and non-religious views as well as individual and collective
freedom of religion and belief. Furthermore, the rights
enshrined in
Article 14 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are protected by
§ 12 of the Constitution of the Republic, the first subsection of
which prohibits discrimination, inter alia, on the basis of religion and views.
Discrimination
on said grounds is also prohibited by the Equal Treatment
Act.
- Religious
education in schools is non-confessional. Schools are required to provide
religious education if at least 15 students in
the corresponding stage of
study so wish. Religious studies are voluntary and it is possible to select it
as an optional subject
(subsection 15 (4) of the Basic Schools and
Upper Secondary Schools Act). Both state and private schools offer comparative
religion
as an elective course. In Estonia there are two private church schools
which offer a religion-oriented study programme. One of the
schools is evangelic
and the other is catholic.
- Performance
of religious rites in medical institutions, educational institutions, social
welfare institutions, custodial institutions
and structural units of the Defence
Forces is governed by the Churches and Congregations Act, according to
§ 9 of which persons
staying in medical institutions, educational
institutions, social welfare institutions and custodial institutions and members
of
the Defence Forces have the right to perform religious rites according to
their religion unless this violates public order, health,
morals, the rules
established in these institutions or the rights of others staying or serving in
these institutions. A religious
association shall conduct religious services and
religious rites in a medical institution, educational institution or social
welfare
institution with the permission of the owner or the head of the
institution, in a custodial institution with the permission of the
director of
the prison, in the Defence Forces with the permission of the commander of the
structural unit and in the National Defence
League with the permission of the
chief of the unit.
- Every
person of at least 15 years of age may independently become a member of a
congregation or leave a congregation pursuant to the
procedure prescribed by the
statutes. A child who is less than 15 years of age may be a member of a
congregation with the permission
of his or her parents or guardian
(§ 10 of the Churches and Congregations
Act).
4.5. Freedom
of association and peaceful assembly (Article 15)
4.5.1. Peaceful
assemblies
- According
to § 47 of the Constitution, everyone has the right to assemble
peacefully and to conduct meetings without prior permission. This right may be
circumscribed
in the cases and pursuant to a procedure provided by law to
safeguard national security, maintain public order, uphold public morality,
ensure the safety of traffic and the safety of participants of the meeting, or
to prevent the spread of an infectious disease. The
right protects activities
oriented at expressing interests of a private nature as well as interests of a
political nature. The protection
covers mass demonstrations and parades as well
as spontaneous meetings which have no specific organiser. The area of protection
does
not cover meetings and assemblies which only have a social purpose (for
example, assembly of a gang in the street), or which are
random and have no
joint purpose (for example, people who have assembled at the scene of an
accident).[3]
- Public
assemblies are governed in more detail by the Public Meeting Act. Freedom to
assemble extends to children equally to adults,
but an organiser of a meeting
may not be a minor. A public meeting may be organised by a natural person, a
legal person, or an association
which is not a legal person. An organiser of a
public meeting and a public meeting steward shall be an adult with active legal
capacity
who is an Estonian citizen, or who holds a long-term resident’s
residence permit, or who is an alien staying in Estonia on
the basis of a
permanent right of residence. Organisation of a public meeting shall be notified
at least four working days in advance
if holding the meeting requires
re-arrangement of traffic, setting up a tent, stage, stand or other large-scale
structure, or use
of sound or lighting devices. In other cases the organiser
shall present an appropriate notice to the police through a means of
communication
or directly at least two hours before the beginning of the
meeting.
4.5.2. Freedom
of association
- Section 48
of the Constitution provides that everyone has the right to form non-profit
associations and federations. Only citizens of Estonia may belong to political
parties.
- According
to subsection 12 (1) of the Non-profit Associations Act, every natural
person or legal person who complies with the requirements of the articles of
association of a non-profit association
may be a member of the non-profit
association. A non-profit association shall comprise at least two members unless
the law or the
articles of association prescribe a greater number of members.
Therefore, also minors may found non-profit associations and be members
of such
associations, but pursuant to § 26 members of the management board
must be natural persons with active legal capacity
(more than 18 years of
age).
- In
2011 the following amendments were made to the Non-profit Associations Act:
§ 12 was amended by subsections (5) and (6) as follows:
(5) If a minor is the founder or becomes a member of a non-profit
association,
clause 188 (1) 5) of the Family Law Act shall not be
applied; (6) If a minor of at least 15 years of age becomes a member
of such
youth association which complies with the provisions of the Youth Work
Act, the consent of the guardian need not be submitted to
the non-profit
association unless otherwise provided by the articles of association. See
clause 3.3.1 and clause 7.3 for youth
associations.
4.6. Protection
of privacy (Article 16)
- According
to § 26 of the Constitution, everyone is entitled to inviolability of
his or her private and family life. This extends to citizens of Estonia as well
as to citizens
of a foreign country and persons with undetermined citizenship
staying in Estonia. § 42 of the Constitution provides that government
agencies, local authorities, and their officials may not gather or store
information about the beliefs of
a citizen of Estonia against the
citizen’s free will. This provision only protects the citizens of Estonia,
but it does not
protect aliens or legal persons.
- Pursuant
to § 43 of the Constitution, everyone has the right to confidentiality
of messages sent or received by him or her by post, telegraph, telephone or
other commonly
used means. Derogations from this right may be made in the cases
and pursuant to a procedure provided by law if they are authorised
by a court
and if they are necessary to prevent a criminal offence, or to ascertain the
truth in a criminal
case.
4.7. Right
not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment (Article 37(a))
- This
subsection gives an overview of the prohibition on the physical punishment of
children, and of the protection of the rights of
a minor victim and witness in
the course of proceedings. See clause 7.2.2 for school bullying,
clause 5.10 for prevention, recognition
and informing of violence, and
clause 8.9 for sexual
abuse.
4.7.1. Prohibition
on physical punishment of children
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 31 (b) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- Section 121
of the Penal Code prohibits causing damage to the health of another person, and
beating, battery or other physical abuse
which causes pain.
- Physical
punishment is going to be explicitly prohibited in the new Child Protection Act
which is being prepared. The Ministry of
Social Affairs, the Ombudsman for
Children and non-governmental organisations continue with their explanatory work
to stress the
upbringing of children with positive and proactive methods without
resorting to violence against children, and to ensure the safety
and development
of children. The subject of physical punishment has been repeatedly addressed in
the media, for example, in spring
2010 discussions on the subject were held in
very different media channels. In 2010 the Union for Child Welfare started its
project
“With or without a rod”, within the framework of which
lectures were held in kindergartens and schools for teachers and
parents.
Hospitals have started to diagnose the shaken baby syndrome, and hold
information seminars on the subject.
- See
clause 5.2
for supporting parenthood.
4.7.2. Protection of rights of minor
victim and witness in the course of proceedings
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 31 (d) and (e) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- The
prefectures of the Police and Border Guard Board employ officials specialised in
minors — juvenile police officers in the
Regional Police Work Service of
the Law Enforcement Office, and bodies conducting proceedings and bodies
conducting proceedings in
crimes committed by minors in the Child Protection
Services of the Criminal Investigation Office.
- According
to § 70 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if a police officer lacks
relevant education and training for conducting
interviews with a child,
involvement of a child protection official, social worker, teacher or
psychologist in the hearing of a minor
is mandatory if one or more of the
following circumstances appear: 1) the witness is up to ten years of age
and repeated hearings
may have a harmful effect on the mind of a minor;
2) the witness is up to fourteen years of age and the hearing is related to
domestic
violence or sexual abuse; 3) the witness has speech impairments,
sensory or learning disabilities or mental disorders. Social workers,
child
protection officials and psychologists are also involved in training police
officers dealing with children for the purpose
of providing them with knowledge
on the special requirements of dealing with abused children.
- Cases
of sexually abused children are dealt with by the officials of the Child
Protection Services of the prefectures. Child Protection
Services were
established in every prefecture in 2010. In general, a minor witness and victim
are questioned in an interrogation
room intended for minors, which is furnished
considering the age of the child and with appropriate recording equipment to
prevent
subsequent questionings, above all, in the case of offences against the
person and sexual offences.
- In
the hearing of a witness under 14 years of age, he or she shall not be
cross-examined in court (subsection 290 (1) of the Code
of Criminal
Procedure), and a child protection official, social worker or psychologist may
question the witness with the permission
of the court
(subsection 290 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure). At the
request of a party or on its own initiative, the court may allow a telehearing
of the victim (subsection 287 (5) of the Code
of Criminal Procedure)
(also to use a partition to hide the witness form the accused).
- Together
with a child protection official, social worker or psychologist, the prosecutor
arranges for the preparation of a minor less
than 14 years of age (if
necessary, an older minor) for trial. It is recommended to involve in the
preparation process a specialist,
who will also participate in the court
proceedings. A minor shall have thoroughly explained to them, in a manner he or
she understands,
all procedures to be conducted, including the rights of a
victim and the right to refuse to give testimony (§ 71 of the Code
of
Criminal Procedure), so that the minor could decide whether to give a testimony
and to avoid later refusal to give testimony.
The police officers usually video
record the explanation of procedures to be conducted to avoid work of poor
quality. The body conducting
proceedings must take into account that procedural
acts must be carried out based on the age and abilities of the child.
- If
possible, a witness less than 10 years of age is not questioned in court
because the environment of a court hearing does not allow
a minor to give an
objective testimony. According to the Court of Justice of the European Union
decision of 16.06.2005 in the case
of Maria Pupino, small children, who are
victims of abuse in cases similar to the main court case, are allowed to give a
statement
outside and before a public hearing in a way which enables the
necessary protection of these children. In the case of small children
it is
possible to apply telehearing or, in certain cases, to disclose their testimony
given in pre-trial proceedings to avoid harmful
consequences for a minor which,
in the opinion of specialists, may arise in connection with questioning in
court.
- The
legal representative of a minor victim in criminal proceedings (§ 41
of the Code of Criminal Procedure) is his or her parent
or guardian, who is
required to protect the rights and interests of the child (§§ 113
and 116 of the Family Law Act). If
by the same crime the parent or guardian has
also been caused damage (including moral damage, which may be presumed, above
all, in
the case of crimes committed against a minor), they are to be involved
in the proceedings as victims (subsection 37 (1) of the Code
of
Criminal Procedure). As an exception, if the suspect or accused is a legal
representative of the minor or other person close to
the minor, and there is a
conflict of interest, another representative of the minor is involved in the
proceedings as a safeguard
for the minor.
- In
disclosing information concerning pre-trial proceedings (§ 214 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure), the body conducting the
proceedings is required to
consider the interests of the minor and, where possible, ensure his or her
anonymity. If necessary, a
journalist’s attention is drawn to the
journalists’ code of ethics, according to which children are to be
interviewed,
in general, with the consent or in the presence of their parent or
an adult responsible for them. It is also pointed out that in
disclosing
materials concerning offences, court cases and accidents, the journalist is
required to consider whether identifying the
parties involved is absolutely
necessary and what kind of suffering this may result in for the parties
involved. As a rule, victims
and minor criminals are not identified for the
public.
- The
purpose of restrictions on public access to court sessions
(clauses 12 (1) 2) and 3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure)
is to
prevent information concerning a minor suspect, accused or victim from
reaching persons who might take advantage of it, and to prevent
public attention
from excessively influencing the minor’s future in a negative way. In
general, it is necessary to apply for
a court session to be held in
camera if the minor is a victim of a crime against sexual self-determination
or against family and minors. In other criminal matters the
need to file an
application for declaring a court session to be held in camera must be
assessed based on the interests of the
minor.
5. Family
environment and alternative care
5.1. Parental
responsibilities (Article 5 and Article 18 (1), (2))
- No
major legislative changes have taken place compared to the previous reporting
period, but the new Family Law Act, which is applicable
as of 1 July 2010,
significantly specifies parental responsibilities.
- § 113
of the Family Law Act provides for the obligation to support and respect each
other: a parent and a child are required
to support and respect each other and
take each other’s interests and rights into account.
- § 116
of the Family Law Act provides for the principles of a parent’s right of
custody. Parents have equal rights and obligations
with respect to their
children. Parents have the obligation and right to care for their minor child
(parent’s right of custody).
The parent’s right of custody includes
the right to care for the person of the child (custody over person) and for the
property
of the child (custody over property) and decide on matters related to
the child.
- § 169
of the Penal Code prescribes a punishment (pecuniary punishment or up to one
year of imprisonment) for a parent who intentionally
evades payment of monthly
support ordered by a court to his or her child of less than 18 years of age
or to his or her child who
has attained the age of majority but is incapacitated
for work and needs assistance.
- § 124
of the Family Law Act provides for the content of the right of custody over
person. Custody over a person is the obligation
and right of a caregiver to
raise a child, exercise supervision over him or her, ascertain the whereabouts
of the child and take
care of the all-round well-being of the child in any other
manner. Physical, mental and emotional abuse and application of other
degrading
educational measures with respect to a child is prohibited.
- § 127
of the Family Law Act provides for the content of the right of custody over
property. Custody over property includes the
right and obligation to administer
the property of the child and, inter alia, represent the child. This does not
preclude the right
of the child to administer his or her property independently
in the cases provided by law.
- § 133
of the Family Law Act provides for the parents’ obligation of care. Upon
exercising the right of custody over property
of a child, parents shall exercise
such care as they would usually exercise in their own affairs. If both parents
cause damage to
a child, they shall be liable as solidary obligors.
- § 143
of the Family Law Act provides for the right of access to a child. A child has
the right to maintain personal contact with
both parents. Both parents have the
obligation and right to maintain personal contact with their child. A parent
shall refrain from
any action which is harmful to the relationship between the
child and the other parent or which hinders raising of the child. The
same
provision applies if a child is cared for and raised by another person.
- § 125
of the Family Law Act provides that in matters concerning the provision of
education, parents shall first take into account
the abilities and leanings of
the child. If necessary, parents shall ask the advice of a teacher or any other
competent person.
- § 55
of the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act provides for the conditions
of notification of students and parents.
Students and their parents have the
right to receive information and explanations from the school regarding the
organisation of studies
and the rights and duties of students. The school is
required to grant the parents of a student studying in the stationary form of
study access to the information that is in the possession of the school
regarding the
student.
5.2 Parental
guidance and support (Article 5)
- According
to subsection 24 (1) of the Social Welfare Act, for the administration
of child welfare and the creation of an environment
favourable for child
development, rural municipality and city governments shall support and advise
children and persons raising children
by co-operating with family members, other
persons and authorities concerned; develop and implement specific programmes and
projects
for the development and protection of children; if necessary, appoint
support persons or support families for children or persons
raising children;
arrange for guardianship; assist in organisation of adoptions; and organise
foster care of a child in a family
of which he or she is not a
member.
5.2.1. Family
policy
- In
2002 a new State Family Benefits Act entered into force, providing for a uniform
framework for the system of state family benefits.
In 2003 the Government of the
Republic approved the state concept of children’s and family policy. In
2004 the Parental Benefits
Act entered into force, according to which a parent
taking parental leave is paid a benefit (100% of his or her wages, for a total
of 575 days), which helps him or her to maintain an income while absent
from work. In 2009 the Government of the Republic approved
the bases for
population policy by which it was established that the state’s
responsibility is to decrease social and economic
hindrances which force people
not to have children or to postpone having children, and to support family
policy decisions favourable
for society. From 2003 to 2007 the shaping of the
family policy in Estonia was coordinated by the Office of the Minister of
Population
and Ethnic Affairs. The main courses of action and projects were
aimed at developing the children’s daycare system (project
“Children
taken care of, mothers at work” in cooperation with the European Social
Fund, 2005–2007) and balancing
work and family life (project
“Choices and Balance” in cooperation with the European Social Fund
and the Estonian Employers’
Confederation, 2005–2007).
- As
of June 2007 the state family policy is coordinated by the Ministry of Social
Affairs. In establishing family policy, priority
is given to balancing work and
private life, promoting parental education, and supporting the subsistence of
families. An analysis
“The effect of steps of state family policy on
birthrate and upbringing of children” was completed in 2008. The analysis
deals with state measures, including the rights of families and provision of
services and benefits for families and the effect of
current measures,
considering a person’s entire course of life. The conclusion of the
analysis states that the following characterises
Estonian family policy as a
whole: 1) measures are aimed at the birth of a child and the early years of
life of the child; 2) financial
benefits and compensations are dominant;
3) the mother and child are at the centre. Several family policy measures
are included in
the development plan for children and families for
2012–2020 approved by the Government of the Republic.
Sub-goal No. 4 of
the development plan is aimed at supporting the
independent economic subsistence of families, and goal No. 5 reflects
measures aimed
at supporting a balance between work, family and private
life.
5.2.2. Family
benefits and services concept
- Development
of the family benefits and services concept as an action concerning family
policy is included in the Government of the
Republic action programme for
2011–2015. Within the framework of preparing the family benefits and
services concept, benefits
and services offered to families are analysed to
develop and establish, if necessary, measures to foster the subsistence of
families.
In developing a general family benefits system, the objective is to
support more those people who actually need the help most (for
example, single
parents and families with many children). Whereas, it is important to note that
the principles of general benefits
were not revised in Estonia even during the
budget cuts arising from the economic
crisis.
5.2.3. Parenthood
- With
the leadership of the Ministry of Social Affairs, round tables with providers of
parental education were launched in 2008. Approximately
25 organisations
have joined the round tables. The largest organisations in Estonia who provide
parental education are the Union
for Child Welfare, the Estonian Parents’
Association, the Estonian Sexual Health Association, the Estonian Midwives
Association,
the Estonian Non-formal Adult Education Association, the Family
Centre You and Me, the Family Education Institute and the Healthy
Estonia
Foundation. The aim of the round tables is to support the spread of parental
education in Estonia. A publication introducing
the providers of parental
education was issued in 2008. Mechanisms promoting the spread of parental
education in Estonia were developed
within the framework of the development plan
for children and families for 2012–2020. Also several conferences,
seminars and
campaigns, which have dealt with, inter alia, the role of fathers
in the upbringing of children, have taken place during the reporting
period.
- The
development plan for children and families for 2012–2020 has set
supporting of parenthood as an important strategic goal
of the state. The
implementation plan of the development plan for 2012–2015 prescribes
several actions for improving the supporting
of parenthood, and the
implementation of an evidence-based parenthood programme is planned as one of
the most important actions.
The adaptation and implementation of the parenthood
programme is planned to be carried out with the support of Norwegian and EEA
Financial Mechanisms and in cooperation with Norwegian partners. The programme
is selected within the framework of a preliminary
analysis; the state has
expressed interest, above all, in two programmes — Incredible Years and
Triple
P.
5.3. Separation
from parents (Article 9)
- For
the regulatory framework of separation from parents, see the first report of
Estonia.
- Separation
of a child from his or her family and deprivation of custody over person in full
is additionally governed by the Family
Law Act, which was passed on 18.11.2009
and which entered into force on 01.07.2010.
- § 135
of the Family Law Act provides for the conditions for the separation of a child
from his or her family and deprivation
of custody over person in full. A court
may separate a child from the parents only if damage to the interests of the
child cannot
be prevented by other supporting measures applied in the
relationship between the parents and the child. Other supporting measures
may
be, for example, the measures provided by subsection 134 (3) of the
same Act: making of decisions arising from the right of custody
in lieu of a
parent, issue of warnings and precepts, imposition of prohibitions, and
requiring the parents to observe the instructions
of the agency specified by the
court. A court may deprive a parent of the right of custody over person in full
only if other measures
have not yielded any results or if there is reason to
presume that the application of the measures is not sufficient to prevent
danger.
Upon hearing a matter concerning substantial restriction or deprivation
of the right of custody over person in full, a court shall
include a rural
municipality or city government in the proceedings for the purpose of hearing
its opinion. If leaving a child in
his or her family endangers the health or
life of the child, a rural municipality government or city government may
separate the
child from the family before a court ruling is made. In such cases
the rural municipality government or city government shall promptly
submit an
application to a court for restriction of parental rights with respect to the
child. See the Annex, table 10: children
registered and separated from
their family (per year) and placement of children separated from their family,
2006–2011.[4]
- The
principles of the new development plan for children and families for
2012–2020 and its implementation plan for 2012–2015
as well as the
preparation of the new Child Protection Act have set the course to improving
prevention work and implementing preventive
and evidence-based interventions,
inter alia, upon separation of children from their
family.
5.4. Family
reunification (Article 10)
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 35 (a) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- Subsection 113 (2)
of the Aliens Act provides that the annual immigration quota shall not exceed
0.1 per cent of the permanent population
of Estonia annually. However, there are
persons who are entitled to settle in Estonia outside the immigration
quota.
- On
01.01.2002 the Act amending the Aliens Act entered into force, as a result of
which the circle of persons who are not considered
in the immigration quota was
extended. The amendment arose from the Supreme Court judgments
Nos. 3-3-1-11-00 (RT III 2000, 14, 149)
and 3-3-1-15-00 (RT III 2000, 17,
180), according to which refusal to grant a residence permit to an alien who has
a family life
in Estonia within the meaning of the Constitution of the Republic
cannot be justified with merely the fulfilment of the immigration quota. This
would not be in compliance with the
nature of the fundamental right without
legal reservation. Due to the aforesaid, the Aliens Act excludes from the
immigration quota
the spouse, a minor and adult child, parent and grandparent
and a ward of an Estonian citizen and of an alien who resides in Estonia
on the
basis of a residence permit. Therefore, the provisions of the Aliens Act reflect
the corresponding Supreme Court judgments,
and the said regulatory framework of
the Aliens Act is applied today.
Information on the issues
raised in paragraph 35 (b) of the Committee’s previous concluding
observations
- The
recommendation has been taken into account. By the Act amending the Refugees
Act, which entered into force on 1 May 2003, it was
prescribed that a
residence permit is granted also to a family member of a refugee and a person
enjoying subsidiary protection, i.e.
a minor child and spouse (§ 16).
The applicable Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens prescribes a
residence permit
for a family member of a person enjoying international
protection (refugee, person enjoying subsidiary protection or temporary
protection)
and the right to family reunification (§§ 7, 46 and
65). The Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens
(subsection
15 (2), § 17, subsections 18 (5) and
(10)) also prescribes specifications of processing applications for asylum
submitted by
children (see also
clause 8.1.1).
5.5. Illicit
transfer abroad (Article 11)
- On
01.07.2001, the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
entered into force in relation to Estonia. The
central authority according to
the said convention is the Ministry of Justice. The number of applications has
been slowly growing
from year to year. From 2009 to 2011 Estonia submitted the
most applications to Finland (10), Germany (6) and the United Kingdom
(6).
Estonia has received the most applications from the United Kingdom (7), Sweden
(7) and Germany (6). See the Annex, table 11:
Illicit stay of a child
abroad: number of applications,
2009–2011.
5.6. Recovery
of maintenance for the child (Article 27 (4))
- In
the recovery of maintenance for the child the state considers it important to
counsel parents to motivate separated or separating
parents to cooperate in the
interests of the child. To this end, the Estonian Association of Mediators was
established. Family mediation
training started in autumn 2008 and it was funded
by the state. The first mediators started their work in spring 2009. A total of
20 family mediators from all the counties were trained. Every person
himself or herself may have recourse to a family mediator; in
such case the
service is paid for by the person. Family mediation services may also be ordered
by a court. As of 2010 the Union for
Child Welfare together with the Estonian
Bar Association offers counselling services to parents free of charge for better
safeguarding
the rights of the child (15 counselling sessions per
month).
- The
state is presented with a challenge in facilitating the performance of the
obligation of a parent to provide maintenance in the
case of a parent separated
from the child. The Maintenance Allowance Act has been passed, according to
which maintenance allowance
shall be paid for 90 days if a parent does not
comply with the maintenance obligation and the other parent has had recourse to
the
court in a claim for maintenance support. The daily rate is 1/3 of the child
allowance rate, and the maximum maintenance allowance
is 288 euros.
Maintenance support paid by the state is subsequently collected from the person
required to pay the maintenance allowance.
An effect analysis of the Maintenance
Allowance Act conducted by the Ministry of Social Affairs in 2010 revealed that
receiving maintenance
support is an important factor in decreasing the poverty
risk of families. In order to ensure maintenance of the child if the person
proprietarily liable for the child does not reside in the same country with the
child, Estonia has acceded to the Convention on the
Recovery Abroad of
Maintenance done in New York on 26.06.1956 and to the Convention on the
Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions
Relating to Maintenance Obligations
done in The Hague on 02.10.1973. In relations with the Russian Federation, the
maintenance obligation
is governed, inter alia, by the Republic of Estonia and
the Russian Federation Agreement on legal assistance and legal relationship
in
civil, family and criminal matters, and in relations with Ukraine by the
Republic of Estonia and the Ukraine Agreement on legal
assistance and legal
relationship in civil, family and criminal matters. Recognition and enforcement
in an EU member state of another
member state’s judgments concerning
maintenance obligation is enabled by Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of
22 December
2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of
judgments in civil and commercial matters, and by Regulation (EC)
No
805/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April
2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested
claims.
5.7. Children
deprived of a family environment (Article 20)
5.7.1. Foster
care
- In
2005 the conditions in the Social Welfare Act for placing a child in foster care
were amended, and requirements for a person providing
foster care and his or her
family members and rights of a caregiver were established. Pursuant to the new
regulatory framework, a
child is subjected to foster care on the basis of a
court ruling, a requirement to prepare a development plan for a child in foster
care has been established, and there is now an obligation to consider the
opinion of a child at least 10 years of age in subjecting
the child to
foster care and in preparing a development plan for him or her. Furthermore, a
child subject to foster care now has
the right to visit the home of the
caregiver, meet the family members of the caregiver and receive information
about them before
giving his or her consent. It was also established that a
child subject to foster care has the right to take his or her personal
effects
with him or her.
- The
following requirements have been set for a caregiver: 1) the person has
full active legal capacity, copes independently and resides
permanently in
Estonia; 2) the person has the necessary personal characteristics to raise
a child; 3) the person has not been deprived
of parental rights or a child
has not been removed from him or her without deprivation of parental rights;
4) the person has not
been removed from performance of the obligations of a
guardian or caregiver; 5) criminal proceedings have not been commenced in
respect
of the person to accuse him or her of a criminal offence for which
imprisonment is prescribed as punishment and the person has not
been convicted
of an intentionally committed criminal offence; 6) the person is not
dependent on alcohol, narcotic drugs or psychotropic
substances; 7) the
person has undergone training recognised by the Ministry of Social Affairs or
has registered for the training.
- Also
the adult family members of a caregiver with whom he or she has common dwellings
and household shall comply with the requirements
provided by law. The caregiver
and the adult members of his or her family shall confirm their compliance with
the requirements by
signature. The rural municipality government or city
government of the residence of the child may demand that the caregiver and the
adult members of his or her family submit documents in proof of their compliance
with the requirements. A foster care contract shall
be terminated if the
caregiver or his or her adult family members no longer comply with the
requirements and extension of the contract
is contrary to the interests of the
child. A caregiver has the right to receive information on a child which is
necessary to care
for the child from the rural municipality or city government
of the residence of the child and to participate in preparation of a
development
plan for the child. Caregivers receive state funded PRIDE training, which is a
prerequisite for providing the service.
- See
the Annex, table 12: Children in substitute care by types of substitute
care
(2006–2010).
5.7.2. Substitute
home services
- An
amendment to the Social Welfare Act in 2007 concerned the substitute home
services and requirements set for the services. In addition
to the definition of
the services also requirements for the organisation of the services and for the
staff were provided. In the
interests of the safety of the child, requirements
for the person of the educators were established and also the procedure for
subjecting
children to a substitute home was renewed. Based on the rights and
needs of children and for the purpose of creating conditions resembling
those in
a family, providing the services in a substitute home where there is a family
parent who lives with the children 24 hours
a day has been specified.
- Staying
in a substitute home is related to the child attaining 18 years of age and
to the child finishing education which he or she
started to acquire in daytime
study before he or she attained the age of 18 years. When a child attains
the age of 18 years and is
not studying, he or she no longer has the right
to the substitute home services funded by the state. To encourage children to
continue
their education, the state supports children and allows them to
continue to receive the services until the beginning of the following
school
year after acquiring basic or secondary education if they take entrance
examinations to get into a vocational educational
institution, institution of
professional higher education or Bachelor’s study at an institution of
higher education, and they
can study at that institution until they have
acquired primary vocational or higher education (at a vocational educational
institution,
institution of professional higher education or in Bachelor’s
study at an institution of higher education). Support and after-care
on the
basis of the needs of young people leaving a substitute home and starting their
independent life needs development. Reuniting
children subjected to substitute
home services and their biological families and cooperation with biological
parents are problematic.
- Providers
of substitute home services are required to apply for a state activity licence
which ensures the quality of the services
funded by the state. The Act
established the conditions for applying for a licence and the bases for
revocation of an activity licence.
- In
subjecting a child to a substitute home, the most important role is played by
the local government (guardianship authority) of
the place of residence of the
child who has been separated from his or her family. The guardianship authority
decides which form
of substitute care is the best choice in every specific case.
If it is not possible to appoint a guardian for a child or to subject
a child to
foster care, the guardianship authority chooses an appropriate provider of
substitute home services, considering the wishes
of the child and the fact that
siblings should not be separated from each other. If possible, a service
provider who is located as
closely as possible to the child’s former place
of residence or close relatives must be chosen. Since the local government
of
the place of residence of the child is the child’s guardianship authority,
it is necessary for the local government to monitor
the child also during the
child’s stay in a substitute home. Therefore, the competent official of
the local government is required
to visit the child staying in a substitute home
at least twice a year.
- The
local government is also required to retain documents concerning a child
subjected to a substitute home and to give the necessary
documents to the
provider of the substitute home service. A list of the corresponding documents
shall be established by a regulation
of the Minister of Social Affairs. The size
of a substitute home family is also specified, which will be six children after
progressive
decrease. Considering that prior to the requirement for the number
of children in a substitute home the number was high, a transition
period has
been set for decreasing the number of children. From the entry into force of the
Act until 1 January 2010 there may be
up to ten children in a family, and
from 1 January 2010 to 1 January 2015 there may be up to eight
children in a family.
- Each
family shall have at least one education employee or a family parent complying
with the requirements provided for an educator.
If more than one-half of the
children of a substitute home family are under three years of age or with severe
or profound disabilities,
at least two education employees or a family parent
and an education employee shall stay in the substitute home family during
daytime
and in the evening. The requirements set for education employees are
based on the recommendations of the Council of Europe. The highest
requirements
for qualification have been set for senior educators and the lowest for
assistant educators. An educator may have completed
education in education
(including social educational specialist) or social work. According to the
educator’s speciality he
or she is required to complete in-service
training and take subjects that received little attention during his or her
studies or
that were not taken at all (for example, social workers acquire
knowledge about education). Whether or not a person qualifies as
an educator or
senior educator is also based on his or her previous work experience in the
field of children’s welfare. In
the case of a senior educator, providing
guidance to student teachers and other employees, professional research papers
prepared
by him or her, and participation in the development activity of the
welfare sector (for example, has or is actively participating
in the planning of
the activities of the welfare institution) are also considered. The Minister of
Social Affairs shall establish
the procedure for and curricula of the in-service
training of education employees and family parents. A family parent may be a
person
at least 25 years of age who meets the requirements for an educator
and who lives with the children in the substitute home on a permanent
basis. A
family parent together with an assistant may care for up to six children.
- There
is also a requirement that if all the children of a substitute home family are
outside the territory where substitute home services
are provided (premises and
area where services are provided), the service provider is required to ensure
that the children have the
possibility to contact an education employee, by
assigning a contact person for a child whom the child can contact if necessary
and
when the child is away from the institution and who is responsible for
solving problems encountered by the child.
- Within
the framework of the Council of the Baltic Sea States Expert Group for
Cooperation on Children at Risk, Estonia participated
in a project
“AudTrain” from 2011 to 2012. The project aimed to ensure systematic
supervision over the rights of children
living in institutions of the member
states, and supervisory officials of the states participating in the
experimental project, including
Estonia, received training.
- A
scholarship in the amount of 160 euros per month (paid for 10 months
per academic year) has been established for supporting the
studies of substitute
home children in institutions of higher education. The purpose of the
scholarship is to support the full-time
studies of young people, who come from a
substitute home, at a university, institution of professional higher education
or trade
schools offering professional higher education. In 2012 the budget of
the scholarship fund for children in a children’s home
was
31,956 euros.
- Regarding
substitute homes we see a greater need to focus on supporting children who have
specific needs, on developing specialised
services, and on improving the quality
of the essence of the services. It is also important to note that the action
programme of
the Government of the Republic and the development plan for
children and families for 2012–2020 have set out to prepare a substitute
care concept, based on which foster care services are developed and the quality
of substitute home services is improved. The objective
is to focus, inter alia,
on supporting children who have specific needs, on developing specialised
services, and on improving the
quality of the essence of the
services.
5.8. Adoption
(Article 21)
- Adoption
and adoption proceedings are governed in Estonia, above all, by the Family Law
Act and the Code of Civil Procedure. In addition
to the aforesaid, the Minister
of Social Affairs regulation of 1 July 2010 “Acts required to be
carried out in the course of
preparation of adoption and the content thereof,
the list of information to be submitted in a petition for adoption and the list
of documents to be collected by county governments” is applicable.
Furthermore, the Government of the Republic regulation for
the establishment of
a committee for international adoptions and its rules of procedure is applicable
as of the same date.
- Adoption
is permitted if it is necessary in the interests of the child and there is
reason to believe that a parent-child relationship
will be created between the
adoptive parent and the child. As a result of adoption, a legal relationship is
formed between the child
and the parents. Requirements set for adoptive parents
have not changed in essence with the new Act, but issues which were addressed
in
instructions before have now found a place in the Family Law Act.
- Adoptive
parents have the opportunity to receive a single adoption allowance as a state
family benefit, which amounts to 320 euros
per every adopted child.
Allowance is paid to an adoptive parent who resides in Estonia on a permanent
basis or on the basis of a
temporary residence permit, and from whom the adopted
child does not descend and who is not the child’s step-parent, provided
birth allowance has not been paid to the family for the same child. The adopted
child and his or her family has the right to other
types of monthly family
benefits. The Health Insurance Act prescribes an adoption benefit: one person
adopting a child under 10 years
of age has the right to receive the
adoption benefit for 70 calendar days.
- A
non-profit association A Family of My Own is engaged in the adoption field, and
adoptive parents can find useful information on
its homepage www.omapere.ee. A Family of My Own is a
considerable partner for the state, representing, above all, adoptive parents
and uniting adoptive families
all over Estonia. The activity of the non-profit
association is aimed at training, counselling and supporting adoptive parents,
and
at promoting adoption and informing the public about adoption. In 2011 the
Ministry of Social Affairs ordered from A Family of My
Own a concept of pre- and
post-adoption services, and in 2012 the testing of the services will begin
according to the Government
of the Republic action programme for 2011–2015
and the implementation plan of the development plan for children and families
for 2012–2020.
- In
cooperation with A Family of My Own, the Ministry of Social Affairs has
developed a concept of pre- and post-adoption services
and the services are
planned to be tested from 2013 to 2015 with the support of budgetary funds, so
as to offer adoptive parents
support during the adoption process.
- See
the Annex, table 13: Children adopted per year,
2003–2011.
5.8.1. International
adoption
- According
to the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international
adoption is possible only if a family to adopt
the child (including adoptive
parent, foster or guardian family) has not been found. Pursuant to
subsection 165 (6) of the Family
Law Act, adoption from Estonia to a
foreign state may occur primarily if it is not possible to care for the child to
the necessary
extent in the Republic of Estonia. There have been cases where a
child had already been offered for international adoption but then
a family in
Estonia was found and the child was placed in the family living in Estonia.
- Estonia
has ratified the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in
respect of Intercountry Adoption, which entered
into force in relation to
Estonia on 01.06.2002. As of 2002 Estonia has been cooperating with three other
countries who have acceded
to the Convention: Finland, Sweden and the United
States of America.
- The
function of central authority is being performed by the Ministry of Social
Affairs (Department of Children and Families), who
is responsible for
implementing national and international provisions. The Ministry of Social
Affairs has also assumed the liability
for intervening in the process of
preparation of the Family Law Act regarding adoption.
- Estonia
has waived referring adoption-related activities to private organisations. To
ensure the safety of adoption, international
adoption is organised by the
Ministry of Social Affairs and the International Adoption Committee established
therein.
5.9. Right
of child placed in care to periodic review of placement
(Article 25)
- On
the basis of the Social Welfare Act, a child may be referred to the substitute
home service or foster care only with a case plan
prepared by the local
government (child protection official or social worker) of the place of
residence of the child. The latter
is required to review the case plan at least
once a year. Work with the biological family whose child has been placed in
substitute
care needs to be enstrenghtened to enable the return of the child to
his or her
family.
5.10. Abused
and neglected child (Article 19) and psychological and physical recovery of
the child and social reintegration (Article
39)
5.10.1. Child
helpline
- The
child helpline service was launched on 01.01.2009 via free 24-hour national
short number 116111. The purpose of the service is
to allow everybody to report
instances of a child in need, ensure that the received information is
communicated to specialists, and
offer children and persons related to children
initial social counselling and, if necessary, crisis counselling. The child
helpline
service can be used via Skype and MSN, and it is also possible to send
an e-mail. The child helpline has received a total of 16,788
calls in the
period of 2009-2012, of which 4,929 in 2009, 3,008 in 2010, 3,945 in 2011, and
4,906 in 2012.
- The
phone number 116000 for the reporting of missing children was launched in 2011.
This number can be used to report instances of
missing children. Counsellors
provide initial instructions on how to behave in the situation and they conduct
initial crisis counselling.
The said number is operated in close cooperation
with the Police and Border Guard Board. Calls are answered on both numbers
24 hours
a day in English, Estonian and Russian, and are free of charge.
The child helpline and the phone number for the reporting of missing
children
are operated by OÜ Arstlik Perenõuandla, and they are funded by the
Ministry of Social Affairs on the basis
of public procurements and agreement on
the provision of service. A total of 50 calls were made to that number in
2012.
5.10.2. Counselling
via phone and the Internet
- Various
phone counselling services are also offered by other service providers and
non-profit associations. The Tallinn Family Centre
owned by the city of Tallinn
provides internet counselling services on its website http://pk.ee/abipshholoognustamine.
Counselling is offered in Estonian, Russian and English.
- There
are also various phone counselling services which provide help, inter alia, to
children and young people: trustline 126, AIDS
trustline 6455555, NGO
Lifeline’s trustline for those who are tired of living 6558088, drug
information and counselling hotline
1707, youth talkline 6461111. The Estonian
Mental Health Association offers anonymous internet counselling and phone
services to
children and young people: www.lapsemure.ee, tel 6556088. Professional
psychologists offer counselling also by way of a psychological crisis hotline
offered by NGO Lifeline.
- As
of 2006 there are on-call child protection services available in Tallinn. The
police can call a child protection official or a
psychologist, who is on call at
home, to be present at the questioning of a minor or a crisis situation
involving a child outside
working hours. It is also possible to obtain child
protection-related advise.
Information on the issues raised in
paragraph 31 (h) of the Committee’s previous concluding
observations
5.10.3. Actions
of the police in identifying child abuse, and corresponding training
- In
recent years, a lot of attention has been paid to the training of police
officers, prosecutors and judges. Trainings are organised
on a variety of
subjects related to juvenile delinquency: crime prevention, handling of cases of
violence, victim support, trafficking
in human beings and prostitution, carrying
out procedural acts, including use of video recordings, communication with
abused children
and their families, etc. Joint trainings for the police and
victim support providers, where recognising victims, providing them with
support, preventing and resolving cases of violence, and also cooperation with
different network partners are addressed, take place
on a regular basis. There
are separate trainings for police officers regarding close relationship violence
and sexual violence, where
also the clinical symptoms of child abuse are dealt
with, so that in resolving a domestic dispute police officers would notice the
warning signs indicating child abuse. Prevention work regarding sexual abuse of
children has been significantly improved. The basic
training of police officers
now includes a corresponding subject, and there have been several in-service
trainings and seminars to
improve the cooperation between different specialists
— it has been based on the example of a so-called multidisciplinary
teamwork
between the police, the prosecutor’s offices and specialists from
Tartu Child Support Centre, which has been functioning very
well for years.
- In
2008, the Union for Child Welfare organised seminars for teachers, social
workers and police officers on the subject “The
nature of paedophilia and
its effect on children”. Also a collection of corresponding presentations
was published.
- After
cases of close relationship and domestic violence the police do a follow-up
check, making a note of the situation and passing
on relevant information to the
social worker of the local government. Special attention is paid to cases of
domestic violence involving
children. In resolving cases of close relationship
or domestic violence involving a child, the police involve the social worker or
child protection official of the local government.
- The
police have made available on their website advice on how to recognise an abused
child, advice for parents, and also a link which
abused children and their
family members can use to get help regarding their
problems.
5.10.4. Child
abuse diagnostics
- The
Ministry of Social Affairs has started to develop a child abuse diagnostics
system. As of 01.11.2010 there have been basic trainings
for specialists from
all over Estonia, who come into contact with children. At the same time there
have been special trainings for
medics, psychologists, police officers and child
protection officials as well as possible members of abuse diagnostics teams.
There
are were a total of 460 specialists trained as of 2012. NGO TK &
Partners, which coordinates abuse diagnostics trainings, has
involved in the
trainings, in addition to Estonian specialists, also prof. Randell Alexander
from the abuse diagnostics team in Florida,
the United States of America, and
Philip L. Wheeler from the United Kingdom Metropolitan police. At the same time
as the trainings,
a concept of child abuse diagnostics system was
developed.
- From
the second half of 2012 the development of the abuse diagnostics system belongs
to the mental health programme of the Norwegian
and EEA Financial Mechanisms,
and it has been planned to be funded until the end of 2015. It has also been
planned to initiate the
work of diagnostics teams.
- The
Union for Child Welfare, together with the Institute of Social Work of Tallinn
University, organised eight early recognition seminars
in 2011. A total of 309
specialists working with children and young people attended the seminars. At the
same time, an early recognition
study was conducted in cooperation between the
Union for Child Welfare and Tallinn University, in the framework of which eight
post-graduate
students from the Institute of Social Work of Tallinn University
gathered information from corresponding specialists all over Estonia
by way of
questionnaires, telephone surveys and focus
interviews.
5.10.5. Reintegration
of victims and perpetrators
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 31 (g) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- Within
the framework of police force crime prevention work great attention is paid to
preventing child abuse and providing victims
with support in cooperation with
support networks. To this end, annual action plans set out projects and
programmes with the necessary
budget. On 26.10.2004 the Social Insurance Board
and the Police Board entered into a cooperation agreement, which governs
cooperation
between the police and victim support and sets out rapid exchange of
victim support-related information between the partners in order
to provide
victims of maltreatment, or physical, mental or sexual abuse with quality victim
support services.
- To
re-socialise juvenile delinquents, information concerning children who have
committed an offence is sent to a social worker or
child protection official.
Child victims and their families are provided with victim support services, in
the framework of which
they receive counselling and assistance in communicating
with state and local government authorities and other legal persons, and
if
necessary and possible, the victim and his or her family members are offered
compensation for the costs of psychological help.
When a victim support provider
sees that a child victim needs further services, he or she shall notify a child
protection
official.
6. Protection
of health and social welfare
6.1. Disabled
children (Article 23)
- Guaranteeing
to disabled persons, including disabled children, opportunities equal to those
of other people, enabling them to have
an active social life, and supporting
their ability to cope independently lies within the competence of rural
municipalities or city
governments. According to the Social Welfare Act, to
achieve the above goals a rural municipality or city government is required
to:
1) establish opportunities to reduce or remove restrictions caused by the
disability to treatment, education and translation
services; 2) establish,
in co-operation with competent state bodies, opportunities for vocational
training which would increase the
competitiveness of disabled persons;
3) organise transportation for the disabled; 4) guarantee access to
public buildings for disabled
persons; 5) appoint a support person or
personal assistant, if necessary.
- If
a person, in order to improve the ability to cope independently, needs long-term
and diverse assistance which includes also the
need to grant social services or
benefits, the principle of case management shall be used upon the provision of
assistance. The provision
of assistance based on the principle of case
management includes evaluation of a person’s case, formulation of
objectives and
planning of activities, preparation of the case plan and the
activity plan belonging thereto, counselling and guidance of a person
upon
implementation of an activity plan, performance of activities by different
persons or institutions, and evaluation of results
and, if necessary, amendment
of the case plan and the activity plan belonging thereto.
- On
25.09.2007 Estonia signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities. On 21.03.2012 the Riigikogu ratified the Convention
on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities and at the same time also the Optional Protocol to
the Convention was acceded
to.
6.1.1. Childcare
service for disabled children
- On
01.01.2007 an amendment which included child care services in the list of social
services entered into force. Childcare service
means a service supporting the
ability of the caregiver to cope or work during the provision of which the care,
development and safety
of a child is guaranteed by a provider of childcare
service instead of the persons specified above. The legal representative of a
child with a severe or profound disability or the caregiver is entitled to
state-funded childcare services until the end of the calendar
year during which
the child attains 18 years of age, provided that: 1) the need for care
services for the child with a severe or
profound disability is set out in the
child’s rehabilitation plan; 2) caring for the child is not
guaranteed with other social
services at the same time; 3) the child is not
staying at an educational institution at the same time. There has been a great
need
for the service and it was developed in cooperation with the parents of
disabled children.
- In
2012, the limit for state-funded childcare services was 371 euros per child
with a severe or profound disability per calendar year;
the Ministry of Social
Affairs allocated a total of 1,116,303 euros for the provision of childcare
services for children with a severe
or profound disability in 2012. If parents
wish to be provided with the service above the maximum cost established by the
state,
the cost shall be covered by the parents under an agreement with the
local government. The childcare service does not aim to replace
kindergarten or
school because disabled children have a right equal to that of other children to
attend an educational institution.
In Estonia there are 350 providers of
childcare services who hold an activity licence, some of them have specialised
in providing
for only disabled children. Childcare services are offered at the
home of the childcarer or of the child or on other appropriate
premises. All
parents raising a child with a severe or profound disability may contact the
local government for state childcare services.
In 2011, state funding was
provided for the childcare services for 587 children with a severe or
profound
disability.
6.1.2. Support
person services
- The
support person services for disabled children and their families have received
funding from the European Social Fund. A description
of the services has been
prepared and 52 support persons for disabled children and their families
have been
trained.
6.1.3. Personal
assistant services
- The
objective of the personal assistant services is to support the participation of
disabled persons in all areas of life. The duty
of a personal assistant is to
help a disabled person in those everyday activities which the person himself or
herself cannot handle.
6.1.4. Applying
for technical aids and allocation thereof under favourable conditions
- As
of 2004, diabetics have the possibility to apply for a glucometer under
favourable conditions. In 2006 and 2008 several provisions
increasing the
availability of technical aids were enacted, including; simplification of many
aspects in the procedure for applying
for technical aids, the minimum own
contribution rate was lowered, and the list of technical aids was extended. In
2013 amendments
prepared in cooperation with the Astangu Centre of Disability
Related Information and Assistive Technology entered into force, changing
the
maximum fee chargeable for incontinence products from a producer-based fee to a
function-based fee. After the said amendment,
the price for incontinence
products having the same function but offered by different producers is the
same. The aim of the amendment
is to make incontinence products more
available.
6.1.5. Computers
for supporting the studies of students with special needs
- The
objective of a joint project of the Estonian Information Technology College and
the Ministry of Education and Research was to
adapt, with the help of the
students from the College, computers donated by various institutions to suit the
needs of students with
special needs, to fit additional equipment to them (for
example, a speech synthesiser, Braille display, or printer, etc.), and to
deliver them to the students. The students were given instructions on how to use
the
computer.
6.1.6. Rehabilitation
services
- In
2005, the definition of rehabilitation services was incorporated into the Social
Welfare Act and it extends to adults as well as
children. The volume and funding
of rehabilitation services was provided. The services also extend to juvenile
delinquents referred
to the juvenile committee.
- As
of 2005, the list of and prices for rehabilitation services have been
established by a regulation of the Government of the Republic.
The maximum limit
for the services provided for disabled children has been approved, ensuring all
disabled children an equal opportunity
to be provided with the services. A
contract under public law is concluded with providers of rehabilitation
services. Specific funds
from the state budget are guaranteed for the provision
of the services, and they are allocated on the basis of applications of service
providers and the regional location of the disabled children. As of 2007, the
state budget includes a separate budget line for the
provision of rehabilitation
services for children. In 2007 the prices for and the annual maximum volume of
the services were increased.
The volume per calendar year set for the provision
of rehabilitation services for juvenile delinquents was increased almost three
times, making juvenile delinquents equal to disabled children.
- Since
the volume of the services has increased, the need for new specialists working
with children with special educational needs
and for training current
specialists has also increased. Also the availability of the services in
different local governments should
be more unified.
- See
the Annex, table 14: Users of rehabilitation services,
2006–2011.
6.1.7. Surveys
- In
2008 a survey was conducted on the practices of providers of rehabilitation
services, which also mapped the provision of rehabilitation
services for
children. The Estonian Chamber of Disabled People in cooperation with the
Ministry of Education and Research and the
Ministry of Social Affairs conducted
from 2004 to 2005 a survey on the availability of the services to families with
children with
special needs and on their satisfaction. A similar survey was
conducted in 2008. In 2006 the Ministry of Social Affairs organised
a survey on
the ability to cope and the needs of disabled persons, looking at the
availability of services and benefits as well as
satisfaction with the
aforesaid, describing the main problems hindering their ability to cope, and
analysing their additional need
for assistance. From 2009 to 2010 the Ministry
of Social Affairs ordered, with the support of the European Social Fund, a
survey
on the ability to cope and the needs of families with disabled children,
in the framework of which the efficiency of various measures
in improving the
children’s ability to cope was ascertained. The survey dealt with the
availability and sufficiency of services
supporting the development of children,
and the needs of both parents and children in respect of various services and
benefits. Furthermore,
the survey mapped the situation and possibilities of
families raising one or more disabled children and the assessment of the
families
on their situation and
possibilities.
6.1.8. Trainings
for persons working with disabled children, and international
cooperation
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 39 (f) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- Several
projects have been carried out to comply with the recommendation. From 2003 to
2006 an in-service training project “A
student with special needs in a
foreign language school” was carried out for teachers in basic schools
where the language of
instruction is Russian and for teachers in vocational
schools. As a cooperation project between Denmark and the Võru County
Government, students with special needs were provided with counselling services,
and counsellors, school teachers, speech therapists
and other support
specialists were provided with training from 2004 to 2005. From 2002 to 2006
there were several projects of the
European Agency for Special Needs and
Inclusive Education, inter alia, concerning support to the transition of
students with special
educational needs from school to a working-life,
concerning their early recognition, and assessment. In 2006 a steering committee
for the Nordic countries and the Baltic states cooperation programme
“Disabled children and their families” was established,
and in the
framework of the programme there have been conferences and events for providing
information as well as smaller seminars
and round tables. From 2005 to 2008, a
project funded from the European Social Fund was carried out; the project was
called PITRA
— disabled persons onto the labour market with the
development of the rehabilitation system, I and
II.
6.2. Health
and health care services (Article 24)
6.2.1. Health
insurance
- According
to § 5 of the Health Insurance Act, an insured person is a permanent
resident of Estonia or a person living in Estonia
on the basis of a temporary
residence permit or right of residence, for whom a payer of social tax must pay
social tax or who pays
social tax for themselves in accordance with the
procedure, in the amounts and within the terms provided for in the Social Tax
Act,
or a person considered equal to such persons on the basis of a contract.
The following persons for whom social tax is not paid are
considered to be equal
to insured persons: 1) pregnant women as of the 12th week of
pregnancy; 2) persons under 19 years of age; 3) persons who
receive a state pension granted in Estonia; 4) persons with up
to five
years left until attaining the retirement age who are maintained by their
spouses who are insured persons; 5) students of
up to 21 years of age
acquiring basic education, students of up to 24 years of age acquiring
general secondary education, students
acquiring vocational education without the
requirement of basic education, and higher education students who are permanent
residents
of Estonia and study in an educational institution in Estonia founded
and operating on the basis of legislation or in an equivalent
educational
institution
abroad.
6.2.2. Medical
assistance
- According
to § 5 of the Health Services Organisation Act, emergency care means
health services which are provided by health care
professionals in situations
where postponement of care or failure to provide care may cause the death or
permanent damage to the
health of the person requiring care. Insured persons are
guaranteed general medical care and special medical care funded by the Estonian
Health Insurance
Fund.
6.2.3. Health
counselling and treatment without parental consent
- Provision
of health care services is governed by the Law of Obligations Act, which entered
into force in 2002, and according to its
subsection 766 (3), a patient
may be examined and health care services may be provided to him or her only with
his or her consent.
Pursuant to subsection (4) of the same section, in the
case of a patient with restricted active legal capacity, the legal
representative
of the patient (parent, guardian or caregiver) has the above
rights in so far as the patient is unable to consider the pros and cons
responsibly. However, if the decision of the legal representative appears to
damage the interests of the patient, the provider of
health care services shall
not comply with the decision. The patient shall be informed to a reasonable
extent of his or her state
of health, possible illnesses, dangers and decisions
made. The legislator has left providers of health care services with extensive
rights of discretion and the obligation to take into account, above all, the
patient’s own wishes based on his or her level
of majority, and thereafter
the wishes of the patient’s legal representative provided they are not in
conflict with the interests
of the child. Subsection 766 (6) of the
Law of Obligations Act provides that in the cases and to the extent provided by
law, the
consent of a patient or his or her legal representative is not required
for the provision of health care services. Consent is not
necessary if due to
the patient’s condition he or she poses a threat to himself or herself or
others, and on the basis thereof
the patient is provided with psychiatric help
or treatment for communicable diseases pursuant to the procedure provided by law
irrespective
of the patient’s wishes.
- For
the purposes of health counselling, children have the right to independently
contact a provider of health care services to get
general medical care.
According to subsection 8 (3) of the Health Services Organisation Act,
every citizen of the Republic of Estonia
and alien staying in Estonia on the
basis of a residence permit, who has health insurance, has the right to register
in the practice
list of a family physician. The availability of health
counselling is also guaranteed to children in
schools.
6.2.4. Development
plan for the health of the population
- In
July 2008, the Government of the Republic approved the development plan for the
health of the population for 2009–2020, a
strategic area of which is the
safe and healthy development of children and young people. To prepare the
development plan, working
groups consisting of representatives of the target
groups, ministries and the voluntary sector were established. The principles and
courses of action of the development plan were introduced to the interest groups
in the course of several information days. In a
manner clearer than before, the
development plan sets as a priority, inter alia, the prevention of injuries and
mental health disorders
of children and young people. The action plan to carry
out the objectives set out in the development plan is prepared and implemented
under the guidance of a working group. A report on the results of the
development plan is submitted to the Government after every
two
years.
6.2.5. Disease
prevention and health promotion
- To
discover children’s health disorders early, all newborns are guaranteed
phenylketonuria and hypothyreosis analyses in maternity
hospitals; pregnant
women who are at risk due to their age or whose screening test results are
positive are offered an opportunity
for prenatal diagnostics of congenital
disorders and counselling. As of 2004 newborns undergo a hearing screening, the
purpose of
which is to prevent slow mental development caused by a late
discovery of hearing disorders, and by which the threshold of hearing
is
determined by no later than the 3rd month of life and rehabilitation
is started by no later than within the 6th month of life. By 2011 an
inner ear implant had been given to 14 children whose hearing loss had been
discovered by screening.
- In
2010, the phenylketonuria and hypothyreosis analyses covered 99% of newborns and
the hearing screening covered 99.7% of newborns.
No tests are done on newborns
whose parents are objecting it.
- To
assist in the prevention of dental diseases, training for dentists’ nurses
has been started, enabling them to provide practical
guidance for children and
parents concerning dental
care.
6.2.6. School
health care
- 99%
of all basic and general education schools were covered by the school health
care services in 2010, and the services have also
been guaranteed to students
acquiring vocational education without basic education or on the basis of basic
education. School health
care services are funded by the Estonian Health
Insurance Fund. The purpose of the provision of school health care services is
to
monitor the state of health of students, promote a healthy way of life among
students, prevent risky health behaviour and falling
ill, and facilitate the
establishment of a healthy school environment in cooperation with the school
staff.
6.2.7. Health-promoting
kindergarten, health-promoting school
- The
programme of health-promoting schools and kindergartens is funded by the state.
By the end of 2011, 33.6% of general education
schools and 30.6% of
kindergartens from every county had joined the network. The aim of the programme
is to increase the capability
of child care institutions in promoting good
health. To this end, the staff of child care institutions which belong to the
network,
as well as of those which do not, are offered trainings, and methodical
materials are prepared and published. The body in charge
of the programme is the
National Institute for Health
Development.
6.2.8. Increasing
health promotion awareness
- New
basic school and upper secondary school state curricula were approved, and their
main goal is to integrate discussing health-related
issues in lessons of various
subjects. The subject syllabus of personal education taught in basic school was
renewed, and it now
includes health promotion-related issues as well as
prevention of risky behaviour. Health teams of kindergartens and schools are
trained to carry out health promotion-related activities. School nurses are
prepared to teach first aid in school, and a website
introducing the provision
of first aid is being prepared.
- In
2011 the National Institute for Health Development organised the fifth
cross-national research study Health Behaviour in School-aged
Children,
HBSC[5], with a representative sample.
On the basis of the data gathered, a collection of standard tables was prepared,
reflecting the health
behaviour of children 11, 13 and 15 years of age by
different social and economic
groups.
6.2.9. Immunisation
- At
the beginning of 2008 a new immunisation plan established by a directive of the
Minister of Social Affairs entered into force,
and pursuant to the plan, the
state continues to fund the immunisation of children and young people against
ten communicable diseases
which can be avoided by vaccination: tuberculosis,
hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, measles, rubella,
mumps, and haemophilia B. Significant changes in the new immunisation plan
consist of using contemporary complex vaccines. So the new immunisation
plan includes an inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) to be injected instead
of an
oral polio vaccine (OPV) which contains so-called live viruses. The new
immunisation plan also includes an acellular pertussis
vaccine (Pa) instead of
complex vaccines containing a whole-cell pertussis vaccine
(Pw).
6.2.10. Counselling
of young people concerning reproductive health and the prevention
of sexually transmitted diseases
- Youth-friendly
counselling on sexual health, funded by the Estonian Health Insurance Fund, is
offered to young people under 24 years
of age by youth counselling centres
of the Estonian Sexual Health Association which are active in every county. The
Association also
offers youth counselling services on the Internet at www.amor.ee. HIV prevention has been constantly
dealt with in schools for children with special needs. The Ministry of Education
and Research
supports HIV prevention projects based on the training method
“from young people to young people” carried out in every
county. As
of 2006, HIV prevention work is carried out in Estonia according to the national
HIV and AIDS prevention inter-sectoral
strategy for 2006–2015. The
national HIV and AIDS strategy is carried out under the leadership of the
Government of the Republic.
The general aim of the strategy is to achieve a
steady decrease in the spread of HIV. The strategy includes the following areas
of
activity: prevention work among various target groups; HIV testing and
counselling; prevention, treatment and welfare aimed at people
who have HIV or
AIDS; monitoring and evaluation; and development of human and organisational
resources. Prevention work is targeted,
inter alia, at young people and at
preventing the spread of HIV from mother to child and at preventing sexually
transmitted infections.
Media campaigns aimed at the public for preventing HIV
and sexually transmitted diseases are organised on a regular
basis.
6.2.11. Prevention
of tobacco consumption
- A
nationwide competition “Smoke-free class” has been organised in
schools as of 2002 with the aim of preventing or postponing
smoking among
children and young people, motivating students who smoke to give up the habit,
and supporting non-smoking behaviour
in other
students.
6.2.12. Healthy
nutrition
- Activities
aimed at children and young people are carried out in the framework of the
national strategy for the prevention of cardiovascular
diseases for
2005–2020. Within the framework of the strategy, nutrition recommendations
and additional nutrition recommendations
for pregnant and breastfeeding women
were prepared from 2005 to 2007. A healthy nutrition campaign aimed at children
was carried
out from 2006 to 2010. The purpose of the campaign was to impart the
wisdom to children that they should eat fruits and/or vegetables
between
breakfast, lunch and dinner. A poster and information materials introducing the
principles of healthy nutrition through characters
appealing to children were
prepared within the framework of the campaign and they were used in larger
grocery stores as well as disseminated
to child care institutions; also a
children’s book “Eat, don’t eat”
(“Sööärasöö”) was issued. A website
for the campaign was created at www.toitumine.ee. Caterers servicing
kindergartens and school dining halls are constantly trained. In 2006 a
competition “The best school dining
hall”, which has now become a
tradition, took place for the first time and it is aimed at motivating and
recognising caterers
who offer children healthy and delicious food. New
requirements established by a regulation of the Ministry of Social Affairs for
catering in preschool child care institutions and in schools entered into force
in September 2008. Their purpose is to provide children
with balanced and
healthy food. There are annual milk and bread days to introduce healthy
nutrition, and children are guaranteed
free milk at school.
- In
2010 the Ministry of Social Affairs established an Estonian Committee for the
Promotion of Breastfeeding, which comprises experts
engaged in the health of
infants.
6.2.13. Promotion
of mental health
- In
2010 several mental health promotion projects were carried out, for example a
SEYLE project targeting children — a programme
promoting the health of
teen-aged school children in Europe, the general purpose of which is to improve
the health of teenagers by
decreasing risk and suicidal behaviour, to assess the
efficiency of various prevention programmes, and to develop culture-wise adapted
recommendations for applying programmes promoting the health of teenagers in
European countries.
- Within
the framework of the Public Health programme carried out with the support of the
Norwegian Financial Mechanisms from 2013 to
2016 it is planned to establish a
Mental Health Centre within the Tallinn Children’s Hospital Foundation and
to develop regional
mental health
centres.
6.2.14. Prevention
of injuries and poisonings
- In
connection with the renewal of the health promotion requirements for preschool
child care institutions in 2010, all preschool child
care institutions are
required to conduct a risk assessment and on the basis thereof to prepare an
action plan for decreasing risks.
The Government of the Republic regulations
“Health Protection Requirements for the Land, Buildings, Premises,
Furnishings,
Indoor Climate and Maintenance of Preschool Child Care
Institutions” and “Health Protection Requirements for Schools”
are being prepared.
- To
prevent poisonings and provide advice in case of poisonings people can call the
number 16662. In the course of county-wide projects
for the prevention of
injuries, children and young people as well as teachers are provided with
knowledge on safe behaviour in traffic
and near bodies of water, fire safety and
first aid. The number of cases of injuries and poisonings has fallen in 2010
compared to
2009.
- At
the time of the submission of the report, a task force for coordinating the
policy on the prevention of deaths through injury is
being established within
the Government Office. The duty of the task force is to determine the existing
goals of prevention of injuries
and deaths through injury, to analyse how much
has been covered by preventive activities regarding injuries and deaths through
injury,
and on the basis of the aforesaid, to propose additional goals and
preventive activities. The task force also analyses the causes
of injuries and
proposes preventive activities and cooperation mechanisms between various
authorities, and agrees on the exact duties
and responsibility of ministries and
authorities.
6.3 Standard
of living (Article 27 (1)–(3))
- To
assess how well people on lower incomes are coping economically, two main
indicators are applied in Estonia: the absolute and the
relative poverty
indicators. The absolute poverty
threshold[6] determines the lower
income level which enables people to cope in a specific environment. The
relative poverty threshold[7] shows
the uneven distribution of income among residents with lower income.
- According
to Statistics Estonia, in 2011[8] a
person living in relative poverty was a person whose equalised monthly
disposable income was less than 299 euros, and a person
living in absolute
poverty was a person whose equalised monthly disposable income was less than
186 euros. Unlike 2009 and 2010, the income of the residents
increased in 2011.
- Unlike
2010, the relative poverty rate of children decreased to 17% in 2011. Similarly
to the years before the economic crisis the
relative poverty rate of children
was somewhat lower than the population indicator.
- The
absolute poverty rate of children 0–17 years of age increased from 7%
in 2008 to 11.4% in 2010. In 2011 the absolute poverty
rate of children
decreased to 9.4%. Unlike the relative poverty indicator, the absolute poverty
rate of children was higher than
the corresponding population indicator both
before and after the economic crisis. See the Annex, table 16: Relative and
absolute
poverty rate of children and the population, 2004–2011.
- Based
on the absolute poverty threshold, absolute poverty
strata[9] are also determined in
Estonia. This shows the distribution of the percentage of children in the case
of different poverty thresholds.
7.8% of children lived above the absolute
poverty threshold but in so-called poverty risk in 2011. In 2011, 5.9% lived
below the
absolute poverty threshold, that is in direct poverty, and 3.5% in the
so-called poverty endangering subsistence. See the Annex,
table 17:
Absolute poverty rate of children and the population by poverty thresholds,
2004–2011.
- The
relative poverty rate of all households with children was 16.2% in 2011, and the
absolute poverty rate was 9%. As in many other
European Union countries,
households with children at the greatest poverty risk in Estonia are households
with one parent, whose
relative poverty rate was 33% in 2011, and households
with three or more children, whose relative poverty rate decreased to 19.8%
in
2011.
- Similarly
to relative poverty, the absolute poverty rate is also highest among households
with one parent — 18.6% in 2011. The
absolute poverty rate of households
with three or more children is lower and was 13.6% in 2011.
- There
is comparable data about the European Union countries in respect of relative
poverty indicators. Compared to other European
Union countries, the relative
poverty rate of children in Estonia in 2011 (17%) was lower than the European
Union average (EU 27,
20.8%), according to Eurostat. Unlike Estonia, the
relative poverty rate of children in most European Union countries was higher
than that of the entire population. Whereas, in the European Union as a whole as
well as in Estonia the relative poverty rate in
various age groups of children
differs somewhat and, as a whole, is lower in younger age groups.
- According
to an analysis of the European Commission regarding the poverty of children, the
most important factor in the economic subsistence
of families is the status of
the parents on the labour market. Also in Estonia poverty endangers mostly those
families where no members
work or where work intensity is low. Out of those
households with children where no one within the working age range was employed
or where the workload was very low, 71.1% lived in relative poverty and 55.6% in
absolute poverty in 2011. At the same time, the
richest households in Estonia
were the households with no children where work intensity was very high (all
members within the working
age range worked full time or nearly full time). Only
4.1% of such households lived in relative poverty in 2011. In connection with
the increase in unemployment, the percentage of children in unemployed
households increased from 6.8% in 2008 to 13.2% in 2010. In
2011 the percentage
of children in non-working households decreased to 9%.
- An
important part in alleviating poverty is played by social transitions, including
family benefits. If one looks at the relative
poverty rate before and after
social transitions (except for pensions), it can be said that social transitions
decreased the relative
poverty of children by 11.6 percentage points, i.e.
40.6% in 2011.
- Social
transitions, including family benefits, also decrease absolute poverty. In 2011,
social transitions (except for pensions) decreased
the absolute poverty of
children by 11 percentage points, i.e.
53.9%.
6.3.1. State
measures for decreasing poverty risk
- Since
the main means for alleviating and preventing the poverty risk of families are
employment and a steady income, it is important
to offer services which support
participation in the employment rate. Within the framework of the Estonian
competitiveness plan “Estonia
2020”, there are plans to implement
measures for the return to the labour market of mothers who have been staying at
home with
children. The purpose of the employment programme for 2012–2013
has been to prevent unemployment, shorten the duration of unemployment
and help
those people get a job who are having difficulties in this regard due to
long-term unemployment or other special hindrances.
- As
of 2009, with the support of the European Social Fund (ESF), counselling
services (debt, psychological, family and social counselling)
are offered to
people with special needs and their families, and as of 2011 there are also debt
counselling centres operating with
the support of the ESF. With the support of
the ESF, four regional consultants are providing local government social workers
with
help in solving more complicated cases as of 2012. Through the case-by-case
network cooperation of local governments, combined needs-based
quality welfare
services are offered with the purpose of increasing the ability to cope of
people in difficulties and their families,
alleviating various problems, and
supporting the transfer of people within the working age range to active labour
market services
and maintaining their work or commencement of work.
- In
2011 the Ministry of Social Affairs prepared recommended instructions regarding
social services provided by local governments.
A total of 12 instructions
(including childcare services, social counselling services, debt counselling
services, and support person
services for children and adults) were prepared.
The recommended instructions concerning social services aim to describe the
minimum
requirements for the provision of services.
- Good
education guarantees better possibilities for participation in the labour
market. In developing preschool child care institutions
and general education
schools, the objective has been set to shape the all-round development of
students and to establish a learning
environment which ensures the uniform
quality of education. To this end, modern curricula are prepared, acquisition of
quality means
of instruction is supported, and e-study possibilities are
developed. A place in boarding school facilities is provided for families
who
are having difficulties in coping and whose domestic situation does not allow
for their children to acquire an education. Students
with special needs are
provided with counselling to find them better employment and further education
opportunities. For the acquisition
of a vocational education, a modern learning
environment which considers the needs of students and society is established,
and the
in-service training system of teachers is developed. A system for
supporting students acquiring a vocational education is developed
for students
who come from backgrounds of economic hardship.
- In
2014 the subsistence level rate is 90 euros per month for persons living
alone or for the first member of the family, and 72 euros
for the second
and subsequent members of the family. A recipient of a subsistence benefit
whose every family member is a minor has
the right to additional social benefit
of 15 euros in addition to the subsistence benefit.
- Within
the family benefits and services concept being prepared by the Ministry of
Social Affairs, benefits and services offered to
families are analysed for the
purpose of increasing the cost efficiency of the measures and offering
additional support to families
at a greater poverty risk (families with one
parent, families with many children, etc.). Actions are also based on the
principle
that the development of services must be centred around preventive
activities which, on one hand, favour the employment of parents,
and on the
other hand, the welfare of
children.
6.4. Social
security, childcare services, and childcare institutions (Articles 26 and
18 (3))
6.4.1. Social
security
- As
of 1 May 2004, when Estonia joined the European Union, the EU coordination
rules are applicable to the Estonian social security
scheme. Regulation (EEC)
No 1408/71 of the Council of the European Communities on the application of
social security schemes to employed
persons and their families moving within the
Community is applicable in the entire European Union, and it ensures that people
maintain
their earned rights of pension, recognition and aggregation of
insurance periods, and export of benefits. The scope of application
of the
regulation covers pension for incapacity for work, old age pension, and
survivor’s pension, health insurance benefits,
death grant, unemployment
insurance benefits and family benefits. As of 1 May 2010, Regulation (EC)
No 883/2004 of the European Parliament
and of the Council on the
coordination of social security systems is applicable instead of the above
regulation and it includes the
amended and updated rules of the previous
regulation. Those coordination rules are applied to citizens, stateless persons
and refugees
moving within the
EU.
6.4.2. Family
benefits
- The
family benefits scheme is governed by the State Family Benefits Act, which
entered into force on 1 January 2002. The principles
of grant and payment
of family benefits have remained the same as described in the previous report.
The amount of certain family
benefits has been increased compared to the
previous reporting period. Also, the list of family benefits specified in the
previous
report has been somewhat amended — parent’s allowance for
families with seven or more children and adoption allowance
have been added.
Furthermore, a person who is paid child care allowance has the right to receive
additional child care allowance
of 6.40 euros per month for each child of
up to one year of age. The child allowance and child care allowance rate is
established
by the state budget for each budgetary year, and a new rate shall
not be less than the rate in force. In the conditions of economic
crisis, the
universal family benefits scheme was retained with small cuts for
2008–2011, and the parental benefits scheme supporting
having a work life
and family life at the same time was also maintained. The child allowance rate
was 9.59 euros in 2013. The child
care allowance rate was 76.70 euros
in 2013. The amount of the child allowance has increased, and it is paid for a
first and second
child at twice the child allowance rate (19.18 euros in
2013) and for a third and each subsequent child at eight times the child
allowance rate (76.72 euros).
- Childbirth
allowance is a single state benefit paid in the case of the birth of a child.
The childbirth allowance amounts to 320 euros
and it is the same for every
child born.
- As
of 1 September 2007, all children 16–19 years of age who are
acquiring secondary education have the right to child allowance
irrespective of
their form of study or study load. In addition to children who are studying at a
basic or upper secondary school
or at a vocational educational institution on
the basis of basic education, also those children who have no basic education
but are
studying at a vocational educational institution have the right to child
allowance until they attain the age of 19 years. When a
child attains the
age of 19 years, allowance is paid until the end of the current academic
year.
- Child
care allowance is paid to one parent raising a child up to 3 years of age
or to a person using parental leave instead of the
parent in the amount of
one-half of the child care allowance rate for each child up to 3 years of
age (38.35 euros in 2013). In a
family raising a child up to 3 years
of age and other children 3–8 years of age, one parent is paid
monthly child care allowance
in the rate of one-fourth of the child care
allowance (19.18 euros in 2013) for every child 3–8 years of
age. In a family raising
three or more children where there are three or more
children at least 3 years of age who receive child allowance, one parent is
paid child care allowance in the rate of one-fourth of the child care allowance
(19.18 euros in 2013) for every child 3–8 years
of age. As of
2009, child care allowance is no longer paid for any child to a parent who is
paid parental benefit on the basis of
the Parental Benefits Act. The amount of
child care allowance is 38.35 euros for a child up to 3 years of age
and 19.18 euros for
a child 3–8 years of age.
- The
amounts of single parent’s child allowance, conscript’s child
allowance, and school allowance have remained the same
compared to the previous
reporting period. The amount of the single parent’s child allowance is
twice the child allowance rate
(300 kroons in 2008, and 19.18 euros as
of 2011), and the allowance is paid to a child whose birth registration or vital
statistics
data entered in the population register contains no entry concerning
the father or an entry has been made on the basis of a statement
by the mother
or whose parent has been declared to be a fugitive pursuant to the procedure
established by law and who meets the requirements
provided for in subsection
5 (1) or (2) of this Act. The conscript’s child allowance is paid at
five times the child allowance
rate (750 kroons in 2008, and
47.94 euros as of 2011).
- During
the reporting period, the foster care allowance has been increased, amounting to
ten times the child allowance rate (3000 kroons
as of 1 January 2008,
and 191.80 euros as at 01.01.2014). The amount of the start in independent
life allowance is forty times the
child allowance rate (6000 kroons in
2008, and 383.60 euros as at 01.01.2014). As of 2007, start in independent
life allowance is
also paid to children in foster care.
- During
the reporting period, allowance was paid to families raising three or more
children and to families raising triplets. The said
allowance was paid in the
last month of a quarter to a parent, guardian or caregiver who was raising at
least three children receiving
child allowance or triplets receiving child
allowance. For a family with three children the allowance was twice the child
allowance
rate for every child (300 kroons a quarter for every child until
30 June 2007), for a family with four or more children, three times
the
child allowance rate for every child (450 kroons a quarter for every child
until 30 June 2007), and for a family raising triplets
nine times the child
allowance rate per family (1350 kroons a quarter until 30 June 2007).
The quarterly allowance was no longer
paid as of 1 July 2007 and the child
allowance was increased to 900 kroons per month from the third child in the
family.
- New
types of allowance are parent’s allowance for families with seven or more
children and adoption allowance. The parent’s
allowance for families with
seven or more children is a monthly state benefit paid to a parent, guardian or
caregiver raising at
least seven or more children who receive child allowance.
The amount of the allowance has been 168.74 euros as of 2011.
- The
adoption allowance is a single benefit paid to an adoptive parent from whom the
adopted child does not descend and who is not
the child’s step-parent,
provided birth allowance has not been paid to the family for the same child. The
amount of the adoption
allowance is 320 euros.
- As
of 2009, school allowance is no longer paid under the State Family Benefits Act.
The school allowance was an allowance in the amount
of 450 kroons paid once
a year at the beginning of the academic year.
- Under
the Maintenance Allowance Act, maintenance allowance is paid for a child whose
parent does not comply with his or her maintenance
obligation or does not comply
to the extent required. Maintenance allowance is paid to a parent who has filed
a maintenance claim
with the court, and maintenance allowance is paid for
90 days during the court proceedings concerning the maintenance claim. Paid
maintenance allowance is later collected from the parent obligated to pay the
allowance. The daily rate of maintenance allowance
is one third of the child
allowance rate (9.59 euros); therefore, maintenance allowance was paid in
the amount of 3.20 euros per
day as of 2011. Furthermore, several
allowances are paid and services to children and families are offered by local
governments.
6.4.3. Parental
benefit
- Family
benefits also include a parental benefit, which is governed by the Parental
Benefits Act which entered into force on 1 January
2004 and the purpose of
which is to facilitate having a work life and family life at the same time. The
parental benefit compensates
for a parent’s loss of income because the
parent stops working on a temporary basis due to having to take care of a child.
The persons entitled to the parental benefit are a parent, adoptive parent,
step-parent, guardian or caregiver raising a child who
are permanent residents
of Estonia or who are aliens residing in Estonia on the basis of a temporary
residence permit. As of 1 September
2007 the age limit according to which a
child must be six months old for the father to receive the benefit no longer
applies, making
the rights of men and women equal in receiving the parental
benefit. Fathers have the right to the parental benefit when the child
is
70 days old. The age limit of 70 days is based on the fact that the
pregnancy and maternity leave of working mothers lasts for
70 days before
and 70 days after the birth and during such time only the mother is
entitled to the birth maternity benefit. The parental
benefit is paid after the
end of the pregnancy and maternity leave.
- If
the mother is not working and she is not entitled to the birth maternity
benefit, the parental benefit is paid as of the birth
of a child. This
guarantees the equal treatment of families where the mother was working before
getting pregnant and where the future
mother was not working. The payment of the
parental benefit starts from the day following the last day of the period for
which the
birth maternity benefit was paid (pregnancy and maternity leave), and
continues until the time when, together with the days for which
the birth
maternity benefit was paid, 435 days have passed.
- The
amount of the parental benefit is calculated on the basis of the average income
of the applicant per calendar month of the previous
calendar year. In general,
the amount of the benefit per month is 100% of the recipient’s average
income subject to social
tax per month of the previous calendar year. Income is
considered to be income which is received from work in Estonia and which is
subject to social tax. If social tax has been paid for the person by the state,
it is not considered to be income received from work.
In the case of the father,
the parental benefit is calculated on the basis of income during the same period
of time as in the case
of the mother. During the time when the parental benefit
is paid, a parent is not paid child care allowance for a child for whom
the
parental benefit is paid. Child allowance and other family benefits are paid at
the same time with the parental benefit.
- If
a parent was not working during the year preceding the year when the right to
the benefit arises, the parental benefit is paid
to the extent of the minimum
benefit, which was 278.02 euros in 2011 and 2012. The maximum parental
benefit is three times the average
wages of the year before the previous year;
in 2011 the maximum benefit was 2156 euros and in 2012 it was
2143.41 euros. If a parent
was working during the said year but his or her
average income was lower than the minimum wage, the parental benefit is paid at
the
minimum wage rate.
- In
addition to valuing children, benefits aimed at families help to alleviate the
poverty of children. An analysis “The effect
of financial benefits aimed
at families on the alleviation of poverty in Estonia” conducted by the
Political Research Centre
PRAXIS in 2007 showed that state family benefits, the
parental benefit and income tax incentives (greater income tax return based
on
the number of children) together enabled the decrease from 2000 to 2007 of the
percentage of children living below the relative
poverty threshold by almost a
third (nearly 20,000 children), i.e. 8–10 percentage points. The
benefits have reduced the poverty
of families with multiple children the most,
the effect has been somewhat lesser on families with a single parent. The
benefit which
is aimed at poor households the most is the allowance for families
with three or more children, and it is followed by the single
parent’s
child allowance, the child care allowance and the parental
benefit.
6.4.4. Benefits
for disabled persons
- The
amount of social benefits for disabled persons has changed compared to the
previous reporting period. Disabled child allowance
is paid monthly to a child
with a moderate, severe or profound disability until the child attains
16 years of age. The allowance
is intended for compensation for the
additional expenses caused by the disability and for the activities prescribed
in the rehabilitation
plan: to a child with a moderate disability 270% of the
social benefit rate (69.04 euros in 2012), and to a child with a severe or
profound disability 315% of the social benefit rate (80.55 euros in
2012).
- Disabled
parent’s allowance is paid monthly to a disabled person who is
raising a child alone and with whom a written foster care contract has been
entered into
pursuant to the Social Welfare Act or to a disabled single parent
or to a disabled step-parent who is raising a child alone or to
a disabled
guardian who is raising a child alone or to one of two disabled spouses raising
a child of up to 16 years of age or a
child of up to 19 years of age
who is enrolled in a basic school or upper secondary school, or in formal
vocational education at
a vocational educational school or institution of
professional higher education. The disabled parent’s allowance amounts to
75% of the social benefit rate (19.18 euros in 2012).
- Education
allowance is paid monthly to a non-working disabled student who attends upper
secondary school in years 10 to 12 or who
attends a vocational school or
institution or an institution of higher education, and who has additional
expenses in relation to
his or her studies as a result of the disability.
Education allowance is not paid for July and August. Education allowance amounts
to 25–100% of the social benefit rate and it is paid according to the
actual additional expenses of the person (6.39–25.57
euros in
2012).
- Rehabilitation
allowance is paid to a disabled person between the ages of
16–65 years for the receipt of rehabilitation services
from a
provider of rehabilitation services registered in the register of economic
activities. Rehabilitation allowance is paid to
compensate partially for actual
rehabilitation expenditure in an amount of up to 200% of the social benefit rate
during a calendar
year (51.14 euros in 2012).
- Disabled
students enrolled in university, whose physical or psychosocial condition
prevents them from participating in the study process
equally to others, are
supported in receiving services necessary to decrease the hindrances caused by
the disability. Allowance is
paid based on the type and degree of the disability
and the study load. Students have the possibility to apply twice an academic
year, for a total of 10 months, allowance for support services which
support the acquisition of higher education: use of a sign language
interpreter
in the studies (up to 510 euros per month), personal assistant services (up
to 95 euros per month), making copies of
study materials (up to
30 euros per month), and transport services (including social transport and
taxi services for disabled persons)
(up to 95 euros per month). In addition
it is possible to apply for services which are compensated for on a one-time
basis: involvement
of an assistant teacher in classroom work, speech therapist
services, purchase of special clothes and footwear, psychological counselling,
and psychotherapy services. The annual budget of the support fund is
approximately
150,000 euros.
6.4.5. Childcare
service
- As
of 01.01.2007, the Social Welfare Act includes child care services as a new type
of social service. The new type of service was
established on the basis of a
project “Children taken care of, mothers at work” of the European
Communities initiative
EQUAL from 2005 to 2007, and with the help of the project
the first 30 professional childcarers were trained and provided with work.
At
the same time as the project, a professional qualification system was also
established. In 2005 the professional standard for
a childcarer (childcarer II
and III) was approved, a study programme based on the professional standard was
prepared, and relevant
trainings are organised.
- Childcare
service means a service supporting the ability of the legal representative or
caregiver of a child to cope or work during
the provision of which the care,
development and safety of a child is guaranteed by a provider of childcare
service instead of the
persons specified above. The purpose of providing a
regulatory framework for the childcare services is to increase the safety of
children while they are being cared for by strangers. The Act provides for the
requirements for the number of children that one childcarer
is allowed to care
for at the same time, for the premises where the services are provided, for the
preparation of the childcarer,
etc. Providers of childcare services must comply
with the established requirements and hold an activity licence if the services
are
financed by the state or local government. If a parent buys the services
from a service provider who does not hold an activity licence,
the parent is
required to assess for himself or herself whether the conditions of the services
are suitable for his or her child.
Childcare services are paid for mainly by the
parent.
- In
2007, the minimum requirements for childcare services were established in the
Social Welfare Act in the interests of the safety
of children, and the state
started to gather statistics regarding childcare services. In 2007 the state
paid a benefit of 165 euros
per child per year for childcare services for a
child with a severe or profound disability. As of 2008 the benefit is
371 euros per
year. An application for a benefit for state-funded childcare
services may be submitted to the local government where a trilateral
contract
between the parent, local government and service provider is concluded for the
use of the services. The parents can choose
a service provider and service
format to their liking (in an institution or home of the child, daycare or
24-hour care, etc.). With
the help of the European Social Fund, five projects
were supported from 2010 to 2011, in the framework of which childcare services
are offered to parents who wish to work. The childcare services are used more
and more each year.
- The
development plan for children and families for 2012–2020 prescribes
several activities which are aimed at the development
of childcare services.
There are plans to carry out activities to establish children’s (including
children with special needs
and disabilities) daycare providers and to improve
the availability of the service, to improve the quality of daycare, and to
gather
and systematise information to get an overview of offers for and needs of
children’s daycare.
- See
the Annex, table 15: Children who have received childcare services
(2008–2011).
7. Education,
leisure and cultural activities
(Articles 28, 29 and 31)
7.1. Education,
including vocational training (Article 28)
7.1.1. Pre-school
education
- The
education of children in Estonia starts with pre-school education, the purpose
of which is to support the individuality and creativity
of children, to allow
them to study through playing, and to create the preconditions for success in
everyday life and school. The
welfare and development of children prior to
starting school is the responsibility of their family who, if necessary, may
apply for
a place in a pre-school child care institution, either municipal or
private, for the provision of a pre-school education or childcare
services. A
rural municipality or city government shall provide all children from eighteen
months to seven years of age whose residence
is in the administrative territory
of the given rural municipality or city and whose parents so wish with the
opportunity to attend
a pre-school institution in the catchment area
(subsection 10 (1) of the Pre-school Child Care Institutions Act).
Pre-school children
are guaranteed health insurance and thereby general and
special medical care. Preventive medical examination of children on a regular
basis, in the course of which the physical and mental development of children is
assessed, lies within the responsibility of family
physicians, family nurses and
health care professionals. Early discovery and supporting of special needs of
children within the framework
of pre-school education is important for the
prevention of further educational, social and health problems and for decreasing
the
number of students dropping out of school. The number of positions of
support specialists (speech therapists and special educators)
has increased in
pre-school child care institutions by 9% from 2008 to 2012; such positions have
been created in 64% of pre-school
child care institutions. Furthermore, regional
counselling centres provide counselling to parents, teachers and local
government
specialists in special educational, psychological and social
education issues.
- According
to the framework documents of the Commission of Europe, the quality and
availability of pre-school education and child care
services are important for
achieving the EU 2020 goals in respect of decreasing the number of students
dropping out of school as
well as decreasing poverty. Based on the Lisbon
strategy, Estonia has a goal according to which 95% of all children between
4 years
of age and the age when they have to start school would participate
in pre-school education by 2020. From 2008 to 2012 the possibilities
for
children to acquire a pre-school education in kindergarten have improved. The
participation in pre-school education of children
between 4 years of age
and the age when they have to start school (98%) is above the EU average (92%),
and compared to 2008 it has
increased by 2% and the number of children has
increased by nearly 5000 children. During the last five years, Estonia has
supported
local governments in creating new places in kindergartens and in
renovating kindergartens to the extent of 49 million euros out of
the funds
of the EU Structural Funds. Pre-school education expenses in Estonia amount to
1.03% of the GDP, which is very close to
its equivalent in the Nordic
countries.
- There
are 644 pre-school child care institutions and 295 child care
institutions in Estonia (2012/2013 data from the Estonian Education
Information
System and the Ministry of Social Affairs). 85% of children 18 months to
3 years of age participate in pre-school education
and childcare, and 98%
of children 4–6 years of age participate in pre-school education, a
total of 69,605 children. The national
curriculum for pre-school child care
institutions (2009) favours the application of methods of active study based on
the child: Step
by Step, Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, language immersion,
discovery learning, and outdoor learning. Children whose home language
is other
than Estonian have the possibility for state-funded Estonian language study as
of the age of 3 years, and also methods for
teaching a foreign language to
Estonian children before starting school are being developed.
- Great
attention in Estonian kindergartens is paid to education in social values,
including supporting the welfare and safety of children
and preventing bullying,
thereby favouring tolerance, consideration, respect and courage in children and
families. From 2010 to 2014
the Ministry of Education and Research will support
a cooperation project “Kindergarten without bullying” promoted by
the Danish Save the Children and the Estonian Union for Child Welfare, which
half of the Estonian kindergartens have joined as of
today. Health behaviour and
the health education of children are important issues in the educational
activities of kindergartens;
one-third of Estonian kindergartens belong to the
network of Health-promoting Kindergartens. On the basis of the OECD overview
“Starting
Strong III: A Quality Toolbox for Early Childhood Education and
Care” published in 2012 it can be said that compared to the
OECD
countries’ average, there are less children per adults in Estonian
kindergarten groups; the indicator 1:8 is based on
the number of employees
working in a child care institution group (3 employees in a group in
Estonia) and on the maximum number of
children in a group (24 children at
most in a group in Estonia).
- In
cooperation with stakeholder groups, the Ministry of Education and Research is
preparing a pre-school education development concept
for 2014–2020 to
improve the availability and quality of pre-school education. It is important to
develop the legislation concerning
pre-school education to specify the funding
of pre-school education, the liability of local governments, and the
establishment of
flexible formats for pre-school education and child care based
on the needs of children and families. To improve the quality it is
important to
develop over the coming years teacher education, means of study (including
digital), early language studies for children,
and the system for early
discovery and supporting of special needs of
children.
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 43 (c)
of the Committee’s previous concluding observations
7.1.2. Compulsory
school attendance
- A
child shall attend school if he or she will have attained 7 years of age by
1 October of the year in question. A student shall attend
school until such
time as he or she has acquired basic education or attained 17 years of age.
The procedure for the performance of
the obligation to attend school and for
keeping records of children of school age shall be regulated by legislation.
Children of
citizens of foreign states and of persons with undetermined
citizenship who reside in Estonia, except children of representatives
of foreign
states, are subject to the obligation to attend school (§ 8 of the
Education Act). The duty to attend school is not deemed as fulfilled if a person
subject to the duty to attend school has not been enrolled in
any school or is
absent from studies without a good reason.
- A
new Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act entered into force on
01.09.2010, setting out several provisions which specify
the duties of various
parties (parent, school, and local government) for securing the fulfilment of
the duty to attend school. According
to the Act, a parent must enable and
facilitate the performance of the duty to attend school, create conditions
facilitating learning
at home and the prerequisites for participation in studies
for a student subject to the duty to attend school, and cooperate with
the
school. In the case of problems which prevent the performance of the duty to
attend school, a parent is required to take measures
offered by the school or
local government, and where necessary, request that the school or local
government take measures of ensuring
the performance of the duty to attend
school.
- If
a parent fails to perform the above duties, the local government will take the
required measures to protect the rights of the child.
A parent will be punished
by a fine of up to 200 fine units (approx. 800 euros) if their child
who is subject to the duty to attend
school has not been enrolled in any school
or has been absent for more than 20 per cent of the lessons during a
quarter of the academic
year without a reason. A parent will not be punished if
they have applied to the school or local government for measures ensuring
the
performance of the duty to attend school, consent to the application of the
measures to be taken and actively participate in
their application. Reasoned,
relevant and proportional support measures may be taken and sanctions may be
imposed with regard to
a student with the aim of influencing students to abide
by the internal rules of the school, respect others and perform the duty
to
attend
school.
7.1.3. Alternative
options for acquiring education
- By
a recommendation of the counselling committee and with the approval of a parent,
one-to-one teaching is applied to the student
who due to their health status
requires constant supervision or assistance at school. Due to the health status,
the duty to attend
school may also be performed by way of home educating.
Hospitalised children are subject to in-hospital teaching. The school may
consider studies or activities falling outside the school’s curriculum,
including studies in another general education school,
as part of the teaching
carried out by the school, provided that it allows the student to achieve the
learning outcomes specified
in the school curriculum or in the student’s
individual curriculum.
- Persons
17 years of age and older (in exceptional cases also younger persons by a
recommendation of the counselling committee) may
acquire basic and secondary
education by way of non-stationary studies. Weekly workload is 24 hours.
Single subjects can also be
studied in the non-stationary studies. The workload
of a student studying single subjects is laid down for each academic year in
an
individual curriculum. Students also have the possibility to graduate from basic
or upper secondary school as external students.
- Problems
related to the drop-out rate are addressed on the basis of the Estonian
Education Information System, which includes information
concerning every
student. Information contained in the Estonian Education Information System is
analysed case-by-case, and indicators
related to dropping out and terminating
studies are gathered by the level of studies and age.
- The
number of students who discontinue their studies at the age of compulsory school
attendance has been constantly decreasing in
Estonia in recent years. If during
the academic year 2005/2006 over 900 children under the obligation to
attend school (0.7% of students)
terminated their studies in basic school, then
during the academic year 2011/2012 the corresponding indicator was 0.2%, i.e.
279
students. 192 of them were enrolled in stationary studies and
69 in non-stationary studies. In the third level of studies the highest
percentage of drop-outs is among the boys, amounting to 0.8%. The percentage of
drop-outs in the stationary studies in upper secondary
school has remained
around 1% in recent years; during the academic year 2011/2012, 359 students
(1.4%) dropped out from upper secondary
school. To obtain information regarding
how much does each termination of studies cost the Estonian state and society
and what is
the difference between costs related to termination of studies and
costs related to measures taken to prevent termination of studies,
a study
“Costs of failed studies in Estonia” was conducted from 2010 to
2011.
7.1.4. Repetition
of grade and dropping out of school
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 43 (a) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- Qualitative
information concerning the non-performance of the obligation to attend school
and repetition of grade has been gathered
and analysed in the course of state
supervision. Measures related to the performance of the obligation to attend
school have been
a priority of state supervision for several years. In 2003 the
Department of Supervision of the Ministry of Education and Research
organised
state supervision to get an overview of absences from school with and without a
reason. It has served as a basis for developing
further measures and for
implementing them upon ensuring the performance of the obligation to attend
school. In the course of supervision
from 2004 to 2005 also the performance of
the obligation to attend school and keeping track of absences from school were
dealt with.
Within the academic year 2005/2006, the priority of state
supervision over general education was the provision of support to students
who
had got insufficient marks within a quarter of the academic year and the
implementation of support systems and the application
of home educating.
- As
of 2005 a grade is allowed to be repeated only in exceptional cases; no
repetition is allowed for students studying according to
the simplified national
curriculum (students with mild learning difficulties) and students with moderate
learning difficulties and
students studying in upper secondary school.
Furthermore, students must have the opportunity to retake a test if their oral,
written
or practical test has been marked as “fail” or
“weak”. If an individual curriculum has been prepared for
a student,
the specifications provided by the individual curriculum are taken into account
when giving a mark. The students and their
parents must be informed of the
assessment procedure and the bases for assessment, and the aforesaid must also
be made available
on the school’s website.
- In
Estonia several studies have been conducted in connection with the problems
related to the performance of the obligation to attend
school, and also the
National Audit Office conducted corresponding audits in 2002 and 2006. A study
conducted from 2009 to 2012 as
part of the project “Prevention of dropping
out of school through increasing the students’ ability to cope
socially”
pointed out as a problem that children at risk often come from
families with a single parent, their domestic situation is not balanced,
they
experience frequent domestic disputes, and at the home of nearly half of the
children at risk there were drinking binges from
time to time, and the parents
have little time for their children.
Information on the issues
raised in paragraph 43 (b) of the Committee’s previous concluding
observations
- Pursuant
to law, when teaching a student, a school may change or adjust the time,
contents, process and environment of study. If the
changes or adjustments
substantially increase or decrease the weekly workload or intensity of studies
in comparison with the school
curriculum or reduce or replace the learning
outcomes provided for in the national curricula, an individual curriculum will
be drawn
up for the student. If the individual curriculum drawn up for a student
with special educational needs lays down reduction or replacement
of the
learning outcomes provided for in the national curriculum or the release from
learning a compulsory subject, the individual
curriculum may be implemented on
the basis of a recommendation of the counselling committee. All students with
moderate or severe
learning difficulties study according to an individual
curriculum. The student or their parent and, where necessary, teachers and
support specialists will be involved in drawing up an individual
curriculum.
- On
the basis of the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act, teachers observe
the development and ability to cope of students
at school and, where necessary,
adjust studies according to the needs of students. For the purpose of developing
the abilities and
talents of students, their individual study needs will be
identified, suitable teaching methods will be chosen and, where necessary,
differentiated teaching will be carried out. Schools will provide students who
temporarily fall behind in attaining the presumable
learning outcomes with
additional pedagogical guidance outside lessons. Students will be provided with
the services of support specialists
— a special education teacher,
psychologist and social educator. The owners of the schools will create and the
heads of school
will organise the opportunities for implementation of the
services of support specialists. Within the framework of the strategy for
using
state structural funds for 2007–2013, 18 support centres (study
counselling centres) servicing the educational institutions
in the corresponding
region have been established in every county and also in larger cities, and for
the purposes of discovering
early the special needs of children regarding their
development and supporting their individual development, the centres provide
psychological, special educational and social counselling services as well as
the services of a speech therapist for children, young
people, parents, teachers
in educational institutions, specialists and local government officials, and
they also provide remedial
instruction.
- Every
general education school is required to inform the students of their
possibilities for further education and of the general
tendencies on the labour
market as well as ensure the availability of career services (career study,
career information, or career
counselling). In providing career services,
schools are supported by youth information centres, which usually work in
cooperation
with study counselling
centres.
7.1.5. PISA
test results in 2012
- The
focus of PISA 2012 was on mathematics, and also reading and natural science. The
Estonian basic school students are some of the
best in the world and at the
absolute top in Europe. The results have improved compared to 2006 as well as
2009. For example, in
the natural science section Estonia shares 1st
and 2nd place with Finland in Europe. The level of the Estonian basic
education is very high, and the development of less capable students
is
well-supported. Out of the European countries, the number of young people
15 years of age who have low capabilities is the lowest
in Estonia. There
is no educational stratification in Estonia, the educational system is uniform
and egalitarian. See the Annex,
table 20: Ranking of Estonia in PISA tests
by average
results.
7.1.6. Boarding
school programme
- The
national boarding school programme was initiated in 2002 and it includes
boarding schools established within municipal and private
schools as well as
state-funded places in the boarding schools, which are intended for children
from families who have difficulties
in coping, mostly for children whose family
is not able to support them in the performance of the obligation to attend
school and
who lack the necessary conditions for studying at home. More than
40 boarding schools have been set up within the framework of the
programme.
As of 2011, the maintenance of nearly 700 students in boarding schools is
supported with 2000 euros per year from the
state budget within the
framework of the boarding school programme. The money is allocated to the owner
of the school for each student
and the total amount covers, to the extent
proportional to the number of children, the costs of managing the boarding
school, meal
expenses of students, personnel costs of the boarding school, and
according to the school’s capabilities, also the expenses
related to
activities which support the development of the students (for example, hobby
groups). Every year the boarding school programme
receives from the state budget
approximately 1.34 million
euros.
7.1.7. Free
school meal and learning materials
- As
of 2002 free school lunch was guaranteed to students in grades 1–4, but as
of January 2006 basic schools receive allocations
from the state budget to pay
for school meals until the end of the basic school, thanks to which every
student in basic school gets
a free hot meal within the school meal programme.
Free school milk and school fruit programmes have been implemented in pre-school
child care institutions and general education schools. As of 1 September
2007, the owners of schools receive from the state budget
allocations which
enable them to guarantee to students acquiring basic education free textbooks,
exercise-books, workbooks, worksheets
and other learning materials necessary for
completing the curriculum (previously it was all financed by the parents), and
students
in upper secondary schools are guaranteed textbooks free of charge. In
2010 local governments were allocated over 5 million euros
for purchasing
learning materials, and over 8 million euros in
2011.
7.2. Objectives
of education (Article 29)
7.2.1. Development
plan for the general education system for 2007–2013
- According
to the development plan for the general education system developed by the
Ministry of Education and Research, the general
education system is open and
flexible, it is able to react to the changing demands of society and
individuals, and it is open for
international cooperation. Access to studies and
performance of educational obligations is guaranteed through the existence of
available
places in schools and through individualising support systems and
studies; the availability of quality studies is not dependent on
age, ethnic
origin, place of residence, socio-economic background, health or special
educational needs. The development plan prescribes
a high quality of studies
thanks to competent teachers, a modern curriculum and study environment,
professional leadership and an
appropriate quality assessment system. Teacher
training (including in-service training) ensures the professional development of
teachers
throughout their career; the wage system supports the high reputation
of the profession of teacher. According to the development
plan, educational
institutions are centred around the child/student. To support the education of
every student, the varied needs
and capabilities of students are taken into
account in the organisation of studies and in the development of the content of
studies.
There are operational information and counselling systems, and
necessary support systems have been established for students who have
special
educational needs. For those who have dropped out of school there are
possibilities for continuing their studies. Transitions
from kindergarten to
school and from one level of education to the next are smooth, the organisation
of studies enables a flexible
transition from upper secondary school to
vocational school and vice versa, and it is possible to take into account
non-formal education.
- The
lifelong studies strategy 2020, where the strategic goals of general education
in coordination with vocational and higher education
are specified for
2014–2020, is being
prepared.
7.2.2. Reduction
of school violence
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 43 (e) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- From
2008 to 2013 a new Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act was passed and
new national curricula were approved. According
to the Act, in every school it
is agreed upon how situations intervening with the welfare and safety of the
school family are prevented,
which formats of cooperation have been established
for ensuring safety, how is the liability divided in resolving situations, and
how is information communicated. An emergency response plan is also prepared in
every school. In the course of the preparation a
review is undertaken of the
kind of actions required in various emergencies and in less important cases
which hinder the everyday
work of the school. For such a purpose, a handbook and
other materials for teachers have been prepared and various trainings have
been
carried out under the leadership of the Rocca al Mare school and
Veskimöldre kindergarten and in cooperation with the Ministry
of Education
and Research, the Rescue Board, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Centre, the
Police and Border Guard Board, the Association
of Estonian Cities and the
Association of Municipalities of Estonia.
- The
Act now provides for the right of educators to apply measures for guiding
students. The Act provides that the measures must be
relevant and proportional,
and sets out a sample list which every school can adapt according to its needs.
Methodical materials “It’s
good together” and “Little
benefactor — together we will learn to do good” have been prepared
for teachers
under the leadership of the Children’s Fund of the Tartu
University Hospital to help students become more aware of their behaviour,
to
guide them to knowingly monitor their behaviour, and to pay attention to the
values expressed through behaviour.
- More
attention is being paid to inappropriate upbringing. Within the framework of a
programme “Values development of Estonian
society 2009–2013”
headed by the Centre for Ethics of the University of Tartu, a value game has
been developed that provides
methods to help in the analyses of everyday
situations encountered in schools and several collections of reference materials
have
been prepared. The cooperation project “School without
bullying” of the Danish Save the Children and the Estonian Union
for Child
Welfare, which is supported by the Ministry of Education and Research from 2010
to 2013, has been adapted to suit the first
level of school. In 2013 it will
also be implemented in every county at the school level. The emphasis of the new
national curricula
on formative assessment and the development of general
competence, and the increased use of problem-based, exploratory, outdoor
learning
and language immersion methods and other methods activating students
facilitate the establishment of a calm and friendly communication
environment.
7.2.2.1. Projects
- In
2001 the Union for Child Welfare commenced prevention and information work
against school violence and bullying through a project
“No to
violence”. Basic school students were involved in the activities by
forming project teams with the help of an
adult instructor which started
anti-violence activities in schools. The project has turned into a programme,
the purpose of which
is to inform the public of the nature and spread of school
violence and bullying directed against children, and of the possibilities
to
prevent it and intervene in it. The programme “No to violence”
includes sub-projects, sub-programmes and other activities
aimed at different
target groups, for example, a project “Combat against school
bullying” and “School peace programme”.
Various prevention and
intervention methods regarding school violence and school bullying are being
promoted, for example, the joint
problem method, or social theatre methods.
Seminars, trainings and conferences are being organised and various information
materials
are being published. There are also campaigns, competitions and other
events aimed at the public. Developing a good relationship
between students and
teachers and improving communication skills are being focused on. Learning
personal skills that open up possibilities
for coping is also important.
- In
1999 under the leadership of the Estonian Youth Work Centre the following
programmes were initiated: Tugiõpilaste Oma Ring Eestis (TORE)
(Support Students’ Own Circle in Estonia) in cooperation with NGO Youth
Association, Eesti 4H in cooperation with NGO
Youth Association, and
“School peace programme” in cooperation with the Estonian School
Student Councils’ Union.
During the subsequent years, the following bodies
joined the programme through various activities: Estonian Police, Union for
Child
Welfare, Estonian Guides Association, Young Eagles, European Young People,
UNICEF, Estonian Neighbourhood Watch, and Estonian National
Youth Council. As of
2008 the school peace programme is being led by the Union for Child Welfare. The
number of cooperation partners
as well as the number of schools which have
joined the programme has increased, a total of 60 general education schools
have joined
the programme already. The school peace programme supports the
school’s own initiative in solving problems arising from the
school
environment, promoting a jovial and safe school environment where everybody
likes to be. The programme is aimed at students,
teachers and the rest of the
school staff, but also at parents and various stakeholders related to the school
environment. The website
of the programme can be found at www.koolirahu.eu. The
programme “Kindergarten free of bullying” initiated by the Union
for
Child Welfare started out as a test project in ten Estonian kindergartens in
2010. Now there are 43 kindergartens which have
joined the programme,
involving 84 kindergarten groups with 2016 children. By the end of
2012 there was one kindergarten in every
county and 8 kindergartens in
Tallinn which served as methodology centres in order to be prepared for the
general spread of the “Kindergarten
free of bullying” project all
over Estonia during 2013–2014. The establishment of a behavioural culture
free of bullying
among kindergarten children is also important for preventing
subsequent school violence. In 2013 the programme methodology was adapted
to
suit the first level of school, and during the academic year 2013/2014 the pilot
project “School free of bullying”
is launched in every county, in a
total of 23 schools within the first school level.
- Under
the leadership of the No Bullying Foundation, the KiVa programme developed by
the scientists of the University of Turku (Finland)
was launched in
20 Estonian schools in
2013.
7.2.2.2. Amendments
to the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act
- For
the purpose of establishing a safe study environment in general education
schools and for preventing and decreasing school violence,
the following
amendments have been made to the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act:
1) as of the second level school, special
classes may be formed for
students with educational problems acquiring basic education; 2) the upper
limit of the size of the class
has been set — up to 24 students (but
this limit may be increased by a decision of the board of trustees of the school
which
comprises representatives of the parents and community); 3) the
obligations of the school in ensuring the mental and physical safety
have been
specified; 4) developmental conversations have been made compulsory;
5) internal evaluation of the school has been made
compulsory. The
following regulations of the Minister of Education and Research have been
amended or drawn up: 1) the conditions
of and procedure for the formation
of classes for students with educational problems; 2) the conditions of and
procedure for conducting
a developmental conversation; 3) the bases for,
conditions of and procedure for assessment of students, transfer of students to
the
next class and requirement to repeat the grade; 4) the procedure for
drawing up and carrying out individual curricula. Also financing
has been
increased to implement necessary support systems in
schools.
7.2.3. Small
schools
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 43 (g) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- The
new general education financing model, which was implemented in January 2008,
supports the preservation of an elementary school
near home, and in financing
small schools, schools on islands and basic schools, it considers the costs
necessary to carry out a
curriculum, and thereby the new financing model ensures
an education of equal
level.
7.3. Leisure,
recreation and cultural activities (Article 31)
- See
clause 3.3.1 for the participation of children in decision-making
processes.
- The
planning of youth work and youth policy at the national level is headed by the
Ministry of Education and Research, and the implementation
thereof is headed by
the Estonian Youth Work Centre. The achievement of goals is based on the youth
work strategy for 2006–2013.
The programmes which have been implemented
for achieving the goals of the youth work strategy and which are constantly
being carried
out are the following: 1) provision of support to youth
associations; 2) provision of support to youth participation councils;
3)
open youth centres programme; 4) provision of information to young
people and development of counselling centres; 5) healing and
developmental
holiday programme for young people (provision of support to youth and project
camps); 6) provision of support to juvenile
committees; 7) project
competition “Varaait” (“Storehouse”) for the acquisition
of means necessary for the
activities of youth centres and hobby schools;
8) programme for young people’s groups.
- The
state supports youth associations with at least 500 members, two-thirds of
whom are young people aged 7–26 years, which
are active in at least
one-third of the counties.
- In
addition to national programmes and projects, Estonia also participates in the
EU youth programme “Youth in action”
and uses the resources of the
European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for
developing the quality
of youth work (trainings, quality assessment, and
monitoring system) and for improving the availability thereof (renovation of
youth
centres and hobby schools). To describe the vocation of a youth worker and
to grant a person the said vocation, the professional
standard for a youth
worker has been prepared.
- Information
concerning participation in hobby education is based on the Estonian Education
Information System. Over 400 hobby schools
have registered their curricula
in the Estonian Education Information System. The system gathers information
only on those hobby
schools where recreation activities correspond to the hobby
education standard and where studies are conducted according to a curriculum.
On
the basis of the information contained in the Estonian Education Information
System, participation in hobby education has increased
in every age group over
the last three years, and during the academic year 2011/2012, 57 534 young
people aged 7–26 years participated
in hobby education, that is 17.9%
of young people in that age group. The participation rate is higher in larger
cities (Tallinn,
Tartu, Narva, Pärnu) probably due to there being more
hobby schools. The number of persons interested in hobby education has
increased
the most in sports, while numbers have decreased in the areas of technology,
nature and general culture.
- Based
on the results of a survey carried out concerning participation in youth work it
may be presumed that about 11% of young people
aged 7–26 years
participate in youth associations (remains within the confidence limits 5.4%
(lower) and 25.6% (upper) which
reflect the extent of a possible error). The
calculation is based on the percentage of the answers of those young people who
had
participated in the activities, events and meetings of youth associations
during the last three years — a few times a month,
once or twice a week,
over 3 times a week. The number of youth work agencies has increased,
mostly due to the increased number of
youth centres and hobby schools.
- The
recreation activities of young people in the field of culture and sports as well
as the stimulation of all-round creativity of
young people is one of the main
priorities of the Ministry of Culture. Domestic cooperation in this field is
generally good and the
main problems in carrying out ideas are often related to
funding. At present, the main focus is on continuing with the programmes
which
have already been initiated. As of 2003 several programmes have been carried out
for developing and supporting the culture-related
activities of young people.
Publication of children’s books by Estonian authors and magazines aimed at
children is also supported.
The programme “Let the child read” aims
to unite children and books from birth. The state gives every new child a book
which is suitable for children of every age up to the time when they start
school; the book contains the most valuable stories of
Estonian children’s
literature. The purpose of the “National programme for schools operating
in manors” is to develop
schools and child care institutions operating in
former manors into local education and culture centres. In 2012 the Ministry of
Culture supported from its sports budget the basic swimming programme (to
continue to support the mandatory basic swimming lessons
established in the
physical education curriculum for the first level of school) and the youth
sports support programme (to support
sports clubs, sports schools and sports
unions for efficient work done with young people). For statistics concerning
sporting habits
of children see the Annex, table 18.
- Estonia
has a wide network of national libraries which includes 552 libraries, and
in addition there are school libraries which also
serve young readers. Libraries
can be used free of charge. There is also the Estonian Children’s
Literature Information Centre
in Tallinn, which organises events to introduce
children’s literature to children, their parents and teachers.
- The
State Concert Institute, Eesti Kontsert, leads a series of school concerts which
includes classical music, jazz, folk music and
pop music and which has been
received very well. Choral song is also very important in the musical education
of children. 776 children’s
and youth choirs participated in the
XI Youth Song and Dance Festival in 2011, there were 23,820 singers,
430 dance groups and 6749
dancers. A total of 33,834 young
singers, dancers, musicians and gymnasts took part in that festival. In the
field of theatre there
applies a good practice guideline that state-funded
performance establishments have in their repertory at least two children’s
plays which are performed on a regular basis and also as guest performances in
other cities and county centres. The state is supporting
this through the
programme “Theatre in the country”, compensating for the travel
expenses incurred by theatres in connection
with giving performances. In 2012
Estonian theatres gave 1610 performances for children and young people, and
335,646 people went
to see
them.
7.3.1. Open
youth centres programme
- Open
youth centres continue to be important establishments in Estonia for the
organisation of regional youth work, and they operate
on the basis of the open
youth work method and are open to every young person who wishes to go there. On
the basis of reports from
a project competition organised by the national
support programme for open youth centres, a total of 210 open youth centres
were
operating in Estonia in 2010 and 2011 and 227 open youth centres in
2012. Funds from the state budget were allocated to the activities
of open youth
centres to the extent of 4,008,247 kroons in 2010. 225,225 euros of
the entire amount of money for the programme were
given to projects carried out
by youth centres in 2011 and 229,598 euros in 2012. To improve the
competitiveness of young people
on the labour market and to decrease social
exclusion, the activities of youth centres are supported within the framework of
the
ESF programme “Development of the quality of youth work” for
three years (2010–2013) for carrying out and coordinating
activities, and
the support amounts to 1,020,490 euros, which means 340,163 euros per
year on
average.
7.3.2. Youth
and project camps programme
- The
number of young people who participate in camps has remained steady at around
30,000 over recent years irrespective of the fact
that the number of young
people is decreasing in Estonia. The monetary support provided by the Ministry
of Education and Research
has somewhat increased over the years: if in 2010 a
total of 733,194 euros were given for the project “Healing and
developmental
holidays for young people”, then in 2012 the project
received 827,874 euros. Within the framework of the project, young people
who come from families with lesser means and young people who live in social
welfare institutions have the possibility to participate
in camps free of
charge. Interest in social vouchers has decreased over recent years, and the
main reasons are that the economic
capabilities of families have somewhat
improved after the economic crisis and that the number of children has
decreased. If in 2010
a total of 2287 social vouchers were funded, then in
2012 a total of 2185 vouchers were issued. The number of camps has remained
steady over the years. In 2010 there were 26 and in 2012 there were 25 permanent
youth camps which held an activity licence issued
by the Ministry of Education
and Research, and there were 77 and 62 project camps, respectively. Every year
service satisfaction
surveys are conducted to consider proposals made by young
people to diversify the activities carried out in
camps.
7.3.3. Long
day schools project
- In
2007 a state-funded long day schools project was initiated (nearly
646,830 euros per year), providing children with even greater
options for
recreation activities and prolonging the time when children are supervised and
carry out supervised activities until
the end of their parents working day
(6–7 p.m.). Also various recreation activities are offered and outings as
well as visits
to cultural institutions are organised. If necessary, students
are provided with remedial instruction and also meals. In 2007, 54
schools
received support, as a result of which the number of children participating in
the long day work in those schools increased
by 65%. In 2008 resources were
allocated to 59 schools. Unfortunately, under the conditions of the
economic depression it has not
been possible to continue with the project. At
present, long day groups are funded from the budget of local governments and
some
of the expenses are covered by the parents (meals). In 2013/2014, long day
groups were operating within 61% of general education
schools which include the
basic school level
(289 schools).
8. Special
protection measures
8.1. Children
in refugee status (Article 22)
- A
total of nine unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in Estonia from 2009 to
2013. A total of 28 children with parents applied
for asylum during the
same period of
time.
8.1.1. Act
on Granting International Protection to Aliens
- The
Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens (AGIPA) entered into force on
01.07.2006. The AGIPA regulates the bases for
granting international protection
to an alien, the legal status of an alien who is applying for international
protection and of an
alien who has been granted international protection and the
legal bases for his or her temporary stay, residence and employment in
Estonia
on the basis of treaties and the legislation of the European Union.
International protection includes refugee status, supplementary
protection
status as well as temporary protection.
- The
AGIPA includes separate provisions for the processing and receipt of
applications for asylum submitted by unaccompanied minors.
Pursuant to the
currently applicable regulatory framework, an unaccompanied minor alien is an
alien less than 18 years of age who
arrives or has arrived in Estonia
without a parent, guardian or other responsible adult person or who loses a
parent, guardian or
other responsible person while staying in Estonia.
§ 17 of the AGIPA provides for specifications of asylum application
proceedings
involving unaccompanied minor applicants and adult applicants with
restricted active legal capacity. In performing procedural acts,
the rights and
interests of the minor shall be taken into consideration above all. Where
necessary, a person with relevant professional
expertise (for example, educator,
psychologist, or social worker, etc.) shall be involved in the performance of
procedural acts involving
minors. An unaccompanied minor may perform the acts
provided by law independently, if he or she is likely to become of age before
the Police and Border Guard Board makes a decision on the application for
asylum.
- To
guarantee to minors higher protection against expulsion and to provide them with
necessary social safeguards, the law has extended
the regulatory framework of
establishing the age of minors to those aliens, who have no basis for stay,
regarding whose age the Police
and Border Guard Board has reasonable
doubts.
- According
to § 18 of the AGIPA, the Police and Border Guard Board may give
priority to reviewing the applications of applicants
who are unaccompanied
minors.
- For
the time of the asylum proceedings, unaccompanied asylum seekers less than
18 years of age are placed in a reception centre (in
the accommodation
centre for asylum seekers as of 01.10.2013) or referred to a substitute home
service or foster care. The following
services shall be provided by the Ministry
of Social Affairs or an agency within the area of government thereof for an
applicant
for or a person enjoying international protection who is an
unaccompanied minor during his or her stay in Estonia: accommodation,
supply of
foodstuffs or provision of food, supply of essential clothing and other
necessities and toiletries, and supply of money
for urgent small expenses,
emergency care and access to medical examinations, essential translation
services and Estonian language
instruction, information regarding their rights
and duties, transportation necessary for the performance of acts pursuant to
law,
and other essential services.
- Pursuant
to an amendment of 24.12.2010 to the
AGIPA[10], the administrative
authority carrying out expulsion shall, before removing an unaccompanied minor
from the territory of the Member
State, be satisfied that he or she will be
returned to a member of his or her family, a nominated guardian or adequate
reception
facilities in the country of origin. An unaccompanied minor alien who
has no legal basis for staying in the country is ensured, through
the Social
Insurance Board, services intended for asylum seekers throughout his or her stay
in the
country.
8.1.2. Family
members according to the AGIPA
- Pursuant
to § 7 of the AGIPA, family members of an asylum seeker are his or her
spouse; his or her unmarried minor child, including
an adopted child; his or her
and his or her spouse’s unmarried minor child, including an adopted
child.
- Family
members of a refugee and of a person enjoying subsidiary protection are his or
her spouse; his or her and his or her spouse’s
unmarried minor child,
including an adopted child; unmarried and minor child under his or her or his or
her spouse’s custody
and maintained by him or her or his or her spouse,
including an adopted child. In case of shared custody the agreement of the party
sharing custody is required. Other family members of a refugee and of a person
enjoying subsidiary protection are his or her or his
or her spouse’s
unmarried adult child if the child is unable to cope independently due to his or
her state of health or disability;
and a parent or grandparent maintained by him
or her or his or her spouse if the country of origin does not provide support
resulting
from other family ties.
- Family
members of an unaccompanied minor refugee and unaccompanied minor enjoying
subsidiary protection are his or her parent; his
or her guardian or other family
member if he or she has no parents or if the parents cannot be traced unless
this is contrary to
the rights and interests of the minor. The family members
specified in the AGIPA shall be considered a family if the family existed
in the
country of origin, including the marriage that was contracted before entry into
Estonia.
8.1.3. Projects
- Several
projects, which have also benefited children, have been funded through the
European Refugee Fund (the implementing authority
of which in Estonia is the
Ministry of the Interior) and the Ministry of the Interior (own participation in
projects) as of 2005.
From 30.06.2006 to 31.12.2007 in cooperation with the
Ministry of Education and Research, the Non-Estonians Integration Foundation
(currently the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People) carried out a
project “Supporting locally the integration of
children of refugees and of
persons enjoying international protection into the Estonian education
system”, in the framework
of which a survey was conducted among county
governments, local governments and educational institutions concerning the
preparedness
to accept the children of new immigrants in Estonian educational
institutions and concerning their need for corresponding training.
Also a test
training programme was initiated within the framework of the project, and its
purpose was to deepen the knowledge of
education officials and heads of school
and to increase their preparedness to accept in Estonian educational
institutions children
from foreign countries and children whose home language is
other than the language of instruction in the school. 30 education
officials
and heads of school from the local governments of Tallinn, Tartu,
Viimsi and Illuka participated in the test training programme.
Also a report
“New immigrants in Estonian educational institutions” and a
collection of articles “Hand-in-hand.
Integration of children of refugees
and asylum seekers into the Estonian education system” were published in
the course of
the project.
- From
01.04.2005 to 31.12.2005, the Citizenship and Migration Board carried out a
project “Registration centre for asylum seekers”,
in the course of
which a regional office of the Citizenship and Migration Board was partially
reconstructed to establish a registration
centre for asylum seekers. A waiting
room, two interview rooms and the offices of the Department of Refugees of the
Citizenship and
Migration Board were built in the course of the project. Also
accommodation rooms for asylum seekers were built for accommodating
asylum
seekers on a temporary basis, up to 48 hours — a common room, a wash
room and three furnished rooms for an overnight
stay. One of the three rooms
intended for an overnight stay has been furnished to accommodate a family,
meaning that the needs of
children have been taken into account.
- Issues
related to children were also addressed in a project “Development of the
bases for and trial launch of the cooperation
model for officials dealing with
asylum seekers and persons who have been granted international protection”
carried out by
the European Refugee Fund and the Jaan Tõnisson Institute
from 31.12.2007 to 31.12.2008.
- The
non-profit association Johannes Mihkelson Centre has set up and provided support
person services to asylum seekers and persons
who have been granted
international protection. Also, psychotherapy has been provided and leisure
activities have been organised
for asylum seekers within the framework of the
projects carried out by the association.
- The
Estonian Human Rights Centre started a project in 2011 for giving asylum seekers
legal aid, and the project is to continue until
2015. Legal aid is provided,
inter alia, to minors through their representatives. The project is co-funded by
the EU European Refugee
Fund and the Ministry of the Interior.
- Within
the MINAS-4 project and with the involvement of experts, the Tallinn
representation of the International Organisation for Migration
prepared for the
Police and Border Guard Board a handbook on interviewing unaccompanied minors in
2010. Within the MINAS-5 project,
an expert group prepared in 2011 an analysis
“Admission of unaccompanied children and asylum seekers separated from
their parents
to Estonia. Mapping the existing system and proposals”. The
analysis is also available in English on the website of the Ministry
of Social
Affairs at www.sm.ee.
- From
2011 to 2013 several projects were carried out, in the framework of which the
admission of unaccompanied minors was promoted
and reinforced, ensuring the
necessary practice and knowledge for representatives, guardians and social
workers as well as other
related officials/employees. Furthermore, workshops
were organised for sharing best practices for the admission of unaccompanied
minor asylum seekers and for processing their
applications.
8.2. Children
in armed conflicts (Articles 38 and 39)
- On
18.12.2013 the Riigikogu of the Republic of Estonia passed the Act on the
Ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention
on the Rights of the
Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. The Optional Protocol
entered into force in relation
to Estonia on
12.03.2104.
8.2.1. The
Defence Forces
- According
to subsection 2 (1) of the Estonian Defence Forces Organisation Act,
the Defence Forces are a militarily organised governmental
authority within the
area of government of the Ministry of Defence. The functions of the Defence
Forces are the military defence
of the state and preparation therefor,
participation in collective self-defence and preparation therefor, participation
in international
military co-operation pursuant to the procedure provided for in
the International Military Co-operation Act, and performance of other
functions
imposed on the Defence Forces.
- Male
Estonian citizens are required to serve in the Defence Forces, that is to
perform the duty to serve in the Defence Forces. During
the time when a citizen
is required to perform the duty to serve in the Defence Forces he is a person
liable to national defence
obligation. An Estonian citizen is a person liable to
national defence obligation starting from the age of 17 years, unless he
has
been deleted from the national defence obligation register on the bases of
and pursuant to the procedure provided by the Military
Service Act. Persons
liable to national defence obligation are a call-up selectee, a person in the
military service and a person
in reserve. Persons in the military service are a
conscript, an active serviceman and a reservist. A call-up selectee is a person
liable to national defence obligation who attains 17 years of age during
the current year until the call-up for conscript service
or until the release
from the call-up for conscript service. Call-up selectees are called up for
conscript service at the age of
18–27 years. Although while being a
call-up selectee a person is required to perform the duties provided for call-up
selectees
by law, the said duties are not related to participation in the
Defence Forces and/or in direct act of war. The duties of call-up
selectees are
merely administrative, for example, providing information on their place of
residence or appearing in the Defence Resources
Agency or in a location
specified by the Defence Resources Agency for the performance of required acts.
The law does not allow to
include a person younger than 18 years of age in
the reserve to call him up into service as a reservist. Active service, that is
professional military service is a special type of public service and Estonian
citizens 18–60 years of age are accepted into
the service on a
voluntary basis. Only servicemen in active service may be deployed on an
international military operation. In the
case of mobilisation, persons at least
18 years of age may be called up for service. Therefore, although Estonian
legislation specifies
as a call-up selectee a male person at least 17 years
of age, only a person at least 18 years of age may sign up for conscript
service
or active service and be deployed on an international military
operation.
8.2.2. The
Defence League
- The
Defence League is a voluntary national defence organisation operating in the
area of government of the Estonian Ministry of Defence
which is organised in
accordance with military principles, possesses weapons and holds exercises of a
military nature. The Defence
League is a traditional and voluntary organisation
which, on one hand, gives people a chance to exercise their freedom of
association
as a constitutional right and at the same time contribute to wide
national defence, but which, on the other hand, is sufficiently
controlled by
the state to ensure the lawful operation of an association which possesses
weapons. To integrate citizens who have
joined the Defence League on their own
free will into the uniform system of national defence, the legal definition of
the Defence
League provides the Defence League as a national defence
organisation. Unlike the Defence Forces, it is not a state authority and
its
members are not in public service, although in certain cases the Defence League
does perform a public function.[11]
Unlike the Defence Forces, the functions of the Defence League do not include
the military defence of the state or participation
in collective self-defence.
These functions lie within the competence of the Defence Forces. In keeping with
the aforesaid, the Defence
League does not represent the state of Estonia in its
international activity.
- According
to the Estonian Defence League Act, an Estonian citizen of at least
18 years of age may be an active member of the Defence
League. A junior
member of the Defence League may be an Estonian citizen 7–18 years of
age.
- Youth
organisations the Noored Kotkad (the Young Eagles) and the
Kodutütred (the Home Daughters) were established in 1930 and 1932,
respectively, and by nature they are associations following the principles
of
international scouting. According to clause 1 of the statutes of the
Noored Kotkad , the Noored Kotkad is a boys’ organisation
whose activity aims to raise young boys into mentally and physically sound
Estonian citizens in the
patriotic spirit. According to clause 2 of the
statutes of the Kodutütred, the main purpose of the
Kodutütred is to increase the patriotic mentality of young girls and
to increase their preparedness to protect the independence of Estonia,
deepen
their love for their home and homeland, and to teach them to respect and love
the Estonian language and Estonian mentality.
To achieve the objectives, the
Noored Kotkad and the Kodutütred organise, inter alia,
lectures, courses, practical work, exhibitions, meetings, competitions, tours,
hikes, games and other cultural
and economic activities. In addition, they may
issue their own magazines, newspapers, textbooks, handbooks and other
publications.
Pursuant to the Estonian Defence League Act, which entered into
force on 01.04.2013, the youth organisations of the Defence League
are the
structural units of the Defence League. In the course of the preparation of the
Act it was found that due to administrative
and historic reasons it is necessary
to define the youth organisations as part of the structure of the Defence
League.
- Compared
to adult members of the Defence League, the Defence League Act provides for
significant restrictions on the activity of junior
members. Junior members are
not involved in the performance of the following functions of the Defence
League: preparation of the
national defence capability of the state, provision
of military training to members, guarding of the Estonian Ministry of Defence
and the national defence objects and property in the area of government thereof
and the guarding of foreign missions of Estonia,
performance of rescue work, and
resolving of an emergency or a state of emergency. To become a junior member of
the Defence League
it is necessary to obtain a written consent of the
applicant’s parent or guardian, and when attaining 18 years of age,
the
person is required to submit a written application for becoming an active
member of the Defence League. Otherwise the person will
no longer be a member of
the Defence League after attaining 19 years of age.
- The
activity of members of the Defence League less than 18 years of age has
been explicitly distinguished from the functions of the
Defence League related
to military training, for which reason the youth organisations should be
regarded as independent from the
rest of the Defence League. The Republic of
Estonia is of the opinion that considering the objectives of the activity of the
above
youth organisations, their traditions, the international practices of
scouting and their distance from actual military activity,
the age limits
provided by Article 38 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child cannot
be applied to the youth organisations the
Noored Kotkad and the
Kodutütred. By providing for the minimum age limit for being
accepted into conscript service and becoming an active member of the Defence
League
to be 18 years of age, Estonia fully complies with the requirements
set forth in Article 38(1)–(3) of the Convention on the
Rights of the
Child. On the basis of legal restrictions and international traditions, the
activity of the youth organisations of
the Defence League can be regarded as an
exception to which Article 38(3) of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child is not applied.
- In
the military planning process (for example, the planning of mobilisation), the
Ministry of Defence and the Defence Forces take
fully into account the
provisions and principles of the international humanitarian law. It is also
taken into account that according
to Article 77 of the Additional Protocol
I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 children shall be the object of special
respect under
the international humanitarian law, and in using civil targets
their influence on the development and possibilities of children shall
be taken
into account. Whereas, it must be considered that certain targets, such as
stadiums, gyms, and sports facilities, have a
greater impact on the development
of children. The members of the Estonian Defence Forces also receive training in
the humanitarian
law. The Estonian National Defence College includes the Faculty
of the Humanities and Social Science, an objective of which is to
provide the
officers with clear knowledge of the legal framework which they may come into
contact with in military operations. Members
of the Defence Forces who
participate in international military operations have attended several trainings
and seminars which focus
on the implementation of the rules on the use of force
in a situation of conflict pursuant to the humanitarian law and political
goals.
Such trainings and seminars have been carried out in cooperation with our
international
partners.
8.3. Criminal
liability and administration of justice over children (Article 40)
- In
2012 a total of 1486 persons who were minors, that is
14–17 years of age at the time they committed a criminal offence were
established. In 2008 the same indicator was 2289 and in 2011 it was 1610. In
2008, over 4012 children all over Estonia were referred
to juvenile committees,
and in 2010 the same indicator was 2727, that is 32% less. In 2008 minors
committed 4521 violations of law
and in 2010 they committed 30% less violations,
that is 3173 violations of law. On average, 2% of the young people in the
corresponding
age group were referred to juvenile committees in Estonia in
2010.
- On
the basis of the general statistics of the police, the most common misdemeanour
committed by minors is a violation of the Alcohol
Act, that is consumption of
alcohol. In the second place is a violation of the Tobacco Act, that is
consumption or possession of
tobacco by a minor. The most common criminal
offences committed by minors are thefts and other offences against property,
which amounted
to 48% of all criminal offences committed by minors in 2010,
followed by criminal offences against the person (28%), against public
peace
(12%) and against public trust (7%) and other types of criminal offences
(5%).
9. General
strategic changes in criminal policy
9.1. Criminal policy
- In
2005, the Laulasmaa Declaration[12]
was adopted, which declared, inter alia, crimes committed by and against minors
and related to human trafficking to be a joint priority
of law enforcement
authorities. The priorities related to the Laulasmaa Declaration are specified
in annual meetings between the
Minister of Justice and the Minister of the
Interior. In 2008 criminal offences related to human trafficking and committed
in the
cyber environment were set as an additional priority. In 2006 the
Government of the Republic approved development plans for combating
human
trafficking and juvenile crime. In 2010 the Riigikogu approved the development
trends of criminal policy up to the year
2018.[13] The said document pays
even more attention than before to the prevention of juvenile crime. At a
national level, priorities concerning
minors set out, inter alia, the
establishment of a system for the early identification of children at risk at
the local government
level, which helps to prevent minors from taking a criminal
path; 2) the taking of various measures to prevent school bullying and
other problems encountered in the school environment, and the reduction of
failure to perform the obligation to attend school; 3)
the development of
the work of juvenile committees, including ensuring the uniform level of quality
of the juvenile committees and
of the sanctions applied by them all over
Estonia, the facilitation of the establishment of juvenile committees by local
governments,
and the conduct of proceedings concerning violations of law in
juvenile committees within 14 days as of the receipt of a corresponding
application by the juvenile committee; 4) the reorganisation of the system
of special schools, including the development of special
schools into
functioning educational institutions, the reorganisation of the infrastructure
of special schools, the individualisation
of educational work, the ensuring of
the necessary support services, and in cooperation with local governments the
ensuring of after-care
for persons who have graduated from a special school;
5) the ensuring of fast-track proceedings in criminal matters involving
minors,
including fast-tracking the hearings of offences in juvenile committees
(the prosecutor’s office and the police must guarantee
that the pre-trial
proceedings in criminal matters involving minors do not last more than one month
in general).
- Under
the coordination of the Ministry of Justice and in cooperation with the Ministry
of Education and Research, the Ministry of
the Interior, the Ministry of Social
Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a development plan for reducing
violence for 2010–2014
has been prepared and in respect of minors it
focuses, above all, on reducing violence against children and on reducing
violations
of law and violence committed by minors.
- The
objective of the main trends of the Estonian security policy up to 2015 is to
lower the number of criminal offences committed
against minors, and special
attention is also paid to the prevention of offences against property committed
by
minors.
9.1.1. Proceedings
concerning juvenile crime
- On
1 September 2011 amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) entered
into force, which expedite judicial proceedings, offer
better protection to
minors and make the protection of the fundamental rights more efficient. Hearing
of witnesses who are minors
was specified (involvement of specialists and
specifications concerning hearing in judicial proceedings) by providing that if
a body
conducting proceedings has acquired an appropriate education (social or
educational higher education or in-service training), he
or she may choose
whether or not to involve a child protection official in the hearing.
- If
a minor is required to reimburse the expenses relating to a criminal proceeding,
the body conducting the proceedings may impose
the reimbursement of expenses on
his or her parent, guardian or child care institution (§ 188 of the
CCP).
- Every
district prosecutor’s office now has specialised prosecutors. As of March
2009, specialisation in minors is also mandatory
among criminal police officers
of the police forces. Separate child protection services have been established
within every police
prefecture. Furthermore, every prefecture has special bodies
conducting proceedings who have received special training for working
with
minors, involving different types of criminal offences (for example, criminal
offences against property or against the person).
Proceedings concerning
criminal offences committed by minors may not exceed
4 months.
9.1.1.1.
Legal aid and right of appeal of children
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 51 (b) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
- Clause 45 (2) 1)
of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that the participation of a counsel
throughout a criminal proceeding concerning
a minor suspect or accused is
mandatory, and according to subsection 19 (3) of the Code of
Misdemeanour Procedure, the participation
of a counsel in a court proceeding is
mandatory if the person subject to proceedings is 14 to 18 years of age.
These requirements
must be adhered to without exceptions. A violation of the
right of defence is deemed to be a fundamental violation of the criminal
procedural law.
- In
its judgment No. 3-1-1-45-07 of 15.10.2007, the Supreme Court has stated
that a legal representative of a minor victim cannot forbid
the minor to give
testimony in criminal proceedings. Therefore, also a minor victim is required to
appear when summoned by the body
conducting proceedings, participate in
procedural acts, and obey orders given by the body conducting proceedings as
well as give
a true testimony irrespective of the will of his or her legal
representative. However, if a legal representative of a minor victim
finds that
the rights of the person he or she is representing are being violated in the
proceedings, he or she has the opportunity
to perform his or her function as a
representative and file applications and complaints.
- No
minimum age limit or the obligation to obtain a parental consent has been
established in Estonia for receiving legal counselling.
The purpose of the State
Legal Aid Act, which entered into force in 2005, is to ensure the timely and
sufficient availability of competent and reliable legal services to
all persons.
A natural person may receive state legal aid if the person is unable to pay for
competent legal services due to the
person’s financial situation at the
time the person needs legal aid or if the person is able to pay for legal
services only
partially or in instalments or if the person’s financial
situation does not allow for meeting basic subsistence needs after
paying for
legal services.
- An
amendment which entered into force on 01.01.2006 provides for the right of a
child to independently file appeals, which means that
a child of at least
14 years of age with sufficient capacity to exercise discretion and will
has the right, in a family matter on
petition pertaining to his or her person,
to file an appeal against a ruling without the assistance of his or her legal
representative.
The same also applies to other matters where a child must be
heard before adjudication of the
matter.
9.1.1.2. Influencing
juvenile delinquents
- If
a court finds as a result of the hearing of a criminal matter that a minor can
be influenced without imposing a punishment, the
court may, upon the making of
the court judgment, release the convicted offender from punishment and apply the
sanctions provided
for in § 87 of the Penal Code with regard to him or
her (§ 308 of the CCP). Considering the level of the moral and mental
development of a person 14–18 years of age and his or her ability to
understand the unlawfulness of his or her act or to act
according to such
understanding, the court may release such a person from punishment and apply as
a sanction a warning, subjection
to supervision of conduct, placement in a youth
home, or sending to schools for students with special needs.
- A
court may subject a person less than 18 years of age to supervision of
conduct for up to one year. On the basis of a report of the
probation officer, a
court may extend the deadline for subjection to supervision of conduct by up to
one year, or as an exception,
until the convicted offender attains the age of
18 years. A person less than 18 years of age is placed in a school for
students with
special needs or in a youth home for up to two years, taking into
account the end of the academic year. A court may extend the deadline
for the
stay in a youth home or in a school for students with special needs by up to one
year, taking into account the end of the
academic
year.
9.1.1.3.
Juvenile committees
- If
commencement of criminal proceedings is refused or a criminal proceeding is
terminated for the reason that the unlawful act was
committed by a minor who was
incapable of guilt on the grounds of his or her age, the investigative body or
Prosecutor’s Office
shall refer the materials of the criminal matter on
the basis of § 201 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to the juvenile
committee
of the place of residence of the minor. If a Prosecutor’s Office
finds that a minor who has committed a criminal offence in
the age of 14 to 18
can be influenced without imposition of a punishment or a sanction prescribed in
§ 87 of the Penal Code,
the Prosecutor’s Office shall terminate
the criminal proceeding by a ruling and refer the criminal file to the juvenile
committee
of the place of residence of the minor.
- In
2012 there were 67 juvenile committees in Estonia, 15 of which were county
committees, 44 were established by local governments
and 8 by Tallinn city
district governments. Out of the 44 committees established by local
governments, 15 were in Harju County, 4
in Ida-Viru County, 1 in Jõgeva
County, 2 in Järva County, 3 in Rapla County, 9 in Pärnu County, 3 in
Tartu County,
1 in Valga County and 6 in Viljandi County. The local governments
in six counties (Hiiu County, Lääne County, Lääne-Viru
County, Põlva County, Saare County and Võru County) have not
established any committees.
- Juvenile
committees hear the violations of law committed by those children in respect of
whom a standard format application for commencing
a hearing has been filed. The
following persons may file with a juvenile committee an application concerning a
violation of law committed
by a minor: a legal representative of the minor, a
police officer, an authorised person of the rural municipality or city
government
of the place of residence of the minor, a child protection official,
a social worker, a judge, a prosecutor, and officials of authorities
engaged in
environmental supervision. Juvenile committees receive the most applications
from the police, prosecutor’s offices
and representatives according to the
place of residence of the minor. In 2012, the police initiated 70% of all
corresponding hearings,
prosecutor’s offices initiated 16% and
representatives according to the place of residence of the minor initiated
7%.
- Prior
to referral of materials to a juvenile committee, the nature of the act with the
elements of a criminal offence and the grounds
for termination of the criminal
proceeding shall be explained to the minor and his or her legal representative.
The juvenile committees
have received the most applications due to misdemeanours
(38% in 2012) and criminal offences (21% in 2012) committed by children
not
capable of guilt. 16% of the applications were filed on the basis of a criminal
offence committed by a minor of 14–18 years
of age. Failure to
perform the obligation to attend school amounted to 11% of all the grounds for
filing an application.
- Children
not capable of guilt formed 53% of all persons referred to the committees in
2012. Within the last four years, the number
of children referred to juvenile
committees has been constantly decreasing. According to the Estonian Education
Information System,
2029 children were referred to juvenile committees in
2012, that is 1.5% of children in the age group of 7–17 years.
Compared
to 2008, the number of children referred to the committees has
decreased by 29%. Over the years, most materials referred to juvenile
committees
have pertained to young men. This tendency could also be noticed in 2012 when
70% of all persons referred to juvenile
committees were boys and 30% were girls.
If to categorise young people referred to juvenile committees by their native
language,
then the corresponding indicators have remained steady over the years
— approximately 70% of all persons referred to the committees
are children
who speak in Estonian.
- Juvenile
committees work on the principle of networking, and their primary duty is to
find a solution to the problem of the young
person who has ended up before the
committee. A solution is found in the course of conversations held with the
young person summoned
before the committee and his or her family. On the basis
of § 3 of the Juvenile Sanctions Act, a juvenile committee may impose
on a minor the following sanctions: a warning, sanctions concerning organisation
of study (long day group within the school or studying
in a class for students
with educational problems); referral to a psychologist, addiction specialist,
social worker or other specialist
for consultation; conciliation; an obligation
to live with a parent, foster-parent, guardian or in a family with a caregiver
or in
a substitute home; community service; assignment of a support person;
participation in youth or social programs or rehabilitation
service or medical
treatment programmes; and sending to schools for students with special needs. A
child is referred to a special
school for up to two academic years by a court
ruling on the basis of an application by a juvenile committee. A minor who has
not
committed a misdemeanour or a criminal offence is not referred to a special
school. When choosing a sanction, a juvenile committee
shall consider the person
of the minor and the nature of the act committed. The purpose of the sanction to
be imposed is to influence
the minor in such a way as to keep him or her from
committing further violations of law in the future. The sanctions imposed the
most by the juvenile committees over the years are a warning (36% in 2012),
referral of a child to a specialist for consultation
(24% in 2012) and community
service (22% in 2012); whereas, the relative importance of community service and
referral to a specialist
has increased in relation to all the sanctions imposed.
The percentage of sanctions concerning organisation of study and referral
to a
special school has decreased considerably.
- Acts
and resolutions of juvenile committees (except for referral to a special school
which is decided by a court) may be challenged
within 30 days after the
making of the resolution. Hearings of juvenile committees are closed. Based on
the need to protect the interests
of minors, the minor’s legal
representative must participate in the hearing together with the minor.
Participation of the person
who filed the application or of a representative of
the institution which filed the application is also required. If the legal
representative
of the young person cannot participate in the hearing of the
committee for some reason, the young person is assigned a person who
will look
out for his or her best interests; if possible, the person will be someone close
to the young person who has an important
part in the young person’s
everyday
life.
9.1.1.4.
Monitoring the length of proceedings involving minors
- An
objective has been set according to which the pre-trial proceedings of criminal
offences committed by minors must be completed
within 4 months. The
Ministry of Justice conducts analyses of time-limits of proceedings twice a
year. The length of pre-trial proceedings
in matters involving minors has
decreased in recent years. An analysis of the second half of 2011 revealed that
pre-trial criminal
proceedings averaged 2.3 months for a minor suspect, and
84% of criminal matters involving minors were settled in pre-trial proceedings
in less than 4 months. The average length of court proceedings in matters
involving minors was 3.1 months in the second half of 2011.
Furthermore, in
2011 the Ministry of Justice started to monitor the time-limits of proceedings
of criminal offences against the person
where child victims were involved. The
pre-trial criminal proceedings involving minors who had suffered in crimes of
violence averaged
5.7 months in the second half of 2011.
- As
of 2010, the Estonian Youth Work Centre in cooperation with the Ministry of
Education and Research monitors the length of proceedings
in juvenile committees
once a quarter. The analysis is based on information entered in the juvenile
committees module of the Estonian
Education Information Centre, proceeding from
the date of receipt of a corresponding application and the date of the hearing
of the
juvenile committee. Pursuant to the Juvenile Sanctions Act, the
committees have 30 days to hold a hearing, but the development trends
of
the criminal policy have set an objective to hold a hearing within 14 days.
It is important to monitor the speed with which juvenile
committees adjudicate
matters because in the case of proceedings of offences committed by minors
intervention must be as immediate
as possible for the minor to understand the
connection between the act committed and the implications that follow. The
shorter the
period of time preceding the imposition of a sanction, the greater
the educational effect of the sanction imposed. In recent years
the speed of
proceedings has significantly increased all over Estonia. If in 2011 the average
length of proceedings in one-stage
matters was 33 days, then in 2012 the
corresponding indicator was
22 days.
9.1.1.5.
Instructions for prosecutor’s offices and for the police
- The
instructions of the Prosecutor General concerning the special treatment of
minors in criminal proceedings were approved on 29.06.2007.
The purpose of the
instructions is to ensure the uniform special treatment of minors in criminal
proceedings. The instructions set
out, inter alia, the following principles and
requirements provided for in criminal proceedings: principles concerning
disclosure
of information relating to the proceedings in the case of which the
body conducting proceedings must consider the best interests
of the minor and
ensure his or her anonymity; requirements for the involvement of a
representative of the minor, a counsel and a
defendant in the criminal
proceedings; special conditions concerning the questioning of a minor; and
requirements for the compensation
for procedure expenses in criminal matters
involving minors. Arrest as a preventive measure is applied to a minor only in
exceptional
cases.
- Instructions
approved by a directive of the Director General of the Police and Border Guard
Board (the applicable version was approved
on 26.01.2010) provide, inter alia,
for the principles of planning and carrying out police work and police
activities in connection
with the reduction and prevention of offences committed
by minors. The instructions set out a requirement that 45% of the budgetary
resources allocated to prevention be used by the police for activities
concerning minors. Every year the Director General of the
Police and Border
Guard Board approves by a directive the schedule and cost plan for activities
concerning prevention (of offences),
on the basis of which the police carries
out prevention activities in cooperation with public, private and third sector
partners.
The purpose of the prevention activities is to raise the awareness of
the residents and to improve their skills to avoid threats
and to influence the
attitudes and conduct of people to avoid disturbances of public order and to
avoid being at risk.
- Instructions
on the treatment of children who have caused a disturbance or need assistance
have been approved by a directive of the
Director General of the Police and
Border Guard Board of 15.06.2010, and chapters thereof provide instructions on
the treatment of
children in criminal and misdemeanour proceedings as well as on
arranging assistance and protection for children in order to conduct
administrative proceedings. The instructions specify Estonian legislation which
governs treatment of children and processing of violations
committed by
children. The instructions have been prepared and intended, above all, for the
protection of and for ensuring the rights
of those children who have committed
an unlawful act or who have come to be in conditions where they can no longer
live safely, for
example, in their own home. Police officers who mainly come
into contact with children who need assistance or who have committed
a violation
of law must know how to behave in one or another situation so that the rights of
children would be protected as well
as possible and that they would be
traumatised as little as possible. On the other hand, when following the
instructions the police
have an overview of children who need assistance and
therefore they have better chances to help those
children.
9.1.1.6.
Development activities
- On
the initiative of the Ministry of Education and Research, UNICEF Estonia
developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice
an early identification
and intervention model, which was applied in 12 local governments from 2010
to 2011 (in Jõhvi, Kose,
Lihula, Rapla, Tapa and Viljandi in 2010; and in
Mäetaguse, Toila, Sillamäe, Rakvere, Tootsi and Harku in 2011). A
handbook
was prepared for the local governments for applying the model. The
handbook describes the principles and application of early identification
and
intervention, including steps necessary to plan and carry out prevention work
(for example, preparation and application of an
action plan). The handbook also
describes various courses of action which come in handy in organising case
work.
- The
Ministry of Education and Research in cooperation with the Estonian Youth Work
Centre has developed the juvenile committees module
of the Estonian Education
Information System in such a way that it would be more easily applicable for the
secretaries of the juvenile
committees in their everyday work. It is important
because the information entered in the Estonian Education Information System by
the secretaries of the juvenile committees allows monitoring the work done with
young people in the committees, including the speed
of proceedings and sanctions
imposed. Information in the Estonian Education Information System is used as a
basis for preparing annual
overviews of the activity of the juvenile committees.
For the purpose of updating the work of the juvenile committees, which began
in
2010, the Ministry of Education and Research together with the Estonian Youth
Work Centre and the Ministry of Justice prepared
several analyses: analysis of
the case-law pertaining to referral to a special school (the Ministry of
Justice), overview of the
speed of proceedings conducted in juvenile committees
(the Estonian Youth Work Centre), and mapping and analysis of the members of
juvenile committees (the Estonian Youth Work Centre). For the purpose of
updating the practice related to treatment of juvenile delinquents,
the Ministry
of Education and Research has conducted a background analysis. All the above
analyses can be freely downloaded from
the website of the Ministry of Education
and Research.
- In
2011 the Ministry of Education and Research initiated a complete renewal of the
system of treatment of juvenile delinquents, including
the preparation of a new
Act and modernisation of special
schools.
9.2. Deprivation
of liberty (Article 37)
- Imprisonment
for a term of more than ten years or life imprisonment shall not be imposed on a
person who at the time of commission
of the criminal offence is less than
18 years of age (subsections 45 (1) and (2) of the penal
Code).
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 51 (d) of
the Committee’s previous concluding observations
9.2.1. Alternatives
to imprisonment
- Currently
there are two schools for students who need special treatment due to behavioural
problems in Estonia: Kaagvere special school
for girls and Tapa special school
for boys. A school for students who need special treatment due to behavioural
problems is a school
established on the basis of the Basic Schools and Upper
Secondary Schools Act, where students are sent on application of juvenile
committees on the basis of a court ruling. Teaching and educating is integrated
in the schools. Teaching is organised based on the
special needs of the young
person, and services of support specialists are offered (special educator,
psychologist, and social educator).
The schools also offer versatile hobby
activities, intense leisure activities and creative therapies. The schools have
one school
employee per child, and networking to support the child is organised
also outside the schools. For influencing juvenile delinquents
and for juvenile
committees see clauses 8.4.2 and
8.4.3.
9.2.2. Arrest
of minor
- The
constitutional restrictions on the deprivation of liberty have been provided in
§ 20 of the Constitution, the first sentence of which provides that
everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. The second sentence of
the section
sets out an exhaustive list of cases when a person may be deprived
of liberty. According to § 30 of the CCP, a suspect or accused
may be
taken into custody at the request of a Prosecutor’s Office and on the
basis of an order of a preliminary investigation
judge or on the basis of a
court ruling if he or she is likely to abscond from the criminal proceeding or
continue to commit criminal
offences.
- Instructions
on the treatment of children who have caused a disturbance or need assistance
have been approved by a directive of the
Director General of the Police and
Border Guard Board of 15.06.2010, for more details see clause 8.3.7.
- Pursuant
to § 35 of the Child Protection Act, the body conducting
proceedings shall involve in the arrest of a minor an educator or a psychologist
and a physician, who shall provide
in the course of the arrest proceedings their
written or oral opinion on the deprivation of liberty from the minor.
- In
addition to the grounds for securing criminal proceedings, the Constitution
allows for the deprivation of liberty to place a minor under disciplinary
supervision or to bring him or her before a competent authority
to determine
whether to impose such supervision. The bases of and procedure for placement
under disciplinary supervision are provided
by the Juvenile Sanctions Act. The
Juvenile Sanctions Act allows compelled attendance in respect of all the above
children. Subsection
18 (1) of the Act provides that if a minor who is
ordered by a written summons to appear at a hearing of a juvenile committee
fails
to appear without good reason, compelled attendance may be enforced on the
basis of a resolution of the juvenile committee. Compelled
attendance of a minor
shall be enforced by the
police.
9.2.3. Young
prisoner
- According
to § 12 of the Imprisonment Act, minors and adults shall be segregated
in prisons. In Viru Vangla, which was opened
in 2008, minors and young people
(up to 21 years of age) under pre-trial investigation and minor and young
prisoners stay in the
juvenile ward. The principle of segregation also extends
to the police houses of detention. When a young prisoner is received in
prison,
his or her stay in the reception ward may not exceed two weeks. Young prisoners
shall be segregated in juvenile prisons and
juvenile wards as follows: young
prisoners less than 15 years of age; 15 up to 16 years of age; 16 up
to 18 years of age; 18 up to
21 years of age. A prisoner who attains
21 years of age in a juvenile prison or juvenile ward shall be transferred
to an adults’
closed prison or adults’ ward in a closed prison
pursuant to his or her treatment plan. As an exception, a prisoner of 18 up
to
21 years of age may be transferred to an adults’ closed prison or
adults’ ward in a closed prison if such transfer
is necessary due to the
prisoner’s character or arising from his or her individual treatment
plan.
- All
specifications for the work of minors arising from the law, including the
specifications for working hours, shall be applied to
the work of young
prisoners less than 18 years of age. Young prisoners of up to 18 years
of age are required to acquire basic education
to the extent prescribed by law.
Young prisoners shall be granted an opportunity to acquire vocational education
according to their
wish and aptitude. The number or duration of visits and
prison leaves provided for in the Imprisonment Act may be increased with
a view
to achieve the objectives of execution of imprisonment in the case of a young
prisoner. According to § 63 of the Imprisonment
Act, disciplinary
penalties may be imposed on a prisoner for the violation of the requirements of
the Imprisonment Act, internal
rules of the prison or other legislation by the
prisoner’s fault. Such penalties are a reprimand; prohibition of one short
or long-term visit; removal from work for up to one month; and commission to a
punishment cell for up to 45 twenty-four hour periods.
Young prisoners may be
committed to a punishment cell for up to 20 twenty-four hour periods.
- At
the end of 2013, there were 33 minors in prison, 22 of them were convicted
offenders and 11 were in custody. 31 minors were boys
and 2 were girls. At
the end of 2013, there was one 14-year-old and three 15-year-old children in
prison, and one of them was a convicted
offender. There were ten 16-year-old
children and nineteen 17-year-old children. At the end of 2012, there were
36 minors in prison,
16 of them were convicted offenders and 20 were in
custody. At the end of 2011, on the basis of the most serious crime, two-thirds
of the minor convicted offenders were serving a sentence for criminal offences
against property, and less than one-third was serving
a sentence for crimes of
violence. About one-half of the crimes of violence constituted physical abuse of
persons of the same age
as the offender, and about one-half constituted severe
disturbances of public
order.
9.2.4. Restriction
of liberty in connection with entry into and leaving the country
- For
the time of the asylum proceedings, unaccompanied asylum seekers less than
18 years of age are placed in a reception centre (in
the accommodation
centre for asylum seekers as of 01.10.2013) or referred to a substitute home
service or foster care. According
to § 12 of the Obligation to Leave
and Prohibition on Entry Act, a precept to leave may not be issued to an
unaccompanied minor
before it has been ensured that the unaccompanied minor is
sent back to his or her family member or appointed guardian or to the
reception
centre of the receiving state. When issuing a precept to leave, the best
interests of the minor alien must be taken into
account and his or her
representation must be ensured. Unaccompanied minor aliens are referred to the
substitute home service. A
minor may be placed in a detention centre only if his
or her guardian is also subject to expulsion and detaining the minor is in
his
or her best interests in the opinion of the court. Prohibition on entry is not
applied with regard to an alien less than 13 years
of age.
- If
a court convicts a citizen of a foreign state of an intentional criminal offence
and imposes imprisonment, the court may impose
expulsion with prohibition on
entry for up to ten years as supplementary punishment on the convicted offender.
Expulsion shall not
be imposed on a convicted citizen of a foreign state who at
the time of commission of the criminal offence was less than 18 years
of
age (subsections 54 (1) and (2) of the Penal
Code).
9.2.5. Life
imprisonment and the death penalty
- The
death penalty as punishment is not foreseen in the Estonian Penal Code.
Imprisonment as a criminal punishment means imprisonment
of 30 days up to
20 years or life
imprisonment.
9.3. Children
as victims of exploitation
9.3.1. Economic
exploitation, including work done by children (Article 32)
- Information
concerning the content of the Article has been presented in the first
report of Estonia on the implementation of the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of
the Child on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child
pornography.
9.4 Abuse
of narcotic drugs (Article 33)
- Up
to the end of 2012, the basic document in the field of drug addiction was the
national strategy for the prevention of drug addiction
up to 2012. When the
national strategy for the prevention of drug addiction up to 2012 came to its
end in 2012, the planning of activities
for reducing drug addiction was added as
a measure to the development plan for the health of the population for
2009–2020 headed
by the Ministry of Social Affairs, the general aim of
which is to raise the life expectancy of people living in Estonia and to
increase
the number of years in which they are healthy. As of 2013, the basic
document for reduction of drug addiction is the development
plan for the health
of the population and its implementation plan for 2013–2016. Measure
No. 5 of the implementation plan’s
sub-goal 4 “The
physical activity of the people will have increased, their nutrition will have
become more balanced, and their
risky behaviour will have decreased” is
the prevention and reduction of consumption of narcotic drugs and the decrease
of harm
to health and society.
- The
coordination of the measures for combating drug addiction in the development
plan for the health of the population was transferred
from the area of
government of the Ministry of Social Affairs to that of the Ministry of the
Interior at the end of 2012. To draw
more attention to the problem of drug
addiction at the highest level, a governmental drug prevention committee was
established within
the Ministry of the Interior. At the request of the
governmental committee, a start was made on the preparation of a policy document
for reducing drug consumption, or in other words a white paper, in addition to
the development plan for the health of the population.
The white paper of the
policy for reducing drug consumption is a scientific guideline for planning the
annual activities in the field
of drug addiction, and the white paper should be
taken into account when planning the action plan for the measure concerning
reducing
drug consumption (measure No. 5) specified in the development plan
for the health of the population, and when planning implementation
plans of
other relevant development plans of the corresponding field. The policy document
is based on the EU Drugs Strategy (2013–2020),
the drugs strategies of
other countries, scientific literature, and thorough consultations with relevant
experts and service providers
in Estonia.
- Issues
related to the development of social skills that open up possibilities for
coping and to the consumption of narcotic drugs
are integrated into national
curricula (in the framework of personal education lessons for grades
2–12). Through the years,
the main prevention activities have been the
development of learning and information materials, dissemination of information
in society,
preparation of various guidelines and methodical materials, and
training of specialists who come into contact with young people.
There is an
information portal www.narko.ee for
communicating information concerning narcotic drugs, and the portal is
constantly updated and it can be used by young people
to find answers to
questions of interest to them.
- The
following are classified as criminal offences in the Penal Code: providing of
narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances to persons
less than 18 years of
age (§ 185), and inducing minors to illegally consume narcotic drugs
or psychotropic substances or other
narcotic substances (§ 187).
- According
to the police, the illegal handling of narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances by persons less than 18 years of age is
a rising tendency. It
should be deliberated how it would be possible for different authorities to take
it into account better when
planning their prevention activities and
implementing methods. The prevention of consumption of narcotic drugs only by
way of the
activities of the police is
complicated.
9.5.
Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (Article 34)
- The
problem of sexual abuse, or, to be more exact, the combating of criminal
offences committed against children, above all crimes
of violence and sexual
offences with child victims, is a joint priority of the Minister of Justice and
the Minister of the Interior
specified in the Laulasmaa Declaration. Information
concerning sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children during
2006–2008
is also presented in the report on the implementation of the
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
sale of
children, child prostitution and child
pornography.[14]
Information
on the issues raised in paragraph 49 of the Committee’s previous
concluding observations
9.5.1. Studies
and statistics
- A
study conducted in 2010 by a research network EU Kids Online among persons of
9–16 years of age from 25 European
countries[15] showed that Estonian
children are one of the youngest in Europe who start using the Internet, and
they are some of the most skilled
in respect to digital literacy. At the same
time, Estonian children are also the ones who see sexual photographs the most,
and sending
messages with sexual contents is more common than average. Estonian
children also stand out for being the ones who have most frequently
met face to
face with someone who they met on the Internet. Within the framework of an
international project ROBERT, a
report[16] which concisely addresses
the results of studies on the sexual abuse of children committed on the Internet
was prepared in 2011.
More precisely, the report analysed the risk factors of
becoming a victim of abuse on the Internet, the patterns of behaviour of
persons
who sexually abuse children on the Internet, and the bottlenecks of the studies
conducted so far. For example, the analysis
referred to the need to find out
more about sexual abuse among minors, whether and how does online sexual abuse
influence the offline
sexual behaviour of the criminal, and what kind of effect
does becoming a victim of sexual abuse on the Internet have on the child,
etc.
- 304 sexual
offences committed against children were registered in 2012, which is 31% more
compared to 2011. According to victim studies, the under-representation
of sexual offences is a global problem, which particularly concerns sexual
offences against children. Therefore, the increase in the number
of sexual offences should not be interpreted to only mean that such acts
have become more frequent, but it may also indicate that
the victims have become
more brave and able to speak of what has happened and also more aware of the
possibilities of getting help.
- Out
of all sexual offences against children in 2011, one-fourth were cases of
distribution of materials depicting sexual abuse of
children, and one-fourth
were cases of sexual enticement of children; nearly half of the crimes were
committed against persons younger
than 14 years of age. Compared to 2009,
the number of almost every most common sexual offence against sexual
self-determination had
decreased by 2011; whereas, compared to 2009, there were
37% less (-18) cases of rape of minors and 53% less (-26) cases of satisfaction
of sexual desire with a child in
2011.
9.5.2. Activities
- To
decrease the number of sexual offences against children, relevant specialists
have prepared guidelines for the treatment of sex
offenders. In 2013, amendments
to the Penal Code which pertain to the application of complex treatment of sex
offenders entered into
force. As of 2011 sex offenders serve imprisonment in
Tartu Vangla where special prison officers and specialists of the relevant
field
work with them and where preparations for the application of a prison programme
for sex offenders have begun. On 13.12.2011
the European Parliament and the
Council adopted a Directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual
exploitation of children and
child
pornography.[17] The Directive has
been fully transposed into Estonian law. Relevant amendments to the national law
entered into force in December
2013. The same draft legislation also extended
the circle of people working with children in whose case it must be made sure
prior
to their employment that they have not been punished for any sexual
offence. Such people are, for example, child protection officials
and other
people who come into direct contact with children in the course of their work,
but also volunteers and persons undergoing
practical training who work with
children.
- In
2008 the Ministry of Social Affairs convened a safer Internet working group
which includes representatives of non-profit associations,
providers of Internet
services and state authorities as well as experts in different fields. In 2010
the Representation of the European
Commission in Estonia joined a programme
“Safer Internet”, the purpose of which is to support the safe use of
the Internet
by children and to prevent the spread of illegal materials on the
network. The project is coordinated by the Union for Child Welfare and
its cooperation partners are the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Tiger
Leap
Foundation, the NGO Estonian Advice Centre, and the Police and Border Guard
Board. Within the framework of the project there are trainings and
seminars for children, parents and teachers, and information events for
a wider
audience. A web-based hotline was established within the framework of the
project in 2011, and via the hotline people can
report illegal content spreading
on the Internet, above all materials depicting sexual exploitation of children.
The hotline administered
by the Union for Child Welfare can be found at www.vihjeliin.ee. To introduce the project,
the following website has been created: http://www.targaltinternetis.ee/.
9.6. Abduction
of, the sale of or traffic in children (Article 35)
- The
combating of human trafficking is coordinated in the state through the
development plan for reducing violence for 2010–2014.
The purpose of the
said development plan is to reduce and prevent violence in its various forms.
The development plan focuses on
violence related to minors, domestic violence
and human trafficking. The development plan focuses on the types of violence and
situations
which present the greatest threat to the most vulnerable target
groups — women and children — and the risk factors of
which are
often related to one another (for example, the effect of violence experienced in
childhood on violent behaviour later in
life). Documents related to the
development plan can be found at: http://www.just.ee/49973.
- In
2010 an important part concerning provision of help to victims was played by
translation of the guidelines for identifying and
helping victims of human
trafficking into Russian because many of the specialists from different
authorities and non-profit associations
who work with victims and criminals
speak Russian as their native language.
- In
2011 the situation at the time concerning issues of admission and guardianship
of unaccompanied children and asylum seekers separated
from their
parents[18] was mapped and the
development of the guardianship system for unaccompanied and trafficked children
was continued. Also several changes
pertaining to legislative drafting took
place in Estonia as well as in the rest of Europe. Directive of the European
Parliament and
of the Council[19] on
preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims
was adopted on 05.04.2011. The Directive replaces
the Council Framework Decision
2002/629/JHA, and Estonia was required to transpose the provisions of the
Directive into national
law by no later than in 2013. On 20.07.2011 the Act on
the Amendment of the Aliens Act and of Other Acts Related Thereto entered
into
force on 20.07.2011, specifying the grant of a temporary residence permit to
aliens (§ 203 of the Aliens Act). The amendments
are related to
transposing the Directive 2009/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council providing for minimum standards
on sanctions and measures against
employers of illegally staying third-country nationals into the national law.
Amendments to the
Penal Code by which new criminal offences of human trafficking
committed for different purposes were added to the Penal Code were
passed on
21.11.2013 and they entered into force on 23.12.2013.
- According
to the development plan for reducing violence, the main activities in 2012 and
2013 included provision of information concerning
human trafficking to a wider
audience and risk groups (above all, young people and girls), assessment of the
efficiency of the rehabilitation
programme for victims of human trafficking,
development and approval of guidelines for identifying and helping unaccompanied
minors
and trafficked children, and in-service training of specialists who come
into contact with victims of human trafficking. Pursuant
to the development plan
for children and families for 2012–2020, the duty of the Ministry of
Social Affairs is to perform the
functions of a contact point for unaccompanied
and trafficked children, organise the admission, accommodation and welfare of
minors,
and develop and implement the guardianship system for the above
children.
9.7. Children
belonging to ethnic minorities or who are indigenous (Article 30)
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 43 (d) of the
Committee’s previous concluding observations
9.7.1. Priorities
of the organisation of education of students who belong to an ethnic minority
- From
2002 to 2007 the priorities were as follows: 1) improvement of the quality
of Estonian language studies in schools where the
language of instruction is
other than Estonian and in child care institutions where the working language is
other than Estonian;
2) provision of wider possibilities for students to
use the Estonian language within the formal education system as well as outside
the school; 3) provision of support to students whose native language is
other than Estonian in Estonian-medium
schools.
9.7.1.1. Early
language studies
- Considering
the efficiency of early language studies, a goal has been set to improve the
quality of Estonian language studies in pre-school
child care institutions. To
achieve the goal, a corresponding curriculum has been drawn up and trainings for
teachers of the Estonian
language who work in kindergartens have been carried
out. Sets of learning materials, which in addition to materials intended for
children also include a teacher’s handbook and support materials for
parents, have been prepared and disseminated to kindergartens
free of charge. An
early language immersion programme has been implemented in kindergartens, and
within its framework teachers have
received special training and special
learning materials have been prepared and given to
kindergartens.
9.7.1.2. Basic
school
- Basic
schools are supported in partially teaching subjects in Estonian, the aim of
which is to expand the situations where students
can use the Estonian language
(it is especially important in regions where the surrounding language
environment is overwhelmingly
Russian) and to prepare students for studies in
Estonian in upper secondary school. To achieve the aim, additional learning
materials
(subject-related vocabulary) have been prepared and given to schools
free of charge, and schools have received additional financial
support. An early
language immersion programme (starting from grade 1) and a late language
immersion programme (starting from grade
6) have been implemented in
Russian-medium basic schools. In this regard, teachers and heads of school have
undergone manifold and
extensive in-service training, additional learning
materials have been prepared for students and methodical materials for teachers,
and the efficiency of the programmes is monitored by conducting surveys. To
improve the quality of teaching the Estonian language
as a second language,
teachers of the Estonian language as a second language have constantly received
in-service training, additional
learning materials have been prepared, and
sharing of experiences between teachers has been
supported.
9.7.1.3.
Upper secondary school
- Transition
to Estonian-language instruction started in 2007 in upper secondary schools
where the language of instruction is other
than Estonian. One of the focus
points of the integration policy in 2007 was the demand-based transition to
partially teaching subjects
in Estonian in upper secondary schools where the
language of instruction is other than Estonian. The purpose of the transition
was
to ensure equal learning and working possibilities for all graduates. On
22 November 2007 the Government of the Republic approved
a regulation
according to which at least 60% of teaching in all Estonian municipal and state
upper secondary schools was supposed
to take place in Estonian by 2011. As of
the academic year 2011/2012, the curriculum for municipal and state upper
secondary schools
where the language of instruction is other than Estonian was
supposed to include at least 57 courses taught in Estonian (1 course
=
35 hours). The transition has been flexible — in the selection of the
order of nationally mandatory subjects every school
has a choice concerning two
subjects; concerning the transition time of 37 courses every school made
its own decision from 2007 to
2011.
- General
attitudes and positions regarding the transition have changed, and parents are
inclined to maintain a positive attidude to
it. A public opinion survey revealed
that 56% of people whose native language is not Estonian supported the
transition, 26% were
against it and 17% remained unbiased.
- To
ensure the quality of studies and to achieve the goal, that is to support
students in acquiring the Estonian language and to guarantee
equal opportunities
for further studies and on the labour market, teachers of all five subjects
specified in the regulation have
received in-service training. New learning
materials for teaching subjects in Estonian and additional learning materials
have been
prepared and given to schools, or schools have received additional
support in acquiring the said materials.
- In
Estonian-medium schools, the number of students whose native language is other
than the language of instruction, that is to say
whose native language is mostly
Russian, but also the number of children coming from abroad increased from 2002
to 2012. Based on
that amendments have been made to the legislation and changes
have been made in the funding of schools. For students whose native
language is
not the language of instruction and who have resided in Estonia for less than
3 years, the school is required to draw
up an individual curriculum, in the
framework of which the students attend intense Estonian language lessons.
Schools are provided
with additional resources for teaching the Estonian
language to the extent of 4 hours per week. If possible and if students so
wish,
they have the right to study their native language as a second language.
Students whose native language is not Estonian may take
the Estonian language as
a second language examination at the end of basic school. Schools have received
additional support to achieve
this goal, and a corresponding curriculum for the
in-service training of teachers has been prepared and trainings have been
carried
out (for Estonian language and class
teachers).
Information on the issues raised in paragraph 43 (f)
of the Committee’s previous concluding observations
- As
regards teaching of languages of ethnic minorities, it is possible to acquire
general education in Estonia also in Russian in addition
to the official
language. A school will organise language and cultural teaching for students
acquiring basic education whose native
language is not the language of
instruction, provided that no fewer than ten students with the same native
language or with the same
language of household communication request it
(subsection 21 (5) of the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools
Act). Organisation
of language and cultural teaching is regulated by the
Government of the Republic regulation No. 116 of 19.08.2010. The regulation
also specifies a situation where fewer than ten applications are filed for the
organisation of language and cultural teaching. In
such a case the organisation
of language and cultural teaching is decided by the school in cooperation with
the rural municipality
or city government (subsection 3 (2) of the
regulation). Unfortunately, this opportunity is not widely taken advantage of.
There
are several reasons for it: representatives of ethnic minorities are
scattered around, children of members of cultural societies
do not study in the
same school and it is difficult to gather a requisite number of students in one
specific region to create the
possibilities for taking an elective subject, and
also there are not enough national culture teachers who would meet the
requirements
for qualification. That is why people prefer to study their native
language unofficially, such as in Sunday schools of national cultural
societies.
- Sunday
schools have always been a means to support national culture and native
language. For this reason the Ministry of Education
and Research is constantly
engaged in facilitating the work of Sunday schools. Compared to the previous
reporting period, the number
of Sunday schools of national cultural societies
has doubled. If in 2010 there were 18 Sunday schools, then now there are
nearly
40. The term Sunday school has not been defined in the Estonian
legislation, but it has been mentioned in the Education Act as an institution
offering additional education. Although sometimes the term Sunday school is
thought to refer to a school within
a church, the owner of a Sunday school is
actually a national cultural society and the objectives of the school prescribed
in its
statutes are, above all, related to the teaching of native language and
culture.
- Sunday
schools of national cultural societies are required to be registered and hold an
education licence because this gives the Sunday
school a chance to be part of
the education system and it also supports the principle of equality — if a
Sunday school wishes
to participate in project competitions and apply for
benefits on the same grounds as schools which hold an education licence, then
it
must be applied for on the same grounds. At the same time, the existence of an
education licence increases the opportunities of
Sunday schools because a
registered Sunday school can apply for the local government or the multicultural
education unit of the Integration
Foundation (formerly the Centre for
Educational Programmes) for extra funds for developing its activities. A
national cultural society
which has founded a Sunday school and been issued an
education licence becomes an equal partner to the state. With the increase in
the number of Sunday schools the Integration Foundation deemed it necessary to
conduct a study on the current situation of Sunday
schools, which was completed
in 2012. The study serves as an important basis for further activities which
will make the ethnic minorities’
language and cultural teaching more
efficient. All Sunday schools of national cultural societies which hold an
education licence
have had the opportunity to apply, within the framework of a
project competition, for support for the in-service training of Sunday
school
teachers in their ethnic homeland. Also the ethnic minorities themselves have
the possibility to organise language-related
preparation of teachers under
agreements entered into with their homeland.
- Information
concerning national schools can be found at http://www.rahvuskool.ee/, where
information concerning Sunday schools is presented in Estonian, English and
Russian. NGO Association of Teachers of Sunday
Schools of Ethnic Minorities has
been founded, and its objective is to found Sunday schools and organise training
courses for Sunday
school teachers.
Annex
Tables
Table 1
Number or persons who have used the services within a
year and average cost
per one recipient, 2008–2011
Year
|
Number of persons who have used the
services
|
Average cost per one recipient (thousand
euros)
|
- Taking
care of orphans and children without parental care in social welfare
institutions (substitute home service)
|
2008
|
1,698
|
7.911
|
2009
|
1,509
|
8.363
|
2010
|
1,419
|
9.561
|
2011
|
1,367
|
9.028
|
- Social
welfare services for children with a severe or profound disability who are being
cared for in social welfare institutions at
the request of the parents
(substitute home service)
|
2008
|
93
|
7.075
|
2009
|
83
|
6.323
|
2010
|
77
|
8.974
|
2011
|
68
|
6.174
|
- Foster
care
|
2008
|
612
|
1.966
|
2009
|
527
|
1.991
|
2010
|
519
|
1.970
|
2011
|
471
|
2.282
|
- Guardianship
|
2008
|
1,794
|
2.063
|
2009
|
1,640
|
2.260
|
2010
|
1,595
|
2.377
|
2011
|
1,525
|
2.510
|
- Childcare
service
|
2009
|
926
|
0.908
|
2010
|
1,218
|
0.835
|
2011
|
1,405
|
0.971
|
Table 2
Child protection officials in county
governments and local governments,
and the number of children per one
child protection official, 2005–2011
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
Total child protection officials
|
153
|
162
|
155
|
162
|
176
|
178
|
177
|
Child protection officials who have received professional training
|
115
|
126
|
119
|
129
|
140
|
139
|
145
|
Children aged 017 years per one child protection official
|
1,736
|
1,596
|
1,630
|
1,535
|
1,403
|
1,382
|
1,392
|
Source: The Ministry of Social Affairs.
Table 3
Number of children by age groups,
2003–2012 (population as at 1.01.2012)
Age
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
2012
|
0–2
|
38,387
|
38,395
|
39,769
|
41,120
|
42,984
|
44,780
|
46,452
|
47,349
|
47,413
|
46,107
|
3–6
|
48,533
|
48,772
|
49,203
|
50,355
|
51,249
|
52,217
|
53,973
|
55,862
|
58,615
|
60,666
|
7–14
|
137,841
|
128,551
|
119,138
|
110,954
|
105,511
|
101,706
|
99,939
|
99,563
|
99,672
|
100,880
|
15–17
|
63,854
|
64,815
|
65,270
|
63,247
|
58,771
|
54,000
|
48,353
|
44,181
|
40,285
|
38,693
|
0–17 total
|
288,615
|
280,533
|
273,380
|
265,676
|
258,515
|
252,703
|
248,717
|
246,955
|
245,985
|
246,346
|
0–17 percentage of the population
|
21.3%
|
20.8%
|
20.3%
|
19.8%
|
19.3%
|
18.8%
|
18.6%
|
18.4%
|
18.4%
|
18.4%
|
Source: Statistics Estonia.
Table 4
Marriages among people aged up to 18 years,
2003–2009
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
Boys
|
4
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
5
|
5
|
4
|
2
|
Girls
|
54
|
46
|
55
|
51
|
49
|
34
|
18
|
17
|
Total
|
58
|
48
|
57
|
53
|
54
|
39
|
22
|
19
|
Source: Statistics Estonia.
Table 5
Deaths of people aged 0–19 years, by
age groups, 2003–2010
Source: Statistics Estonia.
Table 6
Most frequent deaths of people aged
0–19 years, 2003–2010
Source: Statistics Estonia.
Table 7
Percentage of most frequent causes of
death by age groups (2003–2010 combined)
Source: Statistics Estonia.
Table 8
Suicide as cause of death among people
aged 0–19 years, 1996–2010
|
Number of cases by age groups per 100,000 children
in the same age group
|
5–9 year-olds
|
10–14 year-olds
|
15–19-year olds
|
1996
|
|
4 (3.7)
|
15 (15.1)
|
1997
|
|
5 (4.7)
|
15 (15.1)
|
1998
|
1 (1.1)
|
5 (4.7)
|
14 (13.9)
|
1999
|
|
2 (1.9)
|
25 (24.4)
|
2000
|
|
1 (0.9)
|
18 (17.3)
|
2001
|
|
4 (3.8)
|
14 (13.3)
|
2002
|
1 (1.5)
|
4 (4.0)
|
14 (13.2)
|
2003
|
|
4 (4.3)
|
12 (11.2)
|
2004
|
|
1 (1.2)
|
13 (12.1)
|
2005
|
|
1 (1.3)
|
13 (12.2)
|
2006
|
|
1 (1.4)
|
13 (12.5)
|
2007
|
|
|
6 (6.0)
|
2008
|
|
2 (3.1)
|
12 (12.8)
|
2009
|
|
|
9 (10.5)
|
2010
|
|
|
10 (12.8)
|
Source: Statistics Estonia.
Table 9
Birth and abortion statistics,
2003–2010
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
Births
|
13,082
|
14,037
|
14,420
|
14,925
|
15,864
|
16,109
|
15,872
|
15,990
|
Iincluding live births
|
13,018
|
13,975
|
14,333
|
14,869
|
15,798
|
16,045
|
15,792
|
15,922
|
General birthrate coefficient per 1000 residents
|
9.6
|
10.4
|
10.6
|
11.1
|
11.8
|
12.0
|
11.8
|
11.9
|
Special birthrate coefficient per 1000 women of fertile age
|
38.0
|
40.8
|
41.9
|
43.7
|
46.7
|
47.8
|
47.6
|
48.6
|
|
Abortions
|
13,021
|
12,641
|
11,849
|
11,647
|
11,144
|
10,719
|
9720
|
9114
|
Abortion rate per 1000 women of fertile age
|
38.0
|
36.9
|
34.6
|
34.2
|
32.9
|
31.9
|
29.3
|
27.8
|
Abortion rate per 100 live births
|
100
|
90.5
|
82.7
|
78.3
|
70.5
|
66.8
|
61.6
|
57.2
|
Source: National Institute for Health Development.
Table 10
Children registered and separated from
their family (per year) and placement of children separated from their
family (as at year end),
2006–2011[20]
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
Children registered (per year)
|
1,680
|
1,529
|
1,738
|
2,184
|
2,054
|
2,573
|
Children separated from their family (per year)
|
645
|
543
|
585
|
664
|
460
|
453
|
Placement of children separated from their family
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
to a substitute home
|
160
|
178
|
163
|
168
|
139
|
142
|
to substitute care within a family (guardianship, foster care,
adoption)
|
231
|
189
|
244
|
266
|
210
|
134
|
a shelter
|
191
|
85
|
103
|
177
|
54
|
79
|
back to their biological family
|
72
|
91
|
75
|
53
|
57
|
98
|
Source: the Ministry of Social Affairs.
Table 11
Illicit stay of a child abroad: number of
applications, 2009–2011
Type of application
|
Applicant
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
Return of child
|
Estonia
|
8
|
10
|
7
|
|
Foreign state
|
1
|
7
|
4
|
Guarantee of access to child
|
Estonia
|
1
|
7
|
4
|
|
Foreign state
|
1
|
5
|
1
|
Suitability of guardian
|
Estonia
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
|
Foreign state
|
0
|
5
|
6
|
Right of custody
|
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
Source: The Ministry of Justice.
Table 12
Children in substitute care by types of
substitute care as of year end (2006–2010)
Source: The Ministry of Social Affairs.
Table 13
Children adopted per year,
2003–2011
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
Total children adopted
|
130
|
165
|
152
|
158
|
142
|
181
|
126
|
131
|
110
|
of whom children adopted by a citizen of a foreign state
|
15
|
28
|
16
|
20
|
31
|
28
|
24
|
28
|
15
|
Out of children adopted:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
boys, %
|
55%
|
52%
|
54%
|
52%
|
53%
|
49%
|
54%
|
51%
|
49%
|
girls, %
|
45%
|
48%
|
46%
|
48%
|
47%
|
51%
|
46%
|
49%
|
51%
|
|
0–2 year-olds
|
48
|
50
|
40
|
44
|
35
|
54
|
36
|
37
|
33
|
3–6 year-olds
|
35
|
53
|
49
|
58
|
50
|
48
|
33
|
39
|
39
|
7–14 year-olds
|
46
|
53
|
53
|
47
|
54
|
71
|
53
|
46
|
36
|
15–7 year-olds
|
1
|
9
|
10
|
9
|
3
|
8
|
4
|
9
|
2
|
Source: The Ministry of Social Affairs.
Table 14
Users of rehabilitation services,
2006–2011
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
Users of rehabilitation services for minors who have special
behavioural needs
|
34
|
45
|
71
|
93
|
81
|
92
|
0–17 year-olds who use rehabilitation services for disabled
people
|
4,312
|
4,692
|
4,156
|
4,954
|
5,646
|
5,877
|
Source: The Social Insurance Board.
Table 15
Children who have received childcare services,
2008–2011
|
Total children
|
Children with a severe/profound disability
|
2008
|
2,997
|
221
|
2009
|
3,137
|
321
|
2010
|
3,762
|
431
|
2011
|
4,459
|
587
|
Source: The Ministry of Social Affairs.
Table 16
Relative and absolute poverty rate of children
and the population1, 2004–20112
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
Relative poverty rate, %
|
Total population
|
18.3
|
18.3
|
19.4
|
19.5
|
19.7
|
15.8
|
17.5
|
17.5
|
0–17 year-olds
|
21.3
|
20.1
|
18.2
|
17.1
|
20.6
|
17.3
|
19.5
|
17.0
|
Absolute poverty rate, %
|
Total population
|
14.3
|
9.8
|
7.0
|
4.8
|
4.7
|
6.3
|
8.7
|
8.1
|
0–17 year-olds
|
20.7
|
15.0
|
9.7
|
6.5
|
7.0
|
10.0
|
11.4
|
9.4
|
Source: Statistics Estonia, Estonian Social Survey
2005–2012.
1 It indicates the percentage of people whose equalised
disposable income is below the relative poverty threshold.
2 The year when the income was earned, the survey is carried out
retrospectively which means that the survey asks about the income
of the
previous year.
Table 17
Absolute poverty rate of children and the
population by poverty thresholds1,
2004–20112
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
Total population
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total below the absolute poverty threshold (APT)
|
14.3
|
9.8
|
7.0
|
4.8
|
4.7
|
6.3
|
8.7
|
8.1
|
direct poverty (up to 80% of the APT)
|
9.0
|
5.7
|
3.9
|
3.1
|
3.0
|
3.8
|
5.5
|
5.1
|
poverty endangering subsistence (81–100% of the APT)
|
5.3
|
4.1
|
3.1
|
1.7
|
1.7
|
2.5
|
3.2
|
3.1
|
poverty risk (101–125% of the APT)
|
10.1
|
7.1
|
4.9
|
4.0
|
4.3
|
4.6
|
5.8
|
5.5
|
outside poverty risk (above 125% of the APT)
|
75.6
|
83.1
|
88.2
|
91.2
|
91.0
|
89.1
|
85.5
|
86.3
|
0–17 year-olds
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total below the absolute poverty threshold (APT)
|
20.7
|
15.0
|
9.7
|
6.5
|
7.0
|
10.0
|
11.4
|
9.4
|
direct poverty (up to 80% of the APT)
|
14.0
|
8.7
|
5.8
|
4.0
|
4.2
|
5.8
|
6.7
|
5.9
|
poverty endangering subsistence (81–100% of the APT)
|
6.8
|
6.3
|
3.9
|
2.5
|
2.9
|
4.2
|
4.5
|
3.5
|
poverty risk (101–125% of the APT)
|
10.9
|
8.6
|
6.8
|
6.0
|
7.0
|
5.7
|
7.7
|
7.8
|
outside poverty risk (above 125% of the APT)
|
68.3
|
76.3
|
83.4
|
87.5
|
86.0
|
84.2
|
81.0
|
82.9
|
Source: Statistics Estonia, Estonian Social Survey
2005–2012.
1 It indicates the percentage of people whose equalised
disposable income is below the relative poverty threshold.
2 The year when the income was earned, the survey is carried out
retrospectively which means that the survey asks about the income
of the
previous year.
Table 18
According to the Estonian Sports
Register, there were young people (up to 19 years of age included) engaged
in sports as follows:
In sports clubs
|
In sports schools (hobby schools)
|
69,818 young people in 2009
|
26,589 students
|
68,941 young people in 2010
|
30,269 students
|
71,642 young people in 2011
|
30,765 students
|
76,606 young people in 2012
|
42,188 students
|
The number of young people in sports clubs and in sports schools cannot be
combined because a lot of sports clubs are the owners of
sports schools, and
therefore many people going to sports schools and sports clubs may overlap. The
numbers presented should be used
separately.
Table 19
Cases
of provision of consular assistance to minors, 2004–2013
Year
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
2012
|
2013
|
Number of minors
|
5
|
15
|
4
|
4
|
9
|
5
|
5
|
3
|
7
|
9
|
Source: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Table 20
Ranking of Estonia in PISA tests by
average results
Area
|
2006
|
2009
|
2012
|
In the World
|
In Europe
|
In the World
|
In Europe
|
In the World
|
In Europe
|
Functional reading
|
13th
|
18th
|
13th
|
15th
|
11th
|
4th
|
Mathematics
|
14th
|
6th
|
17th
|
7th
|
11th
|
4th
|
Natural science
|
15th
|
2nd
|
9th
|
2nd
|
6th
|
2nd
|
Source: The Ministry of Education and Research.
[*] The present document is being issued
without formal editing.
[1] The definition was specified
by amendments which entered into force on 28.04.2013.
[2] Livingstone, S., Haddon, L.
Görzig, A., and Ólafsson, K. (2011). Risks and safety on the
internet. The perspective of European children. Full findings. LSE,
London: EU Kids Online.
[3] Oliver Kask, Eesti
Vabariigi põhiseadus. Kommenteeritud väljaanne. (The
Constitution of the Republic of Estonia. Commented issue.) Juura, 2008,
p. 381.
[4] In the case of children
separated from their family and placed within a year, the statistics reflect the
last placement of the child.
This means that if a child has been placed several
times in a year (for example, to a shelter and then a foster home), the
statistics
only reflect the last placement. Placing a child to a shelter is
generally a temporary solution which takes place before the child
is placed to a
substitute home or back to his or her family.
[5] Available at the address http://www2.tai.ee/uuringud/Rahva_tervis/Eesti_kooliopilaste_tervisekaitumise_uuring_2007.pdf.
[6] The absolute poverty
threshold, i.e. the minimum means of subsistence are calculated in Estonia on
the basis of expenses, and the
absolute poverty rate expresses the percentage of
those households whose income per household member per month falls under the
absolute
poverty threshold in the case of equivalence scales 1:0.7:0.5. In
calculating the absolute poverty threshold, three expense items
are considered:
food expenses, housing expenses and individual non-food expenses. The cost of
food expenses is calculated based on
the minimum food basket.
[7] In Estonia, like in the rest
of the European Union Member States, the relative poverty threshold is 60% of
the population income
median in the case of equivalence scales 1:0.5:0.3.
[8] Statistics Estonia publishes
relative poverty data based on the year of income, Eurostat based on the year of
the survey.
[9] Poverty strata: direct
poverty (up to 80% of the absolute poverty threshold); poverty endangering
subsistence (81–100% of the
absolute poverty threshold); poverty risk
(101–125% of the absolute poverty threshold); outside poverty risk (above
125% of
the absolute poverty threshold).
[10] The amendment was necessary
due to Estonia’s obligation to harmonise Directive 2008/115/EC of the
European Parliament and of
the Council of 16 December 2008 on common
standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying
third-country
nationals.
[11] For example, participation
in the resolving of an emergency or a state of emergency or in conducting a
national defence training.
[12] The Laulasmaa Declaration
concerning the priorities of the combat against crime. Electronically available
at http://www.just.ee/15087.
[13] Approved by the Riigikogu
on 9 June 2010 (RT III 2010, 26, 51).
[14] Electronically available at
http://www.vm.ee/?q=node/10128.
[15] Livingstone, S., Haddon, L.
Görzig, A., and Ólafsson, K. (2011). Risks and safety on the
internet. The perspective of
European children. Full findings. LSE, London:
EU Kids Online.
[16] Ainsaar, M.,
Lööf, L. (2011). Online behaviour related to child sexual abuse.
Literature Report.
[17] Directive 2011/92/EU of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the
sexual abuse and sexual exploitation
of children and child pornography, and
replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA.
[18] IOM. (2012). Admission to
Estonia of unaccompanied children and asylum seekers separated from their
parents. See
http://www.sm.ee/tegevus/lapsed-ja-pere/lastekaitse-korraldus.html.
[19] Directive 2011/36/EU of the
European Parliament and of the Council on combating trafficking in human
beings.
[20] In the case of children
separated from their family and placed within a year, the statistics reflect the
last placement of the child.
This means that if a child has been placed several
times in a year (for example, to a shelter and then a foster home), the
statistics
only reflect the last placement. Placing a child to a shelter is
generally a temporary solution which takes place before the child
is placed to a
substitute home or back to his or her family.
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