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Description
The project aims to increase the level of human rights protection in Estonia and to advance and disseminate the principle of equal treatment through wide and network-based strategic advocacy that includes the grassroots level. In the course of the project, Estonia’s main civil society organisations engage in human rights and equal treatment advocacy and receive new knowledge and skills to work with international and European human rights protection mechanisms using the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process as an example. They also receive knowledge and skills to better communicate rights, to include grassroot level advocacy, and develop aspects of human rights and equal treatment. The main activities include gathering local level inputs and drafting the civil society shadow report for the UPR third cycle review of Estonia, due to take place early 2021. Other related advocacy activities include training of trainers based on updated handbook of the Equal Treatment Act. Participation in project activities contributes to increased capacity of project participants and new people involved in human rights protection on local levels. The project is carried out in partnership with CSOs that belong to the Equal Treatment Network (Estonian Chamber of Persons with Disabilities, Estonian LGBT Association, Estonian Youth Council, Estonian Vegan Association, NGO Oma Tuba/Feministeerium and Estonian Union for Child Welfare) and Icelandic Human Rights Centre, which helps with the UPR process.
Summary of project results
The project aims to increase the level of human rights protection in Estonia and to advance and disseminate the principle of equal treatment through wide and network-based strategic advocacy that includes the grassroots level.
In Estonia''s civil society, there are a few organizations that have been able to make a significant impact on certain human rights issues. However, the capacity to intervene in the human rights field needs further development, particularly in engaging different target groups and forming coalitions. There is a particularly great need for intervention in the field of equal treatment, as societal developments in Estonia have made the operating environment more challenging for non-governmental organizations.
A public opinion survey conducted by Turu-Uuringute AS in 2019 showed that the majority of the Estonian population (73%) believes they would like to know more about the principles of equal treatment and that organizations should pay more attention to issues of equal treatment and discrimination in their work. The results suggest that while people are interested in the topic of equal treatment, their awareness of it is low.
The low capacity of CSOs to engage is also reflected in their limited participation in the work of international human rights protection mechanisms of the UN and the Council of Europe.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a process within the UN Human Rights Council established in 2006, aims to assess the fulfillment of human rights standards and obligations in UN member states. Estonia has completed two cycles of the UPR, but in both cases, Estonian civil society organizations did not submit reports due to a lack of awareness and resources. The next cycle of the UPR is a good opportunity to raise issues important for Estonian CSOs, advocate for the enforcement of obligations Estonia has taken and raise the capacity of Estonian NGOs to engage in effective advocacy through the process.
During the project, the Equal Treatment Network (consisting of human rights CSOs from different fields of life) carried out the following activities:
Compilation and publication of the UPR shadow report, additional advocacy activities
The aim of the activity was to bring human rights closer to the people and to collect information on the human rights situation in Estonia from the bottom up for the UPR 3rd cycle shadow report. In total, 237 people participated in the events held in five counties and 250 responded to the online survey. The UPR shadow report was submitted to the United Nations and presented to five foreign embassies, three parliamentary groups and two ministers. The report was also mentioned in the media on nine occasions.
Addressing human rights and equal treatment topics through public debate
The network held eight debates at the 2020 Opinion Festival, the Estonian democracy festival, with 320 people in the audience and 13,000 online views.
Supplementing the Equal Treatment Act Handbook
The Equal Treatment Act Handbook, a commented version of the Equal Treatment Act has been updated and is available in Estonian, Russian and English. The handbook is an invaluable tool for human rights CSOs working on equal treatment issues.
Expanding and empowering the Equal Treatment Network
In the course of the project, four new organizations joined the Equal Treatment Network, and members of the network participated in both a broader strategy seminar and two training sessions.
During the project, the human rights and equal treatment advocacy NGOs belonging to the Equal Treatment Network in Estonia acquired new knowledge and skills for working with international and European human rights protection mechanisms by compiling the UN Universal Periodic Review shadow report.
The project has improved cooperation between CSOs in the field of human rights advocacy and increased networking at a grassroots level.
All activities contributed to strengthening the network''s capacity, and through joint strategic actions, the cooperation between human rights advocacy CSOs has improved. This has laid the foundation for achieving greater societal impact in the areas of human rights protection and equal treatment. Members of the Network have provided comments on various draft laws and made legislative proposals to the government.
Summary of bilateral results
The donor partner of the project was the Icelandic NGO Mannréttindaskrifstofa Íslands / Icelandic Human Rights Centre. The cooperation was fruitful, as this was the first time that a UN shadow report was prepared in Estonia. The partner led the drafting of the report and gave good examples of how to do it in an inclusive way. Good relations have been maintained with the project partner and if the opportunity arises, cooperation will certainly continue in the future.