STRASBOURG - A memorandum on Estonia by the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights has called for the country to overhaul its citizenship regime.
The commissioner, Thomas Hammarberg, delivered his recommendations July 10 to the organization's Committee of Ministers.
Prepared in the wake of a visit by members of the commissioner's office in 2006, the memorandum contains an assessment of progress made in implementing the 2004 recommendations of the previous commissioner, Alvaro Gil-Robles. It also contains new recommendations to the Estonian authorities.
In his report, the commissioner urges the Estonian authorities to change citizenship application procedures to ensure that all new-born children of non-citizen parents acquire citizenship from birth. He also encourages authorities to carry through school language reform, including providing assistance to establishments teaching in a minority language 's in most cases, Russian.
There is also a need to improve conditions of detention in police stations and jails, and to reduce the use of detention in the case of minors, Hammarberg claims. In addition, authorities are encouraged to seek the advice of the Bar Association for the resolution of problems in the implementation of the free legal aid mechanism.
The memorandum calls on authorities to improve conditions of detention in the Tallinn prison, and to prevent the spread of infections. It also urges the re-establishment of a medical programme for drug addicts in detention.
Commissioner Hammarberg then calls on the Estonian authorities to regulate the issuing of warrants to carry out searches on the premises of an advocate's office and to evaluate the implementation of recent legislation on the involuntary detention of persons with mental disabilities.
The Memorandum also contains recommendations on tackling domestic violence, violence against children, human trafficking and HIV/AIDS prevention.
Founded in 1949, the Council of Europe seeks to develop common and democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and is not to be confused with the European Commission, Council of Ministers or any of the other Byzantine European-level institutions with similar names. It has 47 member countries, with Belarus currently suspended "due to its lack of respect for human rights and democratic principles."
Commissioners' reports carry considerable weight among the international community, particularly since the Council of Europe's political mandate was defined by the third Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Warsaw in May 2005.
