Foreign Minister Kristina Ojuland’s Opening Address for the Seminar Ethnic Minorities in Estonian Society - Equal Treatment and Integration
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a privilege for me to open, here, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the seminar "Ethnic Minorities in Estonian Society - Equal Treatment and Integration", which has been organised jointly with the Council of Europe’s Tallinn Information Centre and the Council of Europe’s Secretariat.
The objective of today’s seminar is to give an overview of the activities of Estonia’s various official agencies in the field of protecting and integrating ethnic minorities, to introduce recommendations which have been made to Estonia by various international organisations, and to hear what has been the contribution of the organisations of the ethnic minorities themselves to the integration process. I believe that the seminar will provide a good opportunity for analysing what progress has been made in the field of protecting, integrating, and tolerating ethnic minorities in Estonian society.
At this point, it gives me great pleasure to greet the Council of Europe’s learned experts, the specialists from various fields, and all the other guests to this event. It is especially heartening to see in the audience the representatives of so many ethnic minorities. I sincerely hope that a multilaterally beneficial dialogue will develop between all the participants and organisations present at this seminar.
During the last couple of years, Estonia has presented to various international organisations several studies dealing with the matters under discussion here, and reports concerning the implementation of appropriate conventions. We have submitted reports concerning the implementation of all United Nations human rights conventions, and have cooperated closely with the Council of Europe’s appropriate expert committees.
In the spring of 2001, Estonia had the pleasant opportunity of receiving the experts and raporteurs of the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance. And it is wonderful to see that the raporteurs dealing with Estonia, professors Hoffman and Asmussen, are again in Tallinn today. We thank both aforementioned agencies for their efforts to analyse the developments which have taken place in Estonia, and for their objective and friendly attitude.
We greatly prize the collaboration we have had for years with the Council of Europe. This cooperation is, in our opinion, essential. Their expertise and advice has augmented the activities of our own experts and politicians. International organisations have helped to align Estonian legislation with international norms. Working with them has been an irreplaceable experience throughout Estonia’s transition period. We attach great importance to the continued expansion of a common legal space, and the effective implementation of European conventions in all the Council of Europe’s member states.
Having, for some time, been personally associated with the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly, I am sure that the Council of Europe has been a beacon of democracy for Estonia and other East European states, and has helped to establish democratic institutions in this part of the world.
I would briefly like to again touch upon the integration of Estonian society. We can happily state that this process has been fairly successful -- we can see how, bit by bit, the barriers are crumbling between Estonia’s ethnic minorities; we can see the development of mutual tolerance and the desire to jointly build a unifying society. From now on, integration deserves to be looked at in a broader sense -- as a process which helps everyone to cope in today’s world, and here I’m keeping in mind people’s individual capabilities. I can also note with satisfaction that, in connection with integration, cooperation amongst Estonian social scientists has been effective and professional. In addition to the efforts of international organisations, Estonia’s domestic expertise has been of the utmost importance for understanding the minorities problem -- we have unique knowledge concerning a matter which is of concern in many European states.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the Council of Europe’s Tallinn Information Centre, which bore the weight of actually putting together this event, and the Council of Europe’s Secretariat, which is supporting this event monetarily. The Council of Europe’s Tallinn Information Centre has shown great initiative in publicising the objectives and activities of the Council of Europe, and I would therefore like to congratulate the Council of Europe for having found such a professional staff for the Centre.
I wish all of you a very fulfilling day.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a privilege for me to open, here, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the seminar "Ethnic Minorities in Estonian Society - Equal Treatment and Integration", which has been organised jointly with the Council of Europe’s Tallinn Information Centre and the Council of Europe’s Secretariat.
The objective of today’s seminar is to give an overview of the activities of Estonia’s various official agencies in the field of protecting and integrating ethnic minorities, to introduce recommendations which have been made to Estonia by various international organisations, and to hear what has been the contribution of the organisations of the ethnic minorities themselves to the integration process. I believe that the seminar will provide a good opportunity for analysing what progress has been made in the field of protecting, integrating, and tolerating ethnic minorities in Estonian society.
At this point, it gives me great pleasure to greet the Council of Europe’s learned experts, the specialists from various fields, and all the other guests to this event. It is especially heartening to see in the audience the representatives of so many ethnic minorities. I sincerely hope that a multilaterally beneficial dialogue will develop between all the participants and organisations present at this seminar.
During the last couple of years, Estonia has presented to various international organisations several studies dealing with the matters under discussion here, and reports concerning the implementation of appropriate conventions. We have submitted reports concerning the implementation of all United Nations human rights conventions, and have cooperated closely with the Council of Europe’s appropriate expert committees.
In the spring of 2001, Estonia had the pleasant opportunity of receiving the experts and raporteurs of the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance. And it is wonderful to see that the raporteurs dealing with Estonia, professors Hoffman and Asmussen, are again in Tallinn today. We thank both aforementioned agencies for their efforts to analyse the developments which have taken place in Estonia, and for their objective and friendly attitude.
We greatly prize the collaboration we have had for years with the Council of Europe. This cooperation is, in our opinion, essential. Their expertise and advice has augmented the activities of our own experts and politicians. International organisations have helped to align Estonian legislation with international norms. Working with them has been an irreplaceable experience throughout Estonia’s transition period. We attach great importance to the continued expansion of a common legal space, and the effective implementation of European conventions in all the Council of Europe’s member states.
Having, for some time, been personally associated with the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly, I am sure that the Council of Europe has been a beacon of democracy for Estonia and other East European states, and has helped to establish democratic institutions in this part of the world.
I would briefly like to again touch upon the integration of Estonian society. We can happily state that this process has been fairly successful -- we can see how, bit by bit, the barriers are crumbling between Estonia’s ethnic minorities; we can see the development of mutual tolerance and the desire to jointly build a unifying society. From now on, integration deserves to be looked at in a broader sense -- as a process which helps everyone to cope in today’s world, and here I’m keeping in mind people’s individual capabilities. I can also note with satisfaction that, in connection with integration, cooperation amongst Estonian social scientists has been effective and professional. In addition to the efforts of international organisations, Estonia’s domestic expertise has been of the utmost importance for understanding the minorities problem -- we have unique knowledge concerning a matter which is of concern in many European states.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the Council of Europe’s Tallinn Information Centre, which bore the weight of actually putting together this event, and the Council of Europe’s Secretariat, which is supporting this event monetarily. The Council of Europe’s Tallinn Information Centre has shown great initiative in publicising the objectives and activities of the Council of Europe, and I would therefore like to congratulate the Council of Europe for having found such a professional staff for the Centre.
I wish all of you a very fulfilling day.
© Estonian Foreign Ministry
- Islandi väljak 1
- 15049 Tallinn
- TEL (+372) 6 377 000
- General Info: vminfo@vm.ee
- Documents: post@vm.ee
- For consular and visa-related information:: konsul@vm.ee
