AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Thousands of Eritreans continued to flee the
country. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency,
registered 17,147 asylum-seekers in 44
countries between January and July alone.
They faced serious human rights abuses
while in transit and in destination countries.
In one incident in May, Sudan deported
hundreds of migrants to Eritrea after arresting
them en route to the Libyan border. Eritreans
also risked arbitrary detention, abduction,
sexual abuse and ill-treatment on their way to
Europe.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
The UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry on
Human Rights in Eritrea submitted its
findings to the UN Human Rights Council in
June. It concluded that the Eritrean
authorities were responsible for crimes
against humanity committed since the
country’s independence in 1991 including
enslavement, enforced disappearance,
arbitrary detention, torture, rape and murder.
1. Eritrea: Immediately and unconditionally release prisoners of
conscience (News story, 21 June)
ESTONIA
Republic of Estonia
Head of state: Kersti Kaljulaid (replaced Toomas
Hendrik Ilves in October)
Head of government: Jüri Ratas (replaced Taavi Rõivas
in November)
Amendments to the Citizenship Law aimed
at reducing statelessness among children
came into force in January, although it did
not include those aged 16 to 18. The
number of asylum applications
remained low.
DISCRIMINATION – ETHNIC MINORITIES
As of December, 79,597 people resident in
Estonia remained stateless – almost 6% of
the population. The vast majority were
Russian speakers.
On 1 January, amendments to the
Citizenship Law came into force. These allow
children born to stateless parents to acquire
Estonian citizenship at birth automatically
without application by a parent, as was
required previously. They also allow children
born in Estonia to hold citizenship of other
countries until age 18. Stateless children
aged under 15 residing in Estonia on 1
January 2016, and whose parents have lived
in the country for at least five years, will also
receive Estonian citizenship. The
amendments did not include children aged
16 to 18 or those born outside the country to
stateless residents of Estonia.
Roma continued to suffer discrimination
across a range of economic and social rights,
including lack of equal access to education,
adequate housing and health care. The
failure of the government to collect and
monitor disaggregated socio-economic data
on Roma and other vulnerable groups
hindered its ability to effectively address their
situation.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The number of asylum applications remained
low compared to elsewhere in the EU;
approximately 130 were received in the first
nine months of 2016.
The European Commission criticized the
government for rejecting relocation requests
by asylum-seekers without providing
substantiated reasons or on unjustified
grounds. Concerns were also raised about
the strict conditions families were required to
meet before they could be considered for
relocation under the EU relocation and
resettlement scheme. By the end of the year,
66 people were relocated to Estonia.
In March, the government approved new
regulations allowing a 90km fence to be built
along its eastern border with Russia.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
On 1 January, the Cohabitation Act came into
force, allowing unmarried, including samesex,
couples to register their cohabitation and
have access to state benefits.
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