WJC at UNHRC | Statement on the UPR Outcome of Estonia

At the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Member of the WJC-Affiliated Council of the Jewish Community of Estonia, Lev Rubinštein, delivered a statement expressing concern at the rise of antisemitism in the region and called for measures protecting Estonian Jewry.

Read the full statement below:

Mr. President,

My name is Lev Rubinštein, Member of the Council of the Jewish Community of Estonia, and I have the honor of delivering this statement on behalf of the World Jewish Congress.

The Jewish Community of Estonia highly values the willingness of state institutions to engage in dialogue and cooperation. It is necessary to continue this work, strengthen practical measures to prevent antisemitism, and ensure effective legislative protection against all forms of hatred and discrimination. Recently, the Jewish Community of Estonia has observed a number of concerning trends related to manifestations of antisemitism in the public sphere and on social media.

A Holocaust memorial in Erada was recently vandalized. Antisemitic rhetoric, including conspiracy theories and hateful stereotyping, continues to proliferate online and in public discourse. We are also following the termination of a contract between the Estonian Academy of Arts and a professor from Israel, and we urge vigilant monitoring to ensure that nationality or origin never becomes grounds for discrimination.

Estonia currently lacks dedicated legislative provisions to effectively address hate crimes and hate speech and has no distinct criminal law provision addressing Holocaust denial. We believe the legal framework must be strengthened to provide genuine tools against antisemitism and the denial of Holocaust crimes.

We welcome the interministerial commission on preventing antisemitism, which has adopted a concept for deepening cooperation between state institutions and civil society.

We believe this dialogue is important to further strengthen practical measures and effective legislative protection against all forms of hatred. Combating antisemitism is not merely a matter of community security. It is essential to safeguarding democratic values, human rights, and the social cohesion of Estonian society as a whole.

Thank you.