U.S. Mission to International
Organizations in Geneva

As Delivered by Sean Mariano Garcia

The United States warmly welcomes the Estonian delegation.

We recommend that Estonia:

1. Extend anti-discrimination legislation to include discrimination in the areas of housing, healthcare, social welfare, education, and provision of goods and services on all prohibited grounds; fully implement existing legislation; and clearly define hate crimes in legislation.
2. Increase efforts to promote gender equality and combat gender-based violence, including domestic violence, by amending the law to ensure the definition of rape includes any non-consensual sexual acts.
3. Increase efforts to investigate and prosecute human traffickers under the anti-trafficking provisions of the penal code and, if convicted, punish traffickers with appropriate prison sentences commensurate with the severity of the crime.

We commend Estonia for its strong commitment to civil society and press freedom and urge further steps to counter discrimination against LGBTQI+ persons, persons with disabilities, and members of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.