Draft law (534 SE) on Estonia’s accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child concerning procedures for complaints
Session: 15th Estonian Parliament, 4th session, plenary session.
Date: 2024-12-05 12:01
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 70
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 1h 15m
AI Summaries: 70/70 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The agenda item concerns the draft law 534 for the first reading regarding accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, concerning a procedure for complaints, initiated by the Government of the Republic. The protocol establishes an additional international platform for the rights of the child: the possibility to submit individual or interstate complaints to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and, if necessary, to initiate investigations in cases of violations concerning children. Estonia has previously taken steps towards the ratification of this protocol; it would enter into force three months after the deposit of the instrument of accession; the expected entry into force in Estonia would be in the spring of 2025. The process, the international context, and the practice were discussed through the media, and through roadmaps for adherence to international standards and strengthening the rights of children. The discussion highlighted the clarity of the legal framework, the need for public awareness, and potential risks and cost effects, emphasizing that the protocol adds additional mechanisms for the protection of the rights of the child, including the possibility to submit complaints in their mother tongue and the possibility of involving independent representatives. Finally, it was decided to conclude the first reading, and further procedural steps will be addressed at subsequent meetings.
Decisions Made 1
First reading completed. The leading committee decided to put the draft on the agenda for a plenary session, and the ballot indicated; result: 6 in favor, 1 against (Kalle Grünthal). The draft's further proceedings will follow the Riigikogu's legislative procedure.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker was Riina Solman (pid YnKIrQfzj2E), a member of the social affairs committee and co-presenter. Her presentation encompassed the main part of the discussion and clarification of procedural matters; her official position is considered as a member of the committee, often described as "other" (not directly defined factional position) according to the traditional left-right political spectrum.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, informed that today’s first agenda item is the government-initiated draft law No. 534 on joining the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, and invited the Minister of Social Protection, Signe Riisalo, to address the Riigikogu.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo stressed that Estonia intends to join the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which gives children the right to submit written complaints to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the possibility to file interstate complaints, coming into force three months after it is deposited, thereby strengthening the protection of children's rights and providing a child-friendly procedure by spring 2025.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker, Lauri Hussar, thanks the minister and announces that there are questions, and that the question round will be opened by his colleague Urve Tiidus.
Urve Tiidus
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Urve Tiidus asked, in front of the director and the minister, how many of these appeals have brought positive outcomes for their children, and where can the children find out where to turn.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo confirmed that international complaints are processed only on the basis of the rights laid down in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child or its additional protocols, and domestic rights that are not related to the Convention are not subject to proceedings. He stressed the awareness of Estonian children about their rights and their ability to stand up for them, the active involvement of young people, and the role of child rights ambassadors and the Office of the Chancellor of Justice, and he pledged to convey information to children, including through the Child Helpline.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar invites Kalle Grünthal to speak.
Kalle Grünthal
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Grünthal emphasized that Estonia has not joined the Optional Protocol to the Convention for a long time, and although children can file complaints, the text of the Protocol is legally complex, and the child does not understand it well enough to file a complaint.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo said that although Estonia has not yet seen any situations arising from involvement with the Additional Protocols, and their exact prognosis cannot be forecast, the issue has forced a rethinking of children's roles and rights in relation to military organizations, the use of weapons and training, and stressed that children have the right to choose a representative who does not have to be a highly paid lawyer.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asks Kersti Sarapuu to come and speak.
Kersti Sarapuu
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Kersti Sarapuu notes that there are many child protection organizations in Estonia, and poses a question about the long saga seen on Facebook regarding Kristiina Heinmets-Aigro and her family and daughter, whether this convention could be of benefit for their family and whether a concrete and positive solution will ever be found for them.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
They emphasize that issues of custody and the child’s right to contact with a parent fall under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and domestic legislation must be in line with it, because the child has the right to know their parents and to communicate with them, and if contact with one parent is prohibited, obstructed, or restricted without a legal basis or if domestic court decisions have not come into force up to the third instance, the child may file a complaint.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar invites Irja Lutsar to speak.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
Irja Lutsar discusses whether children's rights come with obligations, and whether giving children the opportunity to sue does not turn them into objects of manipulation in adults' interpersonal disputes, and whether this system has been well thought out.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo confirmed that Estonia adheres to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and guarantees the realization of the child's rights and safe representation both in court proceedings and in other external circumstances; she condemned parents' manipulation of the child, emphasized the convention's broader role in ensuring education and healthcare, and noted that if the realization of rights in Estonia seems hopeless, the child has one more option.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asks Riina Solman to take the floor.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman asked what the experiences of other countries are and the reasons why children may file a complaint with the committee, and how the costs of the necessary support and representation services and information for submitting these complaints are organized, including the help of a lawyer and the involvement of officials to ensure a sense of security.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo said that he does not know how to present precise analyses of other countries' cases, but a children's awareness campaign is planned, and the form for submitting complaints is child-friendly and in the mother tongue; help may come from a parent, from a more active minor, or from a safe adult, and the child will be given answers in child-friendly language, although the state may also prepare more complex legal texts in the future.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asks Tanel Kiik to come.
Tanel Kiik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Tanel Kiik asks about the development of the field of child rights protection in Estonia and about the main challenges, whether they are related to staff shortages, local-level capacity, or parental behavior.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo said that in Estonia children's rights are fairly well protected in international comparison, and the 2017–2018 reforms, the Wonderful Years parenting program, raising the marriage age from 15 to 18, and the regulation of sexual self-determination have brought significant progress in the development of evidence-based services and child support, but concerns regarding parental relationships and the child's living arrangements persist, and they will continue to be developed with the help of international financial assistance.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar asks to invite Kalle Grünthal onto the stage.
Kalle Grünthal
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Kalle Grünthal expresses concern that a child's rights may be manipulated in the interests of the parents and that the child may fall under the influence of one parent, and asks whether in such a situation the parent who has abused may file a complaint even after the one-year deadline, taking into account cases that have attracted public attention.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo stressed that adults must not manipulate children, but should give them more decision-making autonomy along with small, age-appropriate responsibilities, and be vigilant about manipulation and involve child psychologists in complex disputes.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar invited Varro Vooglaid onto the stage.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid accuses the government of hostility toward children and families, citing that in Estonia more than 3,000 abortions for minors are funded each year, and warns that a mechanism could arise to bypass the existing law — for example, a committee decision to allow a minor's gender-reassignment surgery, which would be contrary to Estonian law.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo said that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols do not grant children any additional rights regarding gender identity beyond those provided by national legislation, and therefore the complaint system used within this framework will not work.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair invites Madis Timpson onto the stage.
Madis Timpson
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
I do not agree that the government is hostile to children; I have a question about the role of the Chancellor of Justice's Child Ombudsman and about ratification, and whether this could entail hidden costs to the Estonian state.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo noted that Estonia should join the additional protocol because of the recommendations of the Chancellor of Justice and the Committee on Children's Rights, and the additional costs have been planned, because a complaint can be submitted in the child's mother tongue and in plain language, and if necessary the child may also be assisted by a person who does not have a degree in law.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairperson asks Varro Vooglaid to take the floor.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid stressed that the Convention on the Rights of the Child sets forth very broad rights (for example Article 12(1) freedom to express opinions, Article 24 the right to good health and access to health care services, and Article 36 protection of children from exploitation) and asked what should be done if the committee's decision conflicts with Estonian law—should Parliament then have to amend Estonian laws?
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo confirmed that Estonian legislation is supreme under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and must comply with both the Convention and the additional protocols to which Estonia has acceded; children have the right to freely express their views, and as long as these additional protocols are not explicitly written here, there is no point in painting that devil on the wall.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar asks Riina Solman.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman asks, in a hypothetical situation, how Estonia would implement and bring to life a situation in which a child has received the decision of the relevant organ and an acquittal ruling.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Social Security Minister Signe Riisalo said that the state may, on the basis of a pressing recommendation from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, improve or clarify its legal framework to better guarantee children's rights, and the procedures should be re-examined; and although there have so far been only five appeals from children to the Chancellor of Justice, the fear of large-scale cases may be exaggerated, but this could encourage children to stand up for their rights.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman, Lauri Hussar, asks Urmas Reinsalu to speak.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu criticizes the minister, saying that from January 1 the tax-free income for supporting children will be removed, and the planned cuts to family benefits threaten children's interests and the ability of families to cope, and he asks whether this isn’t hypocritical rhetoric.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo said that Estonia has long been working to protect children's rights, and an analysis is being prepared on how to better support families (child and parental benefits). Although the removal of tax-free income was done to balance the budget, it is hoped that the analysis will provide policy recommendations to keep the birth rate at a stable level, because delaying childbirth among young women makes this difficult.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker Lauri Hussar invites Urmas Reinsalu to speak.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu accuses Riisalo and the Reform Party of implementing a tax-squeeze project, whose impact on the state budget is about 0.5 billion euros and which actually worsens the living standards of families with children, and states that their aim is not a demographic crisis or an increase in birth rates, but the maintenance of low birth rates, which shows that they have essentially given up.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Your time has come.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu notes that questions related to solving the problems of the demographic crisis have been brushed aside.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The speaker thanks and appeals to the minister with a plea.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo emphasizes that it is necessary to avoid a further decline in birth rates and to improve poverty indicators, pointing to concrete steps such as raising the family allowance for families with three to six children from 300 to 450 euros, raising the allowance for the first and second child from 60 to 80 euros, raising the allowance for a child of a single parent from 19 to 80 euros, increasing child support, and tying care and sickness benefits to the parents' income.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asks Aivar Kokk to speak.
Aivar Kokk
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Aivar Kokk claims that good decisions came only when Isamaa came to power, and that the current government is making bad decisions by cutting the benefits for families with many children and for pensioners living alone, and by taking Health Insurance Fund documents from the parents, and he asks to present the honest facts.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar says that now is your time to act.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Riisalo said that the care- and old-age benefits have not been cut, and pensioners living alone, who live in nursing homes, receive on average 509 euros per month and about 12 payments of 590 euros each year; 66.1 million euros are allocated under the care reform, and two years ago there was no support in general care, but we stay true to the facts.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
This is merely a request to invite Irja Lutsar to perform on stage.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
The person recommends focusing on acceding to the Protocol on the Rights of the Child and notes that there is no topic about nursing homes and family benefits there, and these discussions could take place in separate sessions; at the same time, they evaluate all questions and the thoughts are purposeful.
Sotsiaalkaitseminister Signe Riisalo
AI Summary
Minister for Social Protection Signe Riisalo thanks you and agrees with you.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker Lauri Hussar thanked the minister, noted that there were no more questions, and asked Riina Solman, the deputy chair of the Social Committee, to come here to the Riigikogu's rostrum to introduce her.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman said that the Social Committee discussed the government-initiated bill to join the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, explaining the translation's technical aspects and informational significance and promising a child-centered information campaign, and that the protocol would give children the opportunity to file complaints in certain situations, and the committee decided to end the first reading and to refer the bill to the plenary for proceedings, with 6 votes in favor and 1 against.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Speaker Lauri Hussar thanked for the thorough briefing, noted that there were no questions, and invited Züleyxa Izmailovat to speak at the Riigikogu's rostrum on behalf of the faction with authorization.
Züleyxa Izmailova
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The Riigikogu debate shows that Estonia's accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child gives children the opportunity to file complaints with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, and it strengthens both international and national protection and awareness, so that no child is deprived of their rights.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker thanks and announces that, on behalf of the Isamaa faction, Urmas Reinsalu will take the floor at the Riigikogu's speaking podium.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu says that Isamaa does not oppose the protocol to the Convention, but the government is weakening children's rights and families' sense of security by cutting family benefits, reducing subsidy payments, and planning tuition-based higher education, and emphasizes that the state must guarantee children at least a minimal sense of security, rather than taking steps that undermine their rights and sense of security.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asks if you would like more time.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar asked for three more minutes.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu criticized the government for denying the demographic crisis and for the lack of confidence among families and young people, noting that the coalition agreement has no word on demography and that no measures will be implemented, and although he supported joining the convention's Optional Protocol, in his view this is only a fig leaf, and the real obligation is the protection of Estonian children and families.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
This is a very short speech whose central message is "Your time!"
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
They stressed that the duty of care must not be transferred to anyone else, and steps taken merely for show do not improve the situation.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, reminded us that we are at the first reading of the bill, and according to § 98 the debates on the first reading are intended only for representatives of the factions; the right to respond is available if in some other speech the person of a Riigikogu member or his positions are touched upon, and he asked Riina Solman whether he was mentioned in that speech.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman said that she was mentioned in that speech and that she wanted to deliver a rebuttal speech.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar tells Riina Solman that if she withdraws [the wish to ask a question] and puts the request to speak back, she will get the floor to make a reply.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman gives thanks and asks whether this is two minutes.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
This is a very short speech that focuses only on the two-minute duration.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman confirmed Isamaa's support for the Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, stressed demography as a policy issue, referred to the support for families with three or more children in 2017, as a result of which the number of third- and higher-order children increased by 25% for two consecutive years, and recommended taking a cue from Israel's pro-natalist culture to avoid a downward spiral.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair declared the negotiations closed. The first reading of Draft Bill No. 534 has been completed, and the deadline for submitting amendment proposals is December 19 at 5:15 PM.