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World Wide Wave

14 Jul 2013

Estonia: Doing well for a new country

Europe

“What I don’t like in Estonia is that the politicians don’t speak up for LGBT rights,” says lawyer Reimo Mets. His organisation, SEKÜ, is struggling to ensure equal recognition.

“Even if you are going to visit your partner in the hospital, you are not married, so the hospital can say, ‘You are not welcome here’.”

The Estonia constitution is one of the most liberal in the world, and any discrimination in any part is forbidden. But SEKÜ lobbies government agencies and meets with ministry staff to inform them of the problems and shortcomings of the LGBT community.

Estonia was only founded in 1992, and it is a fairly liberal country. World Wide Wave also spoke with Miriam Kunnberg, who describes growing up in a bubble during communist rule.

But the bubble is expanding. The local ombudsman and the European Court have said that same-sex families are protected by European Human Rights Convention as well as the Estonia Constitution.

In the words of Miriam, “If you think about it, it’s a relatively new country, and we’ve done well.”

It’s exciting times for the former Soviet country.

To learn more, listen to our podcast below or check out World Wide Wave’s Estonia webpage.

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