Estonia

Estonia is located in eastern Europe on the Baltic Sea bordering Latvia and Russia. The capital is Tallinn. In 2004 the population was estimated to be 1.3 million with a growth rate of -0.66 percent. The official language is Estonian, while Russian, Ukraininan , and Finnish are also spoken.

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Estonia has thrown itself into the European community. It has joined NATO and the World Trade Organisation and became a member of the European Union this year. While population is decreasing and unemployment is ten percent, the GDP growth rate is 4.7 percent. Estonia still has an external debt of almost four billion pounds, and last received sixty million pounds in international aid in 2000. After the initial fall of the Soviet Union there was concern over the assistance available for street children, mostly focusing on health and living arrangements. There are still problems for street children in Estonia today, but overall conditions have greatly improved.

Members

SOS Children's Villages

Publications

Equity & Inclusion for All in Education
This report advocates that DFID dedicate adequate resources to tackling the exclusion of all marginalised groups from education in a strategic manner, in line with Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 2 to achieve universal primary education, the Education for All (EFA) goals and international human rights instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Violating Children's Rights: Harmful practices based on tradition, culture, religion or superstition
This short report is designed to complement other current activities in the UN system that are focusing on harmful practices and children and will hopefully lead to more effective action. The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Violence against Children, Marta Santos Pais, held an International Expert Consultation on the issue in June 2012 in Addis Ababa in which the International NGO Council was represented and prepared a submission. Two UN Treaty Bodies, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), are collaborating in drafting a General Comment/General Recommendation on harmful practices.   

Resources

International Day for Street Children Toolkit
This toolkit has been designed by the Consortium for Street Children to help you celebrate the International Day for Street Children on 12th April. They provide everything you should need to publicise and promote the Day. You can also download creatives and copy blocks from the website to use. For more information please contact Leonora Borg: leo@streetchildren.org.uk