At today’s sitting, the Riigikogu rejected the draft Resolution proposing to the Government to close the temporary control line between the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation.

The Riigikogu rejected the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a Proposal to the Government of the Republic to close the temporary control line between the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation” (562 OE), submitted by Isamaa Parliamentary Group. The explanatory memorandum to the draft Resolution points out that the State Borders Act gives the Government the right to suspend the crossing of the state border in the interests of national security. “Taking into account the security situation, the attacks that have occurred and the perceived threat, it would be appropriate for the Government to make the decision to close the Estonian-Russian land border at short notice. This decision would carry weight as a countermeasure to Russia’s increasing hostile activities,” the authors noted in the explanatory memorandum.

During the debate, Riina Solman from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Maris Lauri from the Reform Party Parliamentary Group, Aleksei Jevgrafov from the Centre Party Group and Lauri Läänemets from the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group took the floor.

At the final vote, 14 members of the Riigikogu supported the draft Resolution and 61 were against it.

One Bill passed the first reading

The Bill on the Accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Approval of an Amendment to article 20, paragraph 1 of the Convention (583 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading in the Riigikogu. According to the Bill, Estonia accedes to the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

Accession to the Optional Protocol will enable individuals and organisations to submit complaints about violations of the rights set out in the Convention to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. In the event of persistent violations of women’s rights, the Committee can initiate investigations on its own initiative and provide recommendations to the States parties to ensure the rights set out in the Convention and to improve the situation.

Estonia acceded to the Convention in 1991. As of November 2024, the Convention had 189 parties, making it one of the UN conventions on human rights with the largest number of States parties. As of last year, 115 countries have ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol, which entered into force in 2000.

During the debate, Helle-Moonika Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Reili Rand from the Social Democratic Party Group took the floor.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

Video recording of the sitting is available on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
+372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
[email protected]
Questions: [email protected]