The UN agency refers to the "Act on Amendments to the Basic School and Gymnasium Act and Other Acts (Transition to Estonian-Language Education)" adopted by the Estonian Parliament on December 12 that "introduces restrictive and potentially discriminatory measures affecting the rights of ethnic and linguistic minorities in education," in particular the Russian linguistic minority.
"Recent legislative amendments appear to severely restrict education in Estonia’s minority languages by making the transition to Estonian-language education compulsory for all pre-school and school institutions, including those operating in a minority language or bilingual institution," the UN agency said in a statement, adding that this new legislation "restricts minority language education in Estonia, in contravention of international human rights instruments."
This legislation effectively eliminated minority language as a medium of instruction, UN experts said, adding that they have been in touch with the Estonian government regarding the matter.