Searched the resource database for : All Results AND Regions=Estonia
Haven't found what you are looking for? To further refine your search: Click on the 'advanced search' menu to filter by title, abstract, source, and/or publication date; to include or exclude multiple resource categories, regions or topics.
Abstract: Contrairement à une idée reçue, la France et le Royaume-Uni ne sont pas les seules puissances nucléaires en Europe. En effet, depuis 1954, dans le cadre de l’OTAN, les États-Unis stationnent des forces nucléaires dans plusieurs pays du continent. Reliques de la Guerre froide, ces forces devaient originellement faire face à la supériorité des troupes conventionnelles du pacte de Varsovie. De plus de 7 000 armes nucléaires tactiques, réparties dans une dizaine d’États européens au milieu des années 1970, l’arsenal n’a cessé de diminuer, à la suite de l’éclatement de l’URSS, pour parvenir au chiffre de 350 armes en 2007. Depuis le début de la décennie, la question de l’utilité de ces armements, et donc indirectement d’un possible retrait, est de plus en plus souvent évoquée.
En toute discrétion entre 2005 et 2008, les États-Unis ont dénucléarisé deux de leurs plus grandes bases européennes, Ramstein (Allemagne) et Lakenheath (Royaume-Uni). Elles abritaient au total 180 bombes nucléaires. Indéniablement, ce désarmement apporte un nouvel éclairage sur cette posture nucléaire de l’OTAN. À ce titre, les 240 bombes restantes ont sans doute définitivement perdu leur rôle militaire au profit d’un rôle politique. Les raisons de ce retrait ne se limitent pas seulement à des problèmes de sécurité dans ces bases. Non, d’autres problématiques comme l’évolution de l’Alliance atlantique, la politique de chacun des pays hôtes, le renouvellement des flottes à capacité duale, l’utilité stratégique, sans compter la pression de l’opinion publique soutenue par des organisations pacifistes, contribuent et vont contribuer à limiter ce stationnement d’armes. Désormais seuls l’Allemagne, la Belgique, les Pays-Bas, l’Italie et la Turquie ont sur leur territoire des armes nucléaires américaines, mais pour combien de temps encore ? Demain, l’Europe va-t-elle être une zone libre d’armes nucléaires américaines ?
Abstract: A Survey and Analysis of Border Management and Border Apprehension Data from 20 States.
With a Special Survey on the Use of Counterfeit Documents.
Based on the contributions of the border services of 20 Central and Eastern European states, the 2006 Yearbook again provides its valuable overview and analysis of irregular migration trends in the region. Over the past ten years the annual Yearbook on Illegal Migration, Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe has come to be regarded as an authoritative source of information on recent border trends and in particular on the phenomena of illegal migration, human smuggling and trafficking. The annual Yearbook covers the most recent trends in illegal migration and human smuggling in the region, including long-term trends in border apprehensions, shifts in source, transit and destination countries, demographic characteristics of irregular migrants, the relationship between legal and illegal border crossings, new developments in the methods of border crossings and document abuse and on removals of irregular migrants. In addition, this year’s edition for the first time features a Special Survey on the use of counterfeit documents for illegal migration purposes. This Survey is based on the contributions received from document specialists or Special Units dealing with document security in the countries under review and provides the first comprehensive overview and analysis of patterns and trends in the use of counterfeit documents for illegal migration purposes in Central and Eastern Europe.
Abstract: This bulletin contains information about Amnesty International’s main concerns in Europe and
Central Asia between July and December 2007. Not every country in the region is reported on; only
those where there were significant developments in the period covered by the bulletin, or where
Amnesty International (AI) took specific action.
A number of individual country reports have been issued on the concerns featured in this bulletin.
References to these are made under the relevant country entry. In addition, more detailed
information about particular incidents or concerns may be found in Urgent Actions and News
Service Items issued by AI.
This bulletin is published by AI every six months.
Abstract: U.S. policymakers have made securing and maintaining foreign contributions
to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq a major priority since the preparation
period for the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. This report
highlights and discusses important changes in financial and personnel contributions
from foreign governments to Iraq since 2003.
To date, foreign donors have pledged an estimated $16.4 billion in grants and
loans for Iraq reconstruction, with most major pledges originating at a major donors'
conference in Madrid, Spain, in October 2003. However, only a small part of the
pledges have been committed or disbursed to the World Bank and United Nations
Development Group Trust Funds for Iraq. The largest non-U.S. pledges of grants
have come from Japan, the European Commission, the United Kingdom, Canada,
South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. The World Bank, the International
Monetary Fund, Japan, and Saudi Arabia have pledged the most loans and export
credits.
Currently, 33 countries including the United States have some level of troops
on the ground in Iraq or supporting Iraq operations from nearby locations. Those
forces are working under the rubric of one of several organizations — the
Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), the NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I); or
the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Currently, the largest
troop contributors, in addition to the United States, are the United Kingdom, Georgia,
Australia, South Korea, and Poland. Some of these key contributors have announced
their intention to reduce or withdraw their forces from Iraq during 2008. The total
number of non-U.S. coalition troop contributions has declined since the early
stabilization efforts, as other countries have withdrawn their contingents or
substantially reduced their size.
Abstract: La présente évaluation de la politique des vingt-sept pays membres de l’Union
européenne en faveur des droits de l’Homme répond au développement récent des
« investissements éthiques », constitués pour une grand part d’actions d’entreprises privées, mais également d’obligations d’Etat. C’est cette partie « obligataire » dont il s’agit ici d’éclairer les fondements dans une perspective « éthique », dans l’optique de favoriser les investissements dans les Etats menant une politique plus active de promotion des droits de l’homme. Cette étude s’inscrit dans la continuité des études élaborées en 2001, 2003 et 2005.
Abstract: The workshop from which this report originates dealt with organized crime,
corruption and investment of criminal proceeds in the Baltic Sea region. This
workshop report, compiled by Klas Kxc3xa4rrstrand, summarizes the presentations
made during the workshop and the discussions stimulated by the each of the
presentations.
The main purpose is to identify recent trends
and developments in order to point out potential consequences for the social,
economic, legal and political development, in especially Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania, but also for the region as a whole.
Abstract: In March 2003, a U.S.-led multinational force began operations in Iraq. At that time, 48 nations, identified as a "coalition of the willing," offered political, military, and financial support for U.S. efforts in Iraq, with 38 nations other than the United States providing troops. In addition, international donors met in Madrid in October 2003 to pledge funding for the reconstru#ction of Iraq's infrastructure, which had deteriorated after multiple wars and decades of neglect under the previous regime.
This testimony discusses (1) the troop commitments other countries have made to operations in Iraq, (2) the funding the United States has provided to support other countries' participation in the multinational force, and (3) the financial support international donors have provided to Iraq reconstruction efforts.
Abstract: The mission of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Afghanistan
is seen as a test of the alliance's political will and military capabilities. The allies are
seeking to create a "new" NATO, able to go beyond the European theater and combat
new threats such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Afghanistan is NATO's first "out-of-area" mission beyond Europe. The purpose of
the mission is the stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan. The mission is a
difficult one because it must take place while combat operations against Taliban
insurgents continue.
U.N. Security Council resolutions govern NATO's responsibilities. The NATOled
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) faces formidable obstacles:
shoring up a weak government in Kabul; using military capabilities in a distant
country with rugged terrain; and rebuilding a country devastated by war and troubled
by a resilient narcotics trade. NATO's mission statement lays out the essential
elements of the task of stabilizing and rebuilding the country: train the Afghan army,
police, and judiciary; support the government in counter-narcotics efforts; develop
a market infrastructure; and suppress the Taliban.
Abstract: This paper is based on the Central Asia and Caucasus Institute - Silk Road
Studies Program joint center's meeting held in Riga, 7-8 November 2005.
The meeting was organized as a workshop that was attended by
representatives of the law enforcement, political and academic communities
within the Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Sweden. Over the two
day meeting, the participants addressed a series of topics presented to them
by researchers from the joint center as well as the Swedish National Drug
Policy Coordinator. The results of these talks, and additional research
conducted at the joint center are presented here.
The report is divided into three main sections, reflecting the agenda of the
meeting. The first section covers overall threats posed by transnational
organized crime and its main activity: narcotics smuggling. This section
will also explain the threat that organized crime poses threat to our
societies. The second section discusses existing law enforcement and legal
structures in place to counter narcotics smuggling, and also the current
situation in the Baltic states. The final section proposes a strategy for
decision-makers that may be used to count narcotics smuggling and
organized crime networks.
Abstract: The human rights situation deteriorated in numerous former Soviet republics. Independent
human rights monitoring groups, including several affiliates of the IHF, came under
attack. The Russian Federation, Belarus, and the Central Asian regimes promulgated
new legislation or changed their practices to allow these states arbitrarily to restrict the activities
of nongovernmental organizations. The leaders of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee
faced fabricated criminal charges, and in January 2006, state-controlled Russian media
falsely implicated the Moscow Helsinki Group in espionage.
Abstract: The United States has progressively woven a clandestine "spider's web" of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers - spun with the collaboration or tolerance of Council of Europe member states, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) said today. In a draft resolution adopted at a meeting in Paris, based on a report by Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE), the committee said hundreds of persons had become entrapped in this web - in some cases when they were merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation. The parliamentarians said this knowing collusion of member states took several different forms, including secretly detaining a person on European territory, capturing a person and handing them over to the US or permitting unlawful "renditions" through their airspace or across their territory. "It# has now been demonstrated incontestably, by numerous well-documented and convergent facts, that secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving European countries have taken place, such as to require in-depth inquiries and urgent responses by the executive and legislative branches of all the countries concerned," the committee said. The committee called on Council of Europe member states to review bilateral agreements signed with the United States, particularly those on the status of US forces stationed in Europe, to ensure they conformed fully to international human rights norms. The report is due for debate by the plenary Assembly - which brings together 630 parliamentarians from the 46 Council of Europe member states - in Strasbourg on 27 June 2006.
Abstract: The United States of America finds that neither the classic instruments of criminal law and procedure, nor the framework of the laws of war (including respect for the Geneva Conventions) has been apt to address the terrorist threat. As a result it has introduced new legal concepts, such as "enemy combatant" and "rendition", which were previously unheard of in international law and stand contrary to the basic legal principles that prevail on our continent. Thus, across the world, the United States has progressively woven a clandestine "spider's web" of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers, often encompassing countries notorious for their use of torture. Hundreds of persons have become entrapped in this web, in some cases merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation.
Abstract: The report is divided in three main parts. The first part assesses the narcotics
and organized crime situation in the Baltic States. The second part examines
states' capacities to counter narcotics and organized crime in the Baltic Sea
region. The third part proposes solutions to the main issues that were
discussed in the first part.
Europe is one of the most profitable markets for narcotics in the world.
Criminal networks are positioning themselves in Europe. They launder their
money in Western banks by investing in European real estate and stocks.
Law enforcement agencies across Europe and beyond have noticed this
phenomenon, and the media have also addressed some of the problems caused
by organized crime and the use of narcotics. However, this limited attention
has not resulted in any coordination of policies between affected states to
reduce the trade by any significant amount. The Baltic Sea Region has
received some attention from authorities since narcotics transport routes
crisscross all three of the Baltic States. Nevertheless, the cooperation between
countries is crucial if we want to be successful in reducing the supply of
narcotic drugs.
Abstract: The problems for states and individuals with an
abuse of illegal substances are age-old but never has
the problem been as troubling and the financial
turnover as large as now. Today some 200 million
people or 5 percent of the world's population age 15-64
uses illegal narcotics according to the United
Nations. This is an increase by 15 million since 2004.
Diseases and human suffering are seen in the
footsteps of the abuse, however the consequences are
not only seen among the users themselves but
HIV/AIDS threatens to spread to non-user groups
and notably several states have been directly affected
by the criminalization of the state and corruption of
the states functions. States such as Afghanistan,
Tajikistan and now Kyrgyzstan have been co-opted
by money derived from the narcotics trade and the
political process is to a significant extent controlled
by the criminal networks. The trade in several states
is dominated by the production and illegal trafficking
of narcotics, making the illegal economy close to
redundant. This impedes both the liberalization of
the economies in the countries affected as well as
threatens the democratization process.
Abstract: In an effort to make European troops more employable in out-of-area operations, the United States has urged NATO to set goals of having each member nation able to deploy 40 percent of its forces abroad with at least 8 percent of each nation's military actually deployed at any given time. The motivation behind this idea would be to help sustain the ongoing shift from reliance on territorial defenses during the Cold War to expeditionary forces in the post-September 11 era. Even so, this objective may be exceedingly difficult for new NATO members to achieve, given the competing budgetary and political pressures to which they are subjected.
Abstract: In the EU, enlargement has aroused concern as to whether the
new member states will put a brake on the development of
common foreign, security and defence policy. The Report
indicates that such concern is unwarranted: the primary objective
of the new member states is to become closely integrated into the
EU's foreign and security policy, which should be as uniform and
effective as possible. Although these countries are not among the
most enthusiastic supporters of closer integration, they do not
wish to take on the role of brakeman. The newcomers' desire to
become full and equal member states creates pressure for active
participation in all areas of integration, including the Common
Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Hence they participate, for
example, in the EU's crisis management operations in Macedonia
and Bosnia-Herzegovina initiated in 2003, and they also intend
to take part in the Union's planned new battlegroups. #Because of
their limited resources and relative unfamiliarity with the EU's
ways of functioning, the new member states are likely to have
only a minor influence on the CFSP over the next few years.
Abstract: When Estonia joined the European Union on May 1, 2004, over 160,000 Russian-speaking non-citizens remained in limbo. These individuals are being forced to choose between learning a new language and passing an exam to acquire Estonian citizenship; applying for Russian citizenship and thus surrendering the benefits of EU membership; or remaining stateless with limited political access and foreign travel restrictions. While Article Nine of the Estonian Constitution states that "[t]he rights, freedoms and duties of each and every person, as set out in the Constitution, shall be equal for Estonian citizens and for citizens of foreign states and stateless persons in Estonia," this mandated equality is not the reality for Estonia's stateless persons. As the country settles into its new role as a European nation, every resident's human right to a nationality must be upheld.
Abstract: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed shortly after the end of the Second World War to counter the threat of Soviet invasion of Western Europe. The treaty setting up the alliance was signed in 1949 by 10 Western European nations as well as Canada and the United States. NATO's mandate is to provide a common defence for the European and Atlantic areas, and to address common issues faced by the member countries.
Assessment for Russians in Estonia Minorities at Risk Project // Center for International Development and Conflict Management // University of Maryland
Abstract: Russian minority in Estonia resides primarily in two areas of the countryxe2x80x94the capital city Talinn and the border cities of Narva and Sillamae. Although the group is distinct in terms of culture, language, and religion, the problem with the Russian minority in Estonia is a relatively new one, dating back to the early 1990s when, after 50 years of Russian domination, Estonia declared its sovereignty and became independent. There is definitely potential for rebellion by Russians in Estonia, that risk, however, is not severe. The group has exhibited substantial and persistent levels of protest in past. For the most part, these were over the discriminatory citizenship and language requirement laws adopted by the Estonian government in the early 1990s, which continue to pose severe political, economic and social hardships for ethnic Russians living in the country.
Group concentration presents another potential risk factor in Russian-Estonian ethnic relations. Russian Estonians are found principally in two areas of Estonia, the capital city of Tallinn and the border cities of Narva and Sillamae. Group repression is another factor that increases the risk of rebellion by the group. Russian minority suffers significant political, economic and social discrimination. However, there are strong indications that chances of future state repression of the group are declining (although the potential for discrimination has certainly not disappeared altogether). Finally, the role of neighboring Russia must be taken into consideration as a potential irritant in the Estonian- Russian relations. Even here, however, potential for conflict has declined significa#ntly over the recent years. While at the beginning of the 1990s, Russia was actively negotiating on behalf of the Russian minorities, that has almost ceased at present. Evidence suggests that the most that the Russian minorities can rely on from the current Russian government is symbolic assistance. While the likelihood of rebellion is small, the likelihood of protest by the group remains significant. Significant political, economic, and cultural restrictions still exist, which place the Russian minority in a disadvantaged position. Due to the restrictive citizenship law, the political realm remains out of reach for many Russians. For example, in 1995, the Russian's share of eligible voters was only 10%. In the economic realm, the citizenship law restricts Russians from owning land and language
Abstract: The Ethnopolitical Map of Europe is intended to cover those regions in Europe, including the Balkans, the Baltic Sea area and the Caucasus, which are currently facing or have recently experienced ethnopolitical tension or conflict. The clickable map is guiding the users to official documents which reflect international involvement in the reduction of ethnopolitical tension and resolution of interethnic conflicts in different countries and regions of Europe. Further, the map provides information on population statistics, current national legislation and relevant literature on the ethnopolitical situation in those countries.
Abstract: The United States's increased interest in Eurasia over the past year has added confusion to an already muddled debate over nation- and state-building in the region. In particular, U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan drew global attention to what and who a post-Taliban regime would look like. But the Bush Administration's blanket caution over "nation-building" in Afghanistan blurred the crucial difference between state-building and nation-building: the former concerns developing institutions of governance; the latter concerns developing a shared identity.
