A/HRC/7/19/Add.2 page 14 legitimate state. The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of developing a common understanding of history among the different communities living in Estonia. 50. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur received the information that an Institute of Memory was established on 1 February 2008 by the President, which will look into the human rights violations committed in the country in the period 1944-1991. According to the government, the aim of the Institute is to better understand the past, in a manner that is not politicized, in order to cope with the present. 51. Apart from the issues related to citizenship and integration of the Russian-speaking minority, the Special Rapporteur also focused on the problem of mounting racist violence, particularly by extremist groups, some of which were believed to be active in Tartu. In this regard, the Ministry of Interior emphasized that the existing legislation already contains all the necessary provisions for law enforcement officials to prosecute cases of racist crimes, making particular reference to the provisions in the Penal Code concerning genocide, incitement to hatred, discrimination and freedom of religion. The Minister of Justice also emphasized the Government’s commitment to tackle this problem, underlining that many foreign groups have attempted to organize extremist activities in Estonia, but have been under constant surveillance by security forces. In response to the Special Rapporteur’s inquiry on whether there is a need for new provisions qualifying racism as an aggravating factor for racially motivated crimes, the Minister expressed the view that this particular issue is already covered in the Constitution and the Penal Code. IV. VIEWS OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND COMMUNITIES CONCERNED A. Concerns in response to State policies and measures 52. Representatives of civil society, minorities and victims of discrimination, conveyed their strong perception that there are several expressions of racism and discrimination within the Estonian society. Despite the different concerns expressed by each particular community, a common threat that was distilled by the Special Rapporteur regards the policies designed to strengthen and reaffirm a core Estonian identity, which are viewed as an attempt to suppress the diversity and distinctiveness of their own particular identities. These identity tensions are directly reflected in issues as distinct as language, citizenship and intolerance, which were highlighted by representatives of all minorities. 53. Civil society considers that there is a weak institutional framework as well as a lack of political will to revisit issues of language and citizenship, which in they view are the major obstacles for the full protection against racism and discrimination. One of the main mechanisms of consultations with minorities, the President of the Republic’s Roundtable with Ethnic Minorities, was seen as ineffective by most of the interlocutors in civil society. In particular, the recommendations that were debated and formulated in the meetings of the Roundtable were seen as merely formal commitments, with no concrete effect on policy. 54. The Special Rapporteur has identified three main groups that are vulnerable to racism, discrimination and xenophobia in Estonia, who nevertheless face distinct problems. The Russianspeaking minority, particularly ethnic Russians, is mostly affected by the problem of statelessness as well as language restrictions. The Roma community and non-European