A/HRC/7/19/Add.2 page 15 minorities have been a vulnerable target for racist attacks and suffer from negative stereotyping. The Roma, in particular, have historically faced cultural stigma and structural discrimination that directly hinders their ability to fully enjoy their rights. B. Views of the Russian-speaking community 55. Estonia has a large Russian-speaking community, which is composed mostly of ethnic Russians but also includes smaller groups of ethnic Byelorussians and other minorities. Ethnic Russians arrived in Estonia during different waves of migration that extended from the sixteenth century, with the arrival of the old believers, to the aftermath of the 1917 Revolution. The largest part of the Russian community migrated forcefully or voluntarily during the Soviet occupation. However, in view of the different waves of Russian migration, it is inaccurate to speak of a unified ethnic Russian minority, since members of this group have different degrees of integration into the Estonian society (e.g. in terms of language) as well as different legal status. To refer to those former USSR citizens that immigrated to Estonia during the Soviet occupation, the Special Rapporteur uses the term Russian-speaking community. 56. The Special Rapporteur held extensive meetings with representatives of the Russianspeaking community in order to collect their views and concerns. Members of the community expressed the view that the most important form of discrimination in Estonia is not ethnic, but rather language-based. In particular, it affects directly the Russian-speaking persons who either migrated or were born in Estonia during the period of the Soviet occupation. 57. Although the language requirements for citizenship applications were pointed out as problematic by some members of the community, the majority of interlocutors argued that the problem with language discrimination is more general, concerning the overall language policy in Estonia. The Russian-speaking community perceives the existing language policy as an attempt to suppress Russian as a legitimate minority language in the country, not only in public affairs, but also in the private domain. The role of the Language Inspectorate and its mandate to conduct language oversight in public and private institutions was strongly criticized and referred to by some interlocutors as a “language police”. 58. Representatives of the Russian-speaking community argued that the lack of recognition by Estonian authorities of the legitimate existence of Russian is seen more concretely in the educational system. They argued that the number of Russian-speaking schools is much lower in proportion to the number of Russian-speaking students than the number of Estonian-speaking schools. Educational reform, which will introduce a mandatory minimum of 60 per cent of courses that need to be taught in Estonian-language, was also viewed with concern. In many cases, according to community representatives, this will imply that Russian-speaking teachers will have to teach in Estonian in classes composed exclusively of Russian-speaking students. The Special Rapporteur’s interlocutors underscored their preoccupation regarding the decrease in the quality of education for pupils, since many students of the Russian-speaking community with poor language skills in Estonian will have to follow a large part of the school curriculum in Estonian language. Furthermore, the concern regarding education reform extended to the situation of Russian-speaking school teachers, many of whom fear for their jobs. 59. The Special Rapporteur’s interlocutors also emphasized that statelessness remains a central problem that mostly affects the Russian-speaking community. They highlighted that although the