A/HRC/17/17 71. Estonia provides inclusive and high-quality education. Students’ learning progress and results in schools are high, regardless of their economic background. 72. Regarding questions raised about the Roma community, the delegation stated that Estonia had a small number of Roma – about 500 persons, according to data of the last census. However, Estonia acknowledged that the Roma faced some problems. Estonia does not have segregated schools, and Roma students can only be placed in special schools with the consent of their parents or legal guardians. Some steps have been taken to address dropout among Roma students, including training for teachers and heads of schools on cultural differences. 73. Regarding the question about violence against children and child abuse, the delegation explained that violence against children was prohibited by the Penal Code, and the principle of non-violent child-raising was also mentioned in the Family Law Act. The Ministry of Social Affairs was in the process of amending the Child Protection Act, and the amendments would ban corporal punishment explicitly. Estonia has carried out awarenessraising campaigns to address the issue of the corporal punishment. 74. The delegation stated that all asylum-seekers were provided access to legal aid at every stage of the asylum procedure, which was carried out in line with the State Legal Aid Act. Additionally, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with an NGO, has implemented a pilot project to provide legal aid by lawyers specialized in asylum law. Another NGO has already provided legal aid and represented asylum-seekers both in the administrative procedures and in court. Translation and interpretation were also granted free of charge to all applicants. Asylum-seekers are also allowed to practice their religions freely. While the number of applicants has been small in the past, there is a tendency to increase. 75. The delegation stated that the issue of stateless persons was a serious challenge, and that Estonia has done its best to address the issue, and continues to work to achieve further progress in this area. The delegation stated that the phenomena of neo-Nazism did not exist in Estonia, and that the events in which people pay their respect to those who died in the war should not be seen as acts of neo-Nazism. 76. In conclusion, the delegation thanked the Working Group for the open dialogue and for comments and suggestions provided by the States. It hoped that in the subsequent cycles of the UPR, Estonia would be in a position to report about progress made in implementing the recommendations put forward by the delegations during the interactive dialogue. Estonia planed to put forward its candidacy for membership in the Human Rights Council in 2012 in order to continue contributing to human rights work. II. Conclusions and/or recommendations 77. The recommendations formulated during the interactive dialogue and listed below have been examined by and enjoy the support of Estonia. 77.1. Speed up efforts to ratify CRPD and its Optional Protocol (OP-CRPD) (Slovenia); 77.2. Ratify and implement CRPD (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); 77.3. Ensure speedy ratification of CRPD, and take steps to ensure full conformity with the principles of the Convention without delay (Canada); 77.4. 12 Ratify CRPD as soon as possible (France);