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The United Nations advised Riga again to reconsider the Russian-language education transition into the state language. This is stated in the comments published by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Baltnews.lv news agency reports. The UN also notes the need to eliminate a non-citizen category and concerns about the hateful statements of Latvian politicians.
The Latvian authorities continue to hide statistics on how ethnic minorities are represented in the government and in political activities. Access to materials on the ethnic composition of prisoners is restricted.
Moreover, the legal framework does not even have a specific definition that would prohibit racial discrimination.
The experts also recalled their previous recommendation - to ensure that the law on the state language did not lead to "ethnic discrimination creation or consolidation". They expect the authorities of Latvia to take "specific measures" allowing ethnic groups to participate "in public and political life at all levels".
As Russkiy Mir reported, at the beginning of April, despite all the protests from the Russian diaspora, amendments to the law on education were adopted. They exclude education in Russian in schools. Russian compatriots held numerous rallies, trying to draw the authorities' attention to the problem of Russian schools and to the fact that the new law requires improvements.
Previously, the United Nations experts addressed the republican authorities on the issue of the education reform. These appeals were a reaction to the protest of the Latvian Human Rights Committee.
Russkiy Mir
