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The UN Special Rapporteurs has addressed Riga with a letter, the Parliamentskaya Gazeta writes. Fernand de Varennes from Canada, a former UN inspector, American David Kay and Kumbu Boli Barry from Burkina Faso expressed their concern about the education reform in Latvia.
Changes in legislation have almost destroyed education in Russian in the Baltic republic. Latvia liquidates Russian schools and prohibits teaching in Russian in private higher educational institutions.
This is not the first special rapporteur's appeal to the Latvian authorities. This time it was a reaction to the protest of the Latvian Human Rights Committee.
Russkiy Mir reported that earlier they noted the violation of the national minorities' rights.
The head of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, Edgar Rinkevich, responded to requests from representatives of an international organization. He traditionally assured the UN that the education reform does not contradict the international obligations assumed by Latvia.
Representatives of the United Nations once again reminded Riga that the prohibition of the native language in schools violates the rights of national minorities for a decent education. In addition, restrictions for private universities violate the autonomy of private schools and can make education for non-Latvians less accessible.
Russkiy Mir
