Ombudsman discusses minority issues with the OSCE High Commissioner

Today, on October 16, from 11:00 to 12:00 OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors will visit The Ombudsman’s Office of the Republic of Latvia. Agenda of the meeting between Ombudsman Juris Jansons and the OSCE High Commissioner includes issues of bilingual education in Latvian, progress in the fight against discrimination and other minority issues.

Ombudsman Juris Jansons has repeatedly draw attention of the OSCE on different aspects of human rights in Latvia. At the end of year 2013 Ombudsman informed OSCE about the rights of non-citizens, but in May 2014 – about the minority issues in Latvia.

The Ombudsman will also present to High Commissioner the voluminous research on bilingual education that was made by Ombudsman’s Office of the Republic of Latvia.

Additional information:

• Ombudsman’s letter to OSCE on Respect for the Rights of Non-Citizens in the Republic of Latvia (05.12.2013)
• Ombudsman’s letter to OSCE on issues related to national minorities in Latvia (21.05.2014)
• Annual report on the year 2013 by the Ombudsman of the Republic of Latvia (please see Chapter IV)