Welcome to the United Nations 
OHCHR 
Press releases Treaty bodies
COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD EXAMINES SECOND PERIODIC REPORT OF LATVIA
16 May 2006
Share
Committee on the
Rights of the Child
16 May 2006
The Committee on the Rights of the Child today examined the second periodic report of Latvia on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Introducing the report was Ainars Bastiks, Minister for Children and Family Affairs of Latvia, who said that the family and youth policy in Latvia was based on the principle that the family was the natural environment for the growth and well being of the child. The Government of Latvia continued to make efforts to ensure better social and economic conditions for its residents, particularly for children. Although Latvia was one of the poorest European Union Member States, it was making efforts to improve its economic performance with the view to raising the living standards of the population.
In preliminary concluding remarks, Lothar Krappmann, the Committee Expert who served as country Rapporteur for the report of Latvia, said the dialogue with the delegation of Latvia was fruitful, and the delegation provided the Committee with satisfactory information. The State party was finding solutions to resolve the problems regarding the rights of the child. A lot of information and comments had been given by the delegation enabling the Experts to know more about the situation in the country. The State party was sincerely committed to implementing the provisions of the Convention. At the end of its three-week session, the Committee would issue its concluding observations in which it would include its recommendations and comments on the report to constructively support the endeavours of the State Party.
Other Committee Experts contributed to the debate by raising questions pertaining to the low rate of child births; domestic violence due to alcohol consumption; bullying in schools; naturalization of non-citizens and minority education; the practice of corporal punishment; poverty-reduction programme and safety-net measures against poverty; alternative child-care system involving adoption; basic health and welfare services; discrepancies in services with regard to children; the high infant mortality rate; the adolescent health situation and sexually transmitted diseases; the situation of street children, children in detention and refugee children; and the juvenile justice system.
The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Latvia towards the end of its three-week session which will conclude on 2 June.
The delegation of Latvia was made up of Janis Karklins, Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Regional Development and Local Governments, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Education and Science, the State Police and the Office of the Prosecutor-General.
As one of the 192 States parties to the Convention, Latvia is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with the provisions of that treaty. The delegation was on hand during the meetings to present the report and answer questions raised by Committee Experts.
When Chamber B of the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 17 May, it will take up the initial reports of Turkey (morning) and Qatar (afternoon) on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Chamber A will hold in private meetings technical reviews with regard to the reports of Canada (morning) and the Czech Republic (afternoon) on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
Report of Latvia
The second periodic report of Latvia, contained in document CRC/C/83/Add.16, notes that Latvia has ratified a number of international multilateral treaties in the field of children’s rights. The Principal Positions Latvia Fit for Children, which is approved by the Government, is a long-term policy planning document covering the basic principles, goals and priorities of the State policy for exercising children’s rights. The Principal Positions is the result of efforts by children themselves, over a hundred local government authorities and a number of State bodies and non-governmental institutions. The document summarizes directives of activities set by other policy planning documents, as well as proposes new activities.
The Ministry for Special Assignments for Children and Family Affairs is entrusted with the development of the national policy in the matters of family and youth affairs and the protection of children’s rights. In 2003, the Ministry’s priorities were to reduce by 3 per cent the number of children in orphanages through the respective increase of the number of children referred to alternate care, stabilization of the demographic situation, and improving the safety of the children through corresponding legislative amendments. A large budgetary allocation has been made to improve the rights of children and to support the activities of the Ministry.
Introduction of Report
AINARS BASTIKS, Minister for Children and Family Affairs of Latvia, said the family and youth policy in Latvia was based on the principle that the family was the natural environment for the growth and well being of the child. While parents had the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child, the State created a social environment that was friendly to the family and children. Another responsibly of the State was to create an efficient system of monitoring and control to ensure that the rights of children were being respected both within and outside the family.
Mr. Bastiks said the Government of Latvia continued making efforts to ensure better social and economic conditions for its residents. Although Latvia was one of the poorest European Union Member States, it was making efforts to improve its economic performance with the view to raise the living standards of the population.
During the past two years, the non-taxable income level had increased by 50 per cent, Mr. Bastiks said. The child-birth benefit had increased by 30 to 70 per cent, depending on the number of children in the family. The child-care benefit had been increased to the level of a parent’s income prior to the birth of the child. The local government also provided financial support to families who failed to ensure adequate child subsistence.
In 2003, the Government had established the Ministry for Children and Family Affairs, which was entrusted with developing the national policy in matters of family and youth affairs, protection of children’s rights, and supervision of compliance with the legal standards. The Government had started promoting an active policy to remove children from institutions and restore family ties by introducing alternative arrangements and returning children to their own families, placing them in foster families or family-type homes. Child adoption had also been promoted in keeping with the best interest of the child.
Mr. Bastiks said his country had one of the most liberal citizenship laws and that in the last 10 years, 117,674 persons had obtained Latvian citizenship. Since the country joined the European Union, 22,000 persons per year had been naturalized in 2004 and 2005.
Concluding, Mr. Bastiks said the Government of Latvia recognized that it should continue its efforts in improving the situation of family and children to achieve the best possible standards in that area. Further improvement should be made in the demographic situation, to increase social benefits to families, to expand the State-guaranteed loan system to families, to decrease the number of children in institutions and to improve the knowledge of officials with regard to international conventions.
Questions and Comments by Committee Experts
LOTHAR KRAPPMANN, the Committee Expert who served as country Rapporteur to the report of Latvia, said that while the economic growth rates were impressively high, the country was still among the poorest in the European Union. The indicators of children’s health and welfare were on a very low level; and poverty was widespread in the population. The situation was aggravated by the marked regional disparities. The living conditions of the children in rural and remote areas were much worse than those of children in the capital.
Mr. Krappmann said that because of the low birth rates in Latvia, the population was shrinking. In the last eight years, the number of children was reduced by 22 per cent. One reason might be that it was not easy to have and raise children in a situation of economic hardship and insecurity. What measures was the Government taking to deal with that situation? A large number of children in Latvia were not citizens of Latvia. The Naturalization Board was said to be active in order to change the situation but progress was slow and a positive trend was not visible. The Committee would like to hear the delegation’s opinion.
Another Expert said corporal punishment was widely practiced by parents and teachers. What measures were taken to abolish completely its practice in the family and in schools? What protective measures were envisaged against children’s access to sites of violence and incitation to suicide on the Internet?
An Expert expressed satisfaction that Latvia had ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour. He then asked if the Government was contemplating to approve ILO Convention 138 on the minimum age for employment. Although child labour was not a major problem in the country, what other measures were being taken to protect children from being exploited. The delegation was also asked to explain if minority children were equally protected from ill treatment. With regard to the best interest of the child, did adopted children have the right to know their biological parents?
Another Expert asked if the State party had taken measures to publicize the provisions of the Convention to be known by both parents and children. Concerning the respect of the opinion of the child, there were still obstacles to ensure those rights. What steps were being taken to improve the respect of the right to expression by children? The delegation was also asked to provide information on domestic violence against children related to alcoholism and poverty. Bullying in schools was another problem, which needed special measures to abolish. What penalties were available against bullying?
With regard to data and statistics, an Expert asked who was responsible for establishing disaggregated figures on children in Latvia. Although the budgetary allocation for children’s activities was increased in recent years, the delegation was asked to provide information on how the activities were evaluated.
Response by Delegation
In response to the questions raised, the delegation of Latvia said the number of children living in institutions and orphanages had decreased because of the efforts of the State to keep children in families. The State had provided single parents with assistance so that they brought up their children instead of sending them to institutions. The drop in childbirth rate had been dramatic in the last few years.
Latvia had adopted a Plan of Action against poverty for 2004-2006 in order to reach the aims defined by the Government to improve the economic situation, the delegation said. A programme had also been designed to provide food and other financial aid to needy families with children.
The Government was cooperating with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in matters of children’s rights, the delegation said. Special councils for children were being run with NGO cooperation. The Ministry for Children and Family Affairs coordinated the works of boards and councils dealing with children.
The delegation said children could lodge complaints with the police or the inspectors for children’s rights. Child victims of violence could also use telephone help lines to reach the police. On several occasions, the Government had disseminated information aimed at increasing awareness on the issue of violence against children.
On the issue of corporal punishment, the delegation said that the 2004 amendment on that issue envisaged up to 3 years of imprisonment against those who committed physical and emotional violence against children. Administrative measures were also envisaged against the authors of corporal punishment in institutions. In 2004, 72 criminal cases of violence against children had been reported while 66 cases were registered in 2005.
The Government had increased its efforts to prevent crimes committed against children, the delegation said. A wide campaign had also been carried out against road accidents involving children.
Questions by Committee Experts
Further questions were asked by Experts relating to the persisting poverty situation in the country affecting children; poverty-reduction programmes and safety-net measures against poverty; lack of quality in education; the high number of evictions; alternative child-care systems involving adoption; basic health and welfare services; discrepancies in services with regard to children; high infant mortality rates; the adolescent health situation and sexually transmitted diseases; the situation of street children, children in detention and refugee children; and the juvenile justice system.
Response by Delegation
Responding, the delegation said Latvia was no longer receiving international assistance to fight poverty. Although it was among the poorest countries in the European Union, it was considered to be an upper ranking middle class country. The average economic growth of the nation was increasing every year.
The parish courts were entrusted with the adoption of orphans, the delegation said. Families could adopt children who were put in institutions after the parish courts provided their judgment on the case. The Ministry of Children and Family Affairs was also seized with the issue of adoption once the courts gave their decisions.
The rate of naturalization requests had been increased in 2004 and 2005 covering residents of all adult age, the delegation said. Social and economic benefits were provided for citizens and non-citizens on an equal basis. During the last 10 years, naturalization requests were made by individuals who were 40 years and older in order to avoid the compulsory military services. However, the situation had now changed and the number of requests had tripled. A Latvian language test was part of the requirements in the naturalization process.
The Government of Latvia was taking the necessary steps to prevent access by children not only to pornographic material through the Internet but also to drug abuses and violence, the delegation said. Schools and Internet cafés providing Internet services were also made aware of the problem.
Latvia had already ratified ILO Convention 138 on the minimum age for employment, the delegation said. A convention on minority languages had not yet been ratified.
With regard to children in violation of the law, the delegation said children who committed minor crimes were not held in detention. For serious crimes, a child could be held in detention centres for a period not exceeding six months. Any parent could petition the detaining authorities for the termination of the detention, if the case was unjustified.
In Latvia, the number of private schools was very limited, the delegation said. The State provided education to all children in public schools, including minorities. Seventy-five per cent of children attend schools in the Latvian language, while 23 per cent went to schools in the Russian language. Only 1 per cent of the children attended Polish, Ukrainian and Belarusian language schools.
Individuals could not be evicted from their houses without a court decision, the delegation said. Non-payment of rent for at least three months could lead to forced eviction following a court judgment. The State had made available social houses to those who were threatened with forced eviction.
Children under 18 years of age were not allowed to buy or consume alcoholic beverages, the delegation said. Those transgressing the law either by selling or consuming were penalized by paying fines or going to prison.
The problem of street children had been dealt with by the State through the provision of day care and youth centres, the delegation said. A number of social workers had been trained to deal with street children. The issue of child pornography and child prostitution was not of great importance in the society because of the almost non-existence of cases. Following the amendments of the Criminal Code in 2000, the number of underage persons involved in prostitution and number of underage persons sent abroad for human trafficking had decreased. In 2004, only one case of child prostitution was reported.
Asked about the mental health situation in the country, the delegation said there had been 21 cases of child suicide in 2005. The causes for such incidents included bad relations with parents, siblings and schoolmates. High educational demands to which children could not respond adequately also contributed to suicidal incitation.
Preliminary Concluding Remarks
LOTHAR KRAPPMANN, the Committee Expert who served as country Rapporteur to the report of Latvia, said the dialogue with the delegation of Latvia was fruitful, and the delegation provided the Committee with satisfactory information. The State party was finding solutions to resolve the problems regarding the rights of the child. A lot of information and comments had been given by the delegation enabling the Experts to know more about the situation in the country. The State party was sincerely committed to implementing the provisions of the Convention. At the end of its three-week session, the Committee would issue its concluding observations in which it would include its recommendations and comments on the report to constructively support the endeavours of the State.
* *** *
For use of the information media; not an official record
Rights of the Child
16 May 2006
The Committee on the Rights of the Child today examined the second periodic report of Latvia on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Introducing the report was Ainars Bastiks, Minister for Children and Family Affairs of Latvia, who said that the family and youth policy in Latvia was based on the principle that the family was the natural environment for the growth and well being of the child. The Government of Latvia continued to make efforts to ensure better social and economic conditions for its residents, particularly for children. Although Latvia was one of the poorest European Union Member States, it was making efforts to improve its economic performance with the view to raising the living standards of the population.
In preliminary concluding remarks, Lothar Krappmann, the Committee Expert who served as country Rapporteur for the report of Latvia, said the dialogue with the delegation of Latvia was fruitful, and the delegation provided the Committee with satisfactory information. The State party was finding solutions to resolve the problems regarding the rights of the child. A lot of information and comments had been given by the delegation enabling the Experts to know more about the situation in the country. The State party was sincerely committed to implementing the provisions of the Convention. At the end of its three-week session, the Committee would issue its concluding observations in which it would include its recommendations and comments on the report to constructively support the endeavours of the State Party.
Other Committee Experts contributed to the debate by raising questions pertaining to the low rate of child births; domestic violence due to alcohol consumption; bullying in schools; naturalization of non-citizens and minority education; the practice of corporal punishment; poverty-reduction programme and safety-net measures against poverty; alternative child-care system involving adoption; basic health and welfare services; discrepancies in services with regard to children; the high infant mortality rate; the adolescent health situation and sexually transmitted diseases; the situation of street children, children in detention and refugee children; and the juvenile justice system.
The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Latvia towards the end of its three-week session which will conclude on 2 June.
The delegation of Latvia was made up of Janis Karklins, Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Regional Development and Local Governments, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Education and Science, the State Police and the Office of the Prosecutor-General.
As one of the 192 States parties to the Convention, Latvia is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with the provisions of that treaty. The delegation was on hand during the meetings to present the report and answer questions raised by Committee Experts.
When Chamber B of the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 17 May, it will take up the initial reports of Turkey (morning) and Qatar (afternoon) on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Chamber A will hold in private meetings technical reviews with regard to the reports of Canada (morning) and the Czech Republic (afternoon) on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
Report of Latvia
The second periodic report of Latvia, contained in document CRC/C/83/Add.16, notes that Latvia has ratified a number of international multilateral treaties in the field of children’s rights. The Principal Positions Latvia Fit for Children, which is approved by the Government, is a long-term policy planning document covering the basic principles, goals and priorities of the State policy for exercising children’s rights. The Principal Positions is the result of efforts by children themselves, over a hundred local government authorities and a number of State bodies and non-governmental institutions. The document summarizes directives of activities set by other policy planning documents, as well as proposes new activities.
The Ministry for Special Assignments for Children and Family Affairs is entrusted with the development of the national policy in the matters of family and youth affairs and the protection of children’s rights. In 2003, the Ministry’s priorities were to reduce by 3 per cent the number of children in orphanages through the respective increase of the number of children referred to alternate care, stabilization of the demographic situation, and improving the safety of the children through corresponding legislative amendments. A large budgetary allocation has been made to improve the rights of children and to support the activities of the Ministry.
Introduction of Report
AINARS BASTIKS, Minister for Children and Family Affairs of Latvia, said the family and youth policy in Latvia was based on the principle that the family was the natural environment for the growth and well being of the child. While parents had the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child, the State created a social environment that was friendly to the family and children. Another responsibly of the State was to create an efficient system of monitoring and control to ensure that the rights of children were being respected both within and outside the family.
Mr. Bastiks said the Government of Latvia continued making efforts to ensure better social and economic conditions for its residents. Although Latvia was one of the poorest European Union Member States, it was making efforts to improve its economic performance with the view to raise the living standards of the population.
During the past two years, the non-taxable income level had increased by 50 per cent, Mr. Bastiks said. The child-birth benefit had increased by 30 to 70 per cent, depending on the number of children in the family. The child-care benefit had been increased to the level of a parent’s income prior to the birth of the child. The local government also provided financial support to families who failed to ensure adequate child subsistence.
In 2003, the Government had established the Ministry for Children and Family Affairs, which was entrusted with developing the national policy in matters of family and youth affairs, protection of children’s rights, and supervision of compliance with the legal standards. The Government had started promoting an active policy to remove children from institutions and restore family ties by introducing alternative arrangements and returning children to their own families, placing them in foster families or family-type homes. Child adoption had also been promoted in keeping with the best interest of the child.
Mr. Bastiks said his country had one of the most liberal citizenship laws and that in the last 10 years, 117,674 persons had obtained Latvian citizenship. Since the country joined the European Union, 22,000 persons per year had been naturalized in 2004 and 2005.
Concluding, Mr. Bastiks said the Government of Latvia recognized that it should continue its efforts in improving the situation of family and children to achieve the best possible standards in that area. Further improvement should be made in the demographic situation, to increase social benefits to families, to expand the State-guaranteed loan system to families, to decrease the number of children in institutions and to improve the knowledge of officials with regard to international conventions.
Questions and Comments by Committee Experts
LOTHAR KRAPPMANN, the Committee Expert who served as country Rapporteur to the report of Latvia, said that while the economic growth rates were impressively high, the country was still among the poorest in the European Union. The indicators of children’s health and welfare were on a very low level; and poverty was widespread in the population. The situation was aggravated by the marked regional disparities. The living conditions of the children in rural and remote areas were much worse than those of children in the capital.
Mr. Krappmann said that because of the low birth rates in Latvia, the population was shrinking. In the last eight years, the number of children was reduced by 22 per cent. One reason might be that it was not easy to have and raise children in a situation of economic hardship and insecurity. What measures was the Government taking to deal with that situation? A large number of children in Latvia were not citizens of Latvia. The Naturalization Board was said to be active in order to change the situation but progress was slow and a positive trend was not visible. The Committee would like to hear the delegation’s opinion.
Another Expert said corporal punishment was widely practiced by parents and teachers. What measures were taken to abolish completely its practice in the family and in schools? What protective measures were envisaged against children’s access to sites of violence and incitation to suicide on the Internet?
An Expert expressed satisfaction that Latvia had ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour. He then asked if the Government was contemplating to approve ILO Convention 138 on the minimum age for employment. Although child labour was not a major problem in the country, what other measures were being taken to protect children from being exploited. The delegation was also asked to explain if minority children were equally protected from ill treatment. With regard to the best interest of the child, did adopted children have the right to know their biological parents?
Another Expert asked if the State party had taken measures to publicize the provisions of the Convention to be known by both parents and children. Concerning the respect of the opinion of the child, there were still obstacles to ensure those rights. What steps were being taken to improve the respect of the right to expression by children? The delegation was also asked to provide information on domestic violence against children related to alcoholism and poverty. Bullying in schools was another problem, which needed special measures to abolish. What penalties were available against bullying?
With regard to data and statistics, an Expert asked who was responsible for establishing disaggregated figures on children in Latvia. Although the budgetary allocation for children’s activities was increased in recent years, the delegation was asked to provide information on how the activities were evaluated.
Response by Delegation
In response to the questions raised, the delegation of Latvia said the number of children living in institutions and orphanages had decreased because of the efforts of the State to keep children in families. The State had provided single parents with assistance so that they brought up their children instead of sending them to institutions. The drop in childbirth rate had been dramatic in the last few years.
Latvia had adopted a Plan of Action against poverty for 2004-2006 in order to reach the aims defined by the Government to improve the economic situation, the delegation said. A programme had also been designed to provide food and other financial aid to needy families with children.
The Government was cooperating with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in matters of children’s rights, the delegation said. Special councils for children were being run with NGO cooperation. The Ministry for Children and Family Affairs coordinated the works of boards and councils dealing with children.
The delegation said children could lodge complaints with the police or the inspectors for children’s rights. Child victims of violence could also use telephone help lines to reach the police. On several occasions, the Government had disseminated information aimed at increasing awareness on the issue of violence against children.
On the issue of corporal punishment, the delegation said that the 2004 amendment on that issue envisaged up to 3 years of imprisonment against those who committed physical and emotional violence against children. Administrative measures were also envisaged against the authors of corporal punishment in institutions. In 2004, 72 criminal cases of violence against children had been reported while 66 cases were registered in 2005.
The Government had increased its efforts to prevent crimes committed against children, the delegation said. A wide campaign had also been carried out against road accidents involving children.
Questions by Committee Experts
Further questions were asked by Experts relating to the persisting poverty situation in the country affecting children; poverty-reduction programmes and safety-net measures against poverty; lack of quality in education; the high number of evictions; alternative child-care systems involving adoption; basic health and welfare services; discrepancies in services with regard to children; high infant mortality rates; the adolescent health situation and sexually transmitted diseases; the situation of street children, children in detention and refugee children; and the juvenile justice system.
Response by Delegation
Responding, the delegation said Latvia was no longer receiving international assistance to fight poverty. Although it was among the poorest countries in the European Union, it was considered to be an upper ranking middle class country. The average economic growth of the nation was increasing every year.
The parish courts were entrusted with the adoption of orphans, the delegation said. Families could adopt children who were put in institutions after the parish courts provided their judgment on the case. The Ministry of Children and Family Affairs was also seized with the issue of adoption once the courts gave their decisions.
The rate of naturalization requests had been increased in 2004 and 2005 covering residents of all adult age, the delegation said. Social and economic benefits were provided for citizens and non-citizens on an equal basis. During the last 10 years, naturalization requests were made by individuals who were 40 years and older in order to avoid the compulsory military services. However, the situation had now changed and the number of requests had tripled. A Latvian language test was part of the requirements in the naturalization process.
The Government of Latvia was taking the necessary steps to prevent access by children not only to pornographic material through the Internet but also to drug abuses and violence, the delegation said. Schools and Internet cafés providing Internet services were also made aware of the problem.
Latvia had already ratified ILO Convention 138 on the minimum age for employment, the delegation said. A convention on minority languages had not yet been ratified.
With regard to children in violation of the law, the delegation said children who committed minor crimes were not held in detention. For serious crimes, a child could be held in detention centres for a period not exceeding six months. Any parent could petition the detaining authorities for the termination of the detention, if the case was unjustified.
In Latvia, the number of private schools was very limited, the delegation said. The State provided education to all children in public schools, including minorities. Seventy-five per cent of children attend schools in the Latvian language, while 23 per cent went to schools in the Russian language. Only 1 per cent of the children attended Polish, Ukrainian and Belarusian language schools.
Individuals could not be evicted from their houses without a court decision, the delegation said. Non-payment of rent for at least three months could lead to forced eviction following a court judgment. The State had made available social houses to those who were threatened with forced eviction.
Children under 18 years of age were not allowed to buy or consume alcoholic beverages, the delegation said. Those transgressing the law either by selling or consuming were penalized by paying fines or going to prison.
The problem of street children had been dealt with by the State through the provision of day care and youth centres, the delegation said. A number of social workers had been trained to deal with street children. The issue of child pornography and child prostitution was not of great importance in the society because of the almost non-existence of cases. Following the amendments of the Criminal Code in 2000, the number of underage persons involved in prostitution and number of underage persons sent abroad for human trafficking had decreased. In 2004, only one case of child prostitution was reported.
Asked about the mental health situation in the country, the delegation said there had been 21 cases of child suicide in 2005. The causes for such incidents included bad relations with parents, siblings and schoolmates. High educational demands to which children could not respond adequately also contributed to suicidal incitation.
Preliminary Concluding Remarks
LOTHAR KRAPPMANN, the Committee Expert who served as country Rapporteur to the report of Latvia, said the dialogue with the delegation of Latvia was fruitful, and the delegation provided the Committee with satisfactory information. The State party was finding solutions to resolve the problems regarding the rights of the child. A lot of information and comments had been given by the delegation enabling the Experts to know more about the situation in the country. The State party was sincerely committed to implementing the provisions of the Convention. At the end of its three-week session, the Committee would issue its concluding observations in which it would include its recommendations and comments on the report to constructively support the endeavours of the State.
* *** *
For use of the information media; not an official record