On 8 March 2021, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Committee), published its concluding observations concerning the second periodic report of Latvia on the implementation by Latvia of the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Covenant) during the period of 2008 to 2017, which was considered by the Committee from 23 to 25 February.
The Committee welcomes Latvia’s legislative and policy planning documents in the areas important for the implementation of the Covenant. For instance, national plans and strategy on mitigating climate change and the considerable improvement in women’s access to the labour market. The Committee also notes with appreciation the fact that Latvia ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in 2010, and the European Social Charter (revised), in March 2013, as well as cases in which the Constitutional Court has directly referred to the General Comments of the Committee and the rights enshrined in the Covenant.
However, the Committee calls on Latvia to fully incorporate the protection of all rights enshrined in the Covenant into the Constitution, and educate judges, lawyers and prosecutors concerning effective implementation of those rights. The Committee has also pointed to the need for continuing support for the Ombudsman through allocation of sufficient resources.
Referring to cases of corruption in transportation procurement, the construction sector and waste management, as well as illicit financial flows detected in Latvia, the Committee urges Latvia to take measures to prevent corruption, strengthen the judiciary, its investigative capacity and independent functioning of KNAB, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau.
Having welcomed Latvia’s success in the field of climate action, the Committee has noted that Latvia should enhance its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
While recognizing Latvia’s success in eliminating discrimination in employment, the Committee voices concern over prejudice existing in society concerning discrimination based on colour, language, religion, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation and gender identity, which could be prevented by comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation. The Committee calls on Latvia to take effective measures towards social and economic integration of Roma, refugees and asylum seekers providing them with equal access to education, health care, employment opportunities, adequate housing and standard of living.
The Committee welcomes the entry into force of the Law on the Discontinuation of the Non-Citizen’s Status for Children in 2019 and the ongoing process of naturalisation. The Committee calls on Latvia to intensify its efforts to facilitate access to naturalization and to ensure equal exercising of rights guaranteed in the Covenant.
The Committee also urges Latvia to reduce the gender pay gap, ensure the involvement of women in decision-making, promote their appointment to senior positions and take measures to prevent segregation.
In the field of employment, the Committee notes efforts made to reduce the unemployment rate and calls on Latvia to facilitate a decrease of unemployment in the regions, integrate Roma into the labour market and prevent discrimination in the labour market due to language skills, age, disability or ethnic origin.
In addition, having recognised the recent increase in the minimum wage in the country, the Committee nevertheless concludes that the minimum wage at this level remains insufficient to ensure a decent living and recommends that Latvia undertake a review of the minimum wage in order to index it to the cost of living. Likewise, although the number of occupational injuries and fatalities has decreased, the Committee still finds it high and recommends strengthening the State Labour Inspectorate and putting in place preventive measures.
The Committee has pointed out that the level of public expenditure allocated to social security has decreased and the level of pensions set by the State remains below the relative poverty line. The Committee has concluded that social support afforded in cases of unemployment, incapacity for work, old age and disability is insufficient and therefore urges to increase budget allocation for social security, to review the capacity of the social security system for providing an adequate standard of living, to increase benefits in cases of unemployment, incapacity for work, old age, disability, and other cases, as well as achieving that pensions meet the cost of living.
Having pointed out that approximately twenty per cent of the population of Latvia is at risk of poverty, especially Roma, single-parent families, children, persons with disability and migrants, the Committee demands that Latvia eradicate poverty, address its root causes, alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this sector, and ensure support for groups exposed to the risk of poverty.
The Committee has called on Latvia to increase the availability of social housing and local authority support for homeless individuals. It is also concerned that the new Law on Residential Tenancy could create less favourable conditions for tenants.
The Committee has noted with appreciation the developments in the protection of children without parental care and ensure family-based care; however, the Committee indicates that measures are needed to remove children from the street, decrease their long-term institutionalisation, promote accessibility of models of alternative care and access to complaints procedures.
Referring to health care, the Committee recommends increasing public expenditure, increasing coverage of the health care services by public expenditure to address the high proportion of out-of-pocket payment by patients, ensuring availability of doctors and nurses in hospitals to decrease waiting time for accessing specialist care, and ensuring the accessibility of health care infrastructure for all, including persons with disabilities.
The Committee has laid special emphasis on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care and calls on Latvia to mobilise sufficient resources to combat the pandemic, improve access to COVID-19 testing, treatment and immunisation, and regularly collect and disseminate data on vaccines, their accessibility, etc. The Committee has requested Latvia to ensure that constraints owing to COVID-19 do not significantly hinder the provision of other health care and services, including for pre-existing conditions, for mental health care, and for sexual and reproductive health-care services. The Committee calls on Latvia to advocate at the level of international organisations, for universal and affordable access to vaccines.
The Committee has pointed out that Latvia should ensure full availability and accessibility of sexual and reproductive health services and emergency contraceptives. It has also underlined the need for sexual and reproductive health education in schools. The Committee has noted that community-based mental health-care is not widely available and accessible; consequently, it urges Latvia that health care services to patients with intellectual and psychosocial problems be improved avoiding institutionalisation as much as possible.
In the context of the right to education, the Committee remains concerned about insufficient availability of preschool education in some municipalities, possible discrimination against children belonging to minority groups, the placement of persons with disabilities in specialised schools and enrolment of Roma children in special needs programmes.
In view of this, the Committee urges Latvia to increase allocation of resources to education, guarantee universal access to primary education, educate teachers, improve infrastructure, support completion of secondary and tertiary education, ensure that preschool education is accessible to all children regardless of the municipality they are in, and expedite its efforts to address the overrepresentation of Roma children in special schools and remove barriers to school enrolment for migrant children. The Committee has pointed to the need for implementing a coherent strategy on inclusive education for everybody and called on Latvia to evaluate whether the education reform is in compliance with the rights guaranteed by the Covenant and ensures access to education without discrimination.
In its concluding observations, the Committee requests Latvia to provide, within two years, additional information on the implementation of the recommendations concerning climate change, poverty and healthcare response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Latvia shall submit its periodic report in 2026; in addition, the Committee encourages Latvia to engage with social partners, non-governmental organisations and the Ombudsman’s Office in the preparations of its next periodic report.
The full text of the concluding observations adopted by the Committee will be translated into Latvian and disseminated. The concluding observations in English are available on the Committee’s website.