ECRI, Report on Latvia (fifth monitoring cycle), 5 March 2019
Country
Latvia
Year
Type of publication
Geographical coverage
National
Area/location of interest
Type of Institution
Council of Europe body
Institution
Main Thematic Focus
Racism & xenophobia Discrimination
Target Population
Muslims Migrants Ethnic minorities People of African descent & Black Europeans
Key findings
ECRI concluded the State Police College significantly intensified its training activities in the area of identification and investigation of hate crimes. However, ECRI recommended Latvia to establish a unit within the State Police tasked with reaching out to vulnerable groups in order to increase trust in the police and address the problem of under-reporting of hate crimes. ECRI noted that there is a lack of promotion of counter-speech among high-level political representatives and other public figures in response to hate speech. ECRI recommended to establish a comprehensive data collection system for hate crime incidents.
Methodology (Qualitative/Quantitative and exact type used, questionnaires etc)
The working methods for the preparation of the reports involve documentary analyses, a visit to the country concerned, and then a confidential dialogue with the national authorities.
Sample details and representativeness
ECRI’s reports are analyses based on a great deal of information gathered from a wide variety of sources.