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Ombudsman of the Republic of Latvia Annual Report 2015

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Ombudsman of the Republic of Latvia Annual Report 2015 Ombudsman of the Republic of Latvia Annual Report 2015 Riga, 2016 2 Contents Contents .................................................................................................................................... 2 Introductory Words of the Ombudsman .................................................................................... 6 I. Area of the Rights of Children ............................................................................................... 8 1. Division of the Rights of Children: Developments ........................................................... 8 1.1. Statistics ..................................................................................................................... 8 1.2. Recommendations of the Ombudsman ...................................................................... 9 1.3. Most Essential Opinions .......................................................................................... 11 1.4. International Cooperation in the Area of the Rights of Children ............................. 13 1.5. Research ................................................................................................................... 16 1.6. Educational Activities for Children and Subjects of Children's Rights ................... 19 2. Promoting the Rights of the Children to Grow Up in the Family ................................... 20 2.1. Issues Regarding Guardians and Foster Families .................................................... 20 2.2. Problems of Service Procurement and Settlement of Out-of-family Child Care ..... 23 2.3. Recommendations of the Ombudsman to Local Governments ............................... 24 3. The Right of Orphans and Children Left Without Parental Care to Housing ................. 26 4. The Right of the Child to Be Protected from Violence ................................................... 29 4.1. Unacceptable Content on the Web ........................................................................... 29 4.2. More Severe Punishment for Sexual Offences against Children ............................. 31 5. Safety of Children in Public Events ................................................................................ 33 6. Mass Media and the Right of Children to Private Life ................................................... 35 7. Individual Preventive Work in Local Governments ........................................................ 41 8. The Right of the Children of Imprisoned Persons to Access to Their Parents ................ 45 II. Civil and Political Rights ................................................................................................... 49 1. Ensuring Rights of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities ............................................... 49 1.1. Characterisation of Received Submissions .............................................................. 49 1.2. Discussion on Application of Section 68 of Medical Treatment Law - Rights of Persons with Mental Disabilities to Freedom and Fair Trial .......................................... 53 1.3. Improvement of Regulatory Framework .................................................................. 57 1.4. Observation of Elections in Psychiatric Hospitals ................................................... 58 1.5. Personnel Policy in Psycho-neurological Hospitals................................................. 58 2. Protection of Persons' Rights in Places of Imprisonment ............................................... 60 2.1. General Information ................................................................................................. 60 2.2. Characterisation of Submissions .............................................................................. 61 3 2.3. Imprisonment Conditions for Persons with Disabilities .......................................... 65 2.4. Availability of Regulatory Enactments .................................................................... 67 2.5. Right of Imprisoned Persons to Private Life ............................................................ 69 2.6. Protection of Rights of Persons Sentenced to Life Imprisonment ........................... 73 2.7. On Use of Special Means during Conveyance ......................................................... 75 2.8. Organising and Ensuring Video Conferences in Places of Imprisonment ............... 77 3. The Right to Fair Trial .................................................................................................... 79 3.1. Characterisation of Submissions .............................................................................. 79 3.2. The Right to Fair Trial within a Reasonable Period of Time ................................... 80 3.3. The Right to Oral Hearing........................................................................................ 82 3.4. The Right to Legal Assistance.................................................................................. 84 3.5. The Right to an Advocate in the Process of Cancellation of Accessibility to Official Secrets ............................................................................................................................. 86 3.6. Access to Court of Cassation ................................................................................... 87 3.7. The Right to Fair Trial by Video Conferencing ....................................................... 88 3.8. On Regulations of Chapter 541 of Civil Procedure Law .......................................... 89 3.9. Opinion to Constitutional Court ............................................................................... 92 4. Inviolability of Private Life, Home and Correspondence ............................................... 93 4.1. Characterisation of Submissions .............................................................................. 93 4.2. Submission to Constitutional Court on Disclosure of Personal Data of Defaulting Maintenance Debtors ...................................................................................................... 96 4.3. Opinions to Constitutional Court ............................................................................. 98 4.4. Law Initiative ........................................................................................................... 99 4.5. Opinions to Institutions .......................................................................................... 102 5. Freedom of Speech and Expression .............................................................................. 105 5.1. Characterisation of Submissions ............................................................................ 105 5.2. Role of Media in Ensuring Freedom of Speech ..................................................... 106 5.3. Opinions to Constitutional Court ........................................................................... 109 5.4. Filming of Officials ................................................................................................ 113 6. Rights of Foreign Nationals, Status and Rights of Asylum Seekers and Internationally Protected Persons .............................................................................................................. 115 6.1. Characterisation of Submissions ............................................................................ 115 6.2. Challenges of Integration of Internationally Protected Persons ............................. 118 6.3. On Deliberation of Draft Law of Repatriation ....................................................... 120 4 7. On Observation of Forced Removals ............................................................................ 121 7.1. General Information ............................................................................................... 121 7.2. Return of Unaccompanied Minor Foreign Nationals to Their Country of Origin . 122 7.3. Accommodation Centre of Detained Foreigners "Daugavpils" ............................. 125 7.4. State Police Short-term Detention Isolators ........................................................... 126 7.5. Observation of Actual Removals ........................................................................... 128 8. The Right to Freedom ................................................................................................... 128 9. Observation of Human Trafficking ............................................................................... 130 III. Developments and Problems in the Area of Social, Economic and Cultural Rights ...... 133 1. The Right to Social Security ......................................................................................... 133 1.1. Amendments to Law "On State Funded Pensions" ................................................ 134 1.2. On Access to Social Rehabilitation Services ......................................................... 137 1.3. On Municipal Public Procurements in Order to Ensure Social Services ............... 139 1.4. On Amendments to "Social Services and Social Assistance Law" ........................ 140 1.5. Social Protection of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident Relief Participants and Victims of the Accident .......................................................................................... 141 2. Rights of Persons with Disabilities ............................................................................... 142 2.1. Monitoring of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ........... 142 2.2. Aspects
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