ECRI’s Round Table in Latvia

Reval Hotel Latvija
Riga, 19 May 2008

PROGRAMME

REGISTRATION: 8:45

Moderator of the morning session: Mr Nils MUIZNIEKS, Vice-Chair of ECRI


9:00 – 9:15	OPENING
	- Opening by Professor Eva SMITH ASMUSSEN, Chair of ECRI - Opening Address by Mr Ilgvars KĻAVA, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
9:15 – 10:30 THEME I – ECRI’S REPORT ON LATVIA
9:15 – 9:40	ECRI’s work and conclusions to be drawn from ECRI’s Report on Latvia, by Professor Eva SMITH ASMUSSEN, Chair of ECRI
9:40 – 10:30	Discussion: open to the floor
10:30 – 10:45	Coffee Break
10:45 – 12:45 THEME II - TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED SOCIETY
10:45 – 11:00	The climate of opinion with regard to minority groups in Latvia, by Ms Marija GOLUBEVA, Centre for Public Policy - PROVIDUS
11:00 – 11:15	Problems faced by minority groups in achieving full integration, by Ms Ilze BRANDS-KEHRIS, Director of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights
11:15 – 11:30	Initiatives for building an integrated society in Latvia, by Mr Oskars KASTENS, Special Assignments Minister for Social Integration
11:30 – 12:45	Discussion: open to the floor
12:45 – 2:00	Lunch break

Moderator of the afternoon session: Mr Romāns APSĪTIS, Ombudsman of the Republic of Latvia


2:00 – 3:30 THEME III – THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY – IMPLEMENTING ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS
2:00 – 2:15	ECRI’s standards for the development of a comprehensive legislative and institutional framework for combating racism and racial discrimination, by Ms Isil GACHET, Executive Secretary to ECRI
2:15 - 2:30	The legislative and institutional framework for combating racism and racial discrimination in Latvia, by Ms Līga BIKSINIECE, Head of the Human Rights Department, Office of the Ombudsman
2:30 – 3:15	Discussion: open to the floor
3:15 – 3:30	Coffee Break
3:30 – 5:15 THEME IV – RESPONDING TO RACIST INCIDENTS IN LATVIA
3:30– 3:45	Hate speech in Latvia and its affiliation to racist incidents, by Ms Anna STROJA, “Dialogi.lv"
3:45 – 4:00	The role of the criminal justice system in preventing and responding to racist incidents, by Mr Janis MAIZITIS, Prosecutor General of Latvia
4:00 – 4:10	Report on antisemitism in Latvia, by Professor Leo DRIBINS, representative of the Jewish Community of Latvia
4:10 – 5:00	Discussion: open to the floor
5:00 – 5:15	Conclusions of the Round Table
	- Presentation of the conclusions of the Round Table by the Moderator