In conclusions published today, 5 october 2021 concerning two priority recommendations, the Council of Europe’s Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) finds that Latvia has implemented one recommendation, namely to provide for the automatic recognition of Latvian citizenship for children born to “non-citizens”.

However, ECRI considers that measures taken to address hate crimes are insufficient. In particular, community policing does not constitute an acceptable alternative to the creation of a specialised unit within the State Police, as recommended in its 2019 report. Community policing, if implemented effectively, can be a useful measure in addition to the creation of a unit specialised in the handling of racist and homo-/transphobic hate crimes, but not an adequate replacement.