Integration monitor is a daily Latvian press digest on ethnic minority and society integration issues. The Monitor reviews the biggest Latvian dailies: Diena, Latvijas Avize, Neatkariga (in Latvian language), Vesti Segodnya (in Russian language). In specific cases other information sources are used. Latvian Centre for Human Rights is not responsible for information published by the media.

• Newspapers report on a visit of the Special Reporter of the United Nations Organisations on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance Doudou Diene to Latvia
• FF/LNIM criticizes statements concerning non-citizens made by the President of the PACE Rene van der Linden
• Chas and Vesti Segodnya report on results of an independent research on education quality in Russian language schools
• Chas continues to report on options available to those people with non-Latvian names who want to keep the original spelling in official documents

Newspapers report on a visit of the Special Reporter of the United Nations Organisations on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance Doudou Diene to Latvia. After four-day visit and meeting with state officials and NGOs’ representatives, Mr. Diene has criticized Latvia on the following issues: tendency of the state officials to deny existence of any kind of discrimination in the country; concept of citizenship in legal acts, particularly, criteria for receiving citizenship are discriminating ethnic minorities; realisation of anti-discrimination legal norms in courts, police and other structures; and interaction between state structures and ethnic communities, mainly, Roma community and new emigrants from Asia and Africa. Doudou Diene has given six specific recommendations to Latvian government: to demonstrate political will to acknowledge existence of discrimination in the country and to eliminate it; to amend Latvian legislation, covering all kinds of discrimination; following an example of the United Kingdom, to establish a body independent from the government to  provide help to discrimination victims and investigate discrimination cases; for reduction of large number of non-citizens, to ease naturalisation requirements, automatically granting citizenship to all children who were born in Latvia after 1991 and to elder people who became residents of Latvia due to the historical circumstances; and to grant non-citizens voting rights in municipal elections.

Newspapers report on a visit of the Special Reporter of the United Nations Organisations on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance Doudou Diene to Latvia. After four-day visit and meeting with state officials and NGOs representatives, Mr. Diene has criticized Latvia on the following issues: tendency of the state officials to deny existence of any kind of discrimination in the country; concept of citizenship in legal acts, particularly, criteria for receiving citizenship are discriminating ethnic minorities; realisation of anti-discrimination legal norms in courts, police and other structures; and interaction between state structures and ethnic communities, mainly, Roma community and new emigrants from Asia and Africa. Doudou Diene has given six specific recommendations to Latvian government: to demonstrate political will to acknowledge existence of discrimination in the country and to eliminate it; to amend Latvian legislation, covering all kinds of discrimination; following an example of the United Kingdom, to establish a body independent from the government to provide help to discrimination victims and investigate discrimination cases; for reduction of large number of non-citizens, to ease naturalisation requirements, automatically granting citizenship to all children who were born in Latvia after 1991 and to elder people who became residents of Latvia due to the historical circumstances; and to grant non-citizens voting rights in municipal elections. Chas, Vesti Segodnya, Latvijas Avize

The political party For Fatherland and Freedom/LNIM (FF/LNIM) criticizes statements concerning non-citizens made by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Rene van der Linden. As reported, Mr. van der Linden has stated that Latvian non-citizens must be granted voting rights in municipal elections. FF/LNIM considers that statements of Rene van der Linden are unacceptable because it is interference into Latvian internal affairs.

The political party For Fatherland and Freedom/LNIM (FF/LNIM) criticizes statements concerning non-citizens made by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Rene van der Linden. As reported, Mr. van der Linden has stated that Latvian non-citizens must be granted voting rights in municipal elections. FF/LNIM considers that statements of Rene van der Linden are unacceptable because it is interference into Latvian internal affairs. Latvijas Avize, Diena

Chas and Vesti Segodnya report on results of an independent research on education quality conducted by two graduates of Russian-language school, members of an NGO Association of Russian Culture, Education and Science. According to the authors, the research reflects changes in education quality in Russian language schools after implementation of minority school reform in 2004. The authors have compared changes in difference between average results of Russian language and Latvian language schools graduates in three kinds of centralised exams – mathematics, English and history during 2005-2007. According to the results, education quality in Russian language schools has dropped considerably in mathematics and history. The authors are planning to present the research to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Thomas Hammarberg.

Chas continues to report on options available to those people with non-Latvian names who want to keep the original spelling in official documents. One of the initiators of a movement Return Your Names, MP Nils Usakovs (the Concord Centre) in an interview with the newspaper has stated that the main goal of the action is to achieve that original spelling of the names would be written in passports on the first page besides Latvianised name spelling.