According to the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, the Latvian authorities have not taken any measures to ensure home schooling in Russian.
On Thursday, speaking in response to the report of the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities Lamberto Zannier at an online meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council, Permanent Representative of Russia to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich drew attention to discrimination in various issues of the Russian-speaking population in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
“The authorities of Latvia, contrary to their international obligations and despite appeals from representatives of civil society, have not taken any measures to ensure home schooling in Russian,” Lukashevich said. “In addition, the discriminatory policy regarding the Russian language pursued by Riga has also affected pre-school educational institutions. The implementation of these innovations will clearly accelerate the displacement of the Russian language from the system of preschool education, as well as adversely affect the further educational process. In the long run, this will lead to inequality in the labor market and a decrease in the standard of living of minorities, and therefore to an inadequate use of human rights. This is not a solution to the problem, but its complication, and for many years to come. ”
The Russian diplomat recommended that these “Baltic issues” could be the basis for communication between the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities and the European Commission and the EU Fundamental Human Rights Agency.