News from the Ombudsman’s Office: October – November 2023
News from the Ombudsman’s Office in October and November of 2023
Six-year-old children must have equal rights to be admitted to Riga schools – Constitutional Court will review Ombudsman’s application
The Ombudsman advocates the principle of equality that from the age of six, every resident of Riga should be given the right to attend the nearest school of their place of residence. Constitutional Court has initiated a case upon Ombudsman’s application.
Conference “Accessibility – the way we go” will take place on 5 December
The Ombudsman’s Office together with the Association of Disabled Persons and their Friends “Apeirons”, the National Library of Latvia and the European Accessibility Resource Centre “AccessibleEU” organise a conference “Accessibility – the way we go” to raise awareness and raise public awareness of the challenges faced by people with various functional disorders in their daily lives. The event will be held on 5 December from 12.00 to 16.00 at the National Library of Latvia, Mūkusalas Street 3, Riga, and online.
International symposium and conference on personal autonomy in mental health care
On 13 November, the Ombudsman’s Office in cooperation with the University of Latvia and the Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO) organised a symposium “Personal autonomy and mental health care: a legal perspective’. On 14 November, an international conference “Promoting Personal Autonomy in Mental Healthcare Practices” took place, where representatives of the member states of the Council of Europe shared best practices on the exercise of the right to self-determination of people with mental health problems and public information and awareness raising.
Survey on discrimination in access to goods and services
The Ombudsman, with the support of the State Medical Commission for Health and Work Ability Expertise (VDEĀVK) and the research centre “SKDS”, conducts a survey of people with disabilities to find out whether people have experienced discrimination based on their disability in everyday situations. Please fill in the survey by 31 December on ej.uz/SvarigaAptauja2023
International conference in Riga to discuss freedom of expression and safety of journalists
On 5 and 6 October 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, the Ombudsman’s Office, and the Council of Europe (CoE) organised an international conference on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists “A pen mightier than the sword? Meeting today’s challenges to freedom of expression and the safety of journalists”.
Campaign to eradicate ageism – “Every age has its own spring!”
In October, the Ombudsman carried out a campaign dedicated to the eradication of ageism with the aim of showing that each age has its own pros, its beauty, and its own advantages, which tend to be dampened by public perceptions of age-appropriate life, thinking and abilities.