Editing Latvia (section)

=== Human rights ===
{{Main|Human rights in Latvia}}
{{See also|LGBT rights in Latvia}}
[[File:Europride 2015.JPG|thumb|[[Europride]] 2015 in [[Riga]]]]
According to the reports by [[Freedom House]] and the [[United States Department of State|US Department of State]], human rights in Latvia are generally respected by the government:<ref name="departmentofstate1">{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eur/119087.htm |title=2008 Human Rights Report: Latvia |publisher=[[United States Department of State]] |date=25 February 2009 |access-date=9 June 2009 |archive-date=21 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421160924/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eur/119087.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/inc/content/pubs/fiw/inc_country_detail.cfm?country=7429&year=2008&page=0&view=mof&pf |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110515152102/http://www.freedomhouse.org/inc/content/pubs/fiw/inc_country_detail.cfm?country=7429&year=2008&page=0&view=mof&pf |archive-date=15 May 2011 |title=Freedom in the World&nbsp;– Latvia (2008) |publisher=[[Freedom House]] |year=2008 |access-date=6 June 2009 }}</ref> Latvia is ranked above-average among the world's sovereign states in democracy,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://a330.g.akamai.net/7/330/25828/20081021185552/graphics.eiu.com/PDF/Democracy%20Index%202008.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214053945/http://a330.g.akamai.net/7/330/25828/20081021185552/graphics.eiu.com/PDF/Democracy%20Index%202008.pdf |archive-date=14 December 2008 |title=The Economist Intelligence Unit's Index of Democracy 2008 |newspaper=The Economist |year=2008 |access-date=5 June 2009 }}</ref> [[press freedom]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2010,1034.html |title=Press Freedom Index 2010 |publisher=[[Reporters Without Borders]] |year=2010 |access-date=3 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124050702/http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2010%2C1034.html |archive-date=24 November 2010 }}</ref> [[privacy]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.privacyinternational.org/ |title=The 2007 International Privacy Ranking |publisher=[[Privacy International]] |year=2007 |access-date=5 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302193141/https://www.privacyinternational.org/ |archive-date=2 March 2011 }}</ref> and [[Human development (humanity)|human development]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/ |title=Statistics of the Human Development Report |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |year=2008 |access-date=5 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130112042847/http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/ |archive-date=12 January 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

More than 56% of leading positions are held by women in Latvia, which ranks first in Europe; Latvia ranks first in the world in women's rights sharing the position with five other European countries according to [[World Bank]].<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/31327 |title=Women, Business and the Law 2019: A Decade of Reform |website=World Bank |date=27 February 2019 |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014160703/https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/31327 |archive-date=14 October 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The country has a large [[Russians in Latvia|ethnic Russian]] community, which was guaranteed basic rights under the [[Constitution of Latvia|constitution]] and [[international human rights law]]s ratified by the Latvian government.<ref name="departmentofstate1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=47&nit=457&year=2008 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20110624033519/http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=47&nit=457&year=2008 |archive-date=24 June 2011 |title=Country Report 2008 Edition |publisher=[[Freedom House]] |year=2008 |access-date=6 June 2009 }}</ref>

Approximately 206,000 [[Non-citizens (Latvia)|non-citizens]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://data1.csb.gov.lv/pxweb/lv/iedz/iedz__iedzrakst/?tablelist=true|title=Datubāze - izvēlēties tabulu|website=data1.csb.gov.lv|access-date=19 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231120455/https://data1.csb.gov.lv/pxweb/lv/iedz/iedz__iedzrakst/?tablelist=true|archive-date=31 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>&nbsp;– including [[stateless persons]]&nbsp;– have limited access to some political rights – only citizens are allowed to participate in parliamentary or municipal elections, although there are no limitations in regards to joining political parties or other political organizations.<ref>[http://www.bayefsky.com/docs.php/area/conclobs/treaty/ccpr/opt/0/state/95/node/3/filename/latvia_t4_ccpr Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee: Latvia. CCPR/CO/79/LVA, 1 December 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129182833/http://www.bayefsky.com/docs.php/area/conclobs/treaty/ccpr/opt/0/state/95/node/3/filename/latvia_t4_ccpr |date=29 January 2012 }} See Paras. 16, 18</ref><ref>[[European Commission against Racism and Intolerance|ECRI]] [http://hudoc.ecri.coe.int/XMLEcri/ENGLISH/Cycle_03/03_CbC_eng/LVA-CbC-III-2008-2-ENG.pdf Third Report on Latvia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509044128/http://hudoc.ecri.coe.int/XMLEcri/ENGLISH/Cycle_03/03_CbC_eng/LVA-CbC-III-2008-2-ENG.pdf |date=9 May 2009 }}, CRI(2008)2. See paras. 118, 132</ref> In 2011, the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe|OSCE]] [[High Commissioner on National Minorities]] "urged Latvia to allow non-citizens to vote in municipal elections."<ref>{{cite web |title=A new kind of citizenship accepted by EU? Latvian non-citizens and the citizenship debates |url=http://essay.utwente.nl/62902/ |publisher=University of Twente Student Theses |year=2011 |access-date=18 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819083742/http://essay.utwente.nl/62902/ |archive-date=19 August 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, there have been reports of police abuse of [[detainee]]s and arrestees, poor prison conditions and overcrowding, judicial corruption, incidents of violence against [[ethnic minorities]], and societal violence and incidents of government discrimination against homosexuals.<ref name="departmentofstate1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://report2009.amnesty.org/en/regions/europe-central-asia/latvia |title=Amnesty International Report 2009 |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |year=2009 |access-date=8 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610075623/http://report2009.amnesty.org/en/regions/europe-central-asia/latvia |archive-date=10 June 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/07/25/latvia-investigate-attacks-gay-activists |title=Latvia: Investigate Attacks on Gay Activists |publisher=[[Human rights watch]] |year=2006 |access-date=8 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610224651/http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/07/25/latvia-investigate-attacks-gay-activists |archive-date=10 June 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Same-sex marriage]] is constitutionally prohibited in Latvia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44366898|title=Same-sex spouses have EU residence rights, top court rules|publisher=BBC News|date=5 June 2018|access-date=30 January 2024|archive-date=8 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508223531/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44366898|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Sheeter |first=Laura |date=16 June 2006 |title=Latvia defies EU over gay rights |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5084832.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060618071325/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5084832.stm |archive-date=June 18, 2006 |access-date=June 11, 2023 |website=BBC News}}</ref>