(ANSA) - ROME, MARCH 5 - In Latvia progress has been made in achieving the integration of refugees, but it is necessary to encourage the reporting of racist hate crimes and promote the integration of vulnerable groups. These are some of the recommendations addressed by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) to the government of the country. The Commission released a new report on the situation of racism in the country, inviting the government to encourage the reporting of racist and homophobic hate crimes. The Commission also urged the authorities to promote the integration of vulnerable groups in the areas of education, language training, employment, and health and provide for the automatic recognition of Latvian citizenship for children born from the so-called ''non-citizen'' group. The ECRI explained - through a statement - that the report shows that Latvia has made progress in many fields, such as the integration of refugees, but some measures have not yet been adopted. In order to counter hate speech and hate crimes, the country adopted some guidelines, and the state police have significantly intensified training activities for police officers, the general prosecutor's office and the Supreme Court.

The authorities developed an action plan to implement integration policies, for example offering ethnic minorities and migrants free Latvian language lessons.

However, the ECRI points out that some issues continue to raise concern, including the lack of political countermeasures in response to racist hate speech against homosexuals and transsexuals and the marginalization of Roma communities and LGBT people. As a result, the report contains 21 recommendations addressed to Latvian authorities. In two years the Commission will assess the country's progress, in particular with respect to two measures: establishing a unit within the State Police for vulnerable groups and providing for automatic recognition of Latvian citizenship for children born from ''non-citizens''.

(ANSA).