CAT/C/LVA/CO/3-5 United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Distr.: General 23 December 2013 Original: English Committee against Torture Concluding observations on the combined third to fifth periodic reports of Latvia* 1. The Committee against Torture considered the combined third to fifth periodic reports of Latvia (CAT/C/LVA/3-5) at its 1176th and 1179th meetings, held on 31 October and 1 November 2013 (CAT/C/SR.1176 and CAT/C/SR.1179), and adopted the following concluding observations at its 1199th meeting (CAT/C/SR.1199) held on 15 November 2013. A. Introduction 2. The Committee expresses its appreciation to the State party for accepting the optional reporting procedure and for submitting its combined third to fifth periodic report in a timely manner by providing replies to the list of issues (CAT/C/LVA/Q/5), which focuses the examination of the report as well as the dialogue with the delegation. 3. The Committee also appreciates the open and constructive dialogue with the highlevel delegation of the State party and the detailed supplementary information provided. B. Positive aspects 4. The Committee welcomes the fact that, since the consideration of the second periodic report, the State party has ratified or acceded to the following international instruments: (a) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 31 August 2010; (b) The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, on 19 April 2013. 5. The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to revise its legislation in areas of relevance to the Convention, including: (a) Amendments to article 273 of the Criminal Procedure Law concerning the grounds for detention of juveniles, on 12 March 2009; * Adopted by the Committee at its fifty-first session (28 October–22 November 2013). GE.13-49896 *1349896*

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