74 Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January – June 2007 International scrutiny United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights On 22 May, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Committee) published its Concluding Observations on Latvia. The Committee expressed its concern that “the State Language Law which mandates the use of Latvian in all dealings with public institutions, including administrative districts, may be discriminatory in effect against linguistic minorities living in the State party, including the Russian-speaking minority which constitutes a significant proportion of the population. In particular, the Committee is concerned that members of linguistic minorities, especially older persons, may be disadvantaged in their claims to public authorities with regard to their entitlement to public services. This has a negative impact on their enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights”. The Committee urged Latvia “to ensure that the lack of citizenship of the permanent residents does not hinder equal enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, including employment, social security, health services and education” and to “ensure that adequate support is provided to members of linguistic minorities, especially older persons, through, inter alia, increased allocation of resources to subsidize language courses, with a view to enhancing opportunities for those wishing to acquire fluency in Latvian. The Committee also recommends the State party, in line with article 10 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities to which Latvia is a party, to consider providing translators and interpreters in State and municipal offices, in particular, in regions that have a high concentration of minority language speakers.” The Committee urged Latvia to comply with the second paragraph of article 2 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by enacting Amnesty International comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation without further delay and to consider ratifying the revised European Social Charter (CETS No. 163) and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. LITHUANIA Freedom of assembly for lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender persons On 21 May, the mayor of Vilnius, Juozas Imbrasas, refused to give permission for a European Union (EU) sponsored antidiscrimination bus tour to make its planned stop in the city. The bus tour took in 19 member states as part of a 'For Diversity. Against Discrimination' information campaign to make its planned stop in Vilnius. The purpose of the bus tour was to raise awareness and distribute information about the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. The Vilnius City Council also voted unanimously to ban a tolerance campaign rally in support of human rights of various groups, including the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, which had been due to take place on 25 May, citing “security reasons”. The European Commission commented on the bans stating that "the decision by the city authorities shows how much still needs to be done to change behaviour and attitudes towards discriminated groups and to promote awareness of diversity." The mayor of Vilnius also supported the decision by local bus drivers in Vilnius not to drive buses which had advertisements supporting LGBT rights on them. The mayor stated that “with priority for traditional family and seeking to promote the family values, we disapprove the public display of ‘homosexual ideas’ in the city of Vilnius.” The advertisement had been paid for by the Lithuanian Gay League with money granted from the EU. AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007