A/HRC/7/19/Add.3 page 12 40. Although an important part of the Secretariat’s focus is related to traditional minorities living in Latvia, including the Russian-speaking communities, actions are also being developed for newly arrived migrants of non-European origin. A number of cultural activities fostering interaction among the different communities living in Latvia are organized, such as inter-ethnic festivals of Indian, Arab and African cultures. 41. The Special Rapporteur also enquired as to the impact of educational policies on minority communities, their integration into society and on the promotion of respect for their cultural identity. Latvia’s educational system is mainly based on two types of schools: Latvian-language and minority-language (mostly Russian) schools. In application of the Law on Education, which establishes that a certain proportion of the courses need to be taught in Latvian, minority-language schools are gradually introducing bilingual education. A major educational reform was passed in 2004, establishing that in public secondary schools at least 60 per cent of the courses in secondary education need to be taught in Latvian or bilingually. 42. The Minister of Education emphasized that the language policy in the educational system is an important means of promoting linguistic integration into Latvia of students of all ethnic and racial minorities. The central principle followed during the reform was to progressively improve the quality of education for all students and to allow for access to higher education, which is exclusively taught in Latvian. According to data of the Ministry’s Examination Centre, 61 per cent of minority students finishing secondary education choose to undertake the maturity exam in Latvian, which according to Ministry officials shows that the educational system is managing to promote linguistic integration. Examination data also show that minority schools have the best results in terms of quality of education in Latvia. The subject where minorities have a poorer performance is history, which according to Ministry officials is evidence of Latvia’s complex historical legacy. C. Perceptions and reactions of State officials and Government agencies 43. The majority of State authorities highlighted the importance of recognizing Latvia’s historical heritage in order to understand inter-community relations today, particularly for issues such as citizenship and language. At the same time, these officials stressed that Latvia has historically been a multicultural State open to different communities and that this tradition still resonates among the population today. The high rate of mixed marriages (around 20 per cent) and the growth of multi-ethnic parties were pointed out as examples of tolerance and multiculturalism in Latvia. 44. The common opinion expressed by State authorities was that racism and discrimination are not widespread phenomena in Latvia, but isolated cases, usually perpetrated by extremists that do not represent the country’s tradition of tolerance. However, it was emphasized that all acts of racism and discrimination are to be condemned and that Latvia counts on mechanisms such as the Ombudsman to redress this problem. In this context, the authorities pointed out that Latvia’s legal framework unambiguously establishes the principle of equality and prohibits any form of discrimination. The Prime Minister, in particular, emphasized the measures that have been taken to protect minorities and improve inter-community relations, including Latvia’s ratification of the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. He also explained that Latvia’s tradition of tolerance and respect for other cultures reflects in its favourable position towards Turkish membership of the EU.