A/HRC/32/15 105. Hungary applauded the active and positive role played by Latvia as a member of the Council. It requested more information about how Latvia saw the potential to further increase the inclusion of civil society in the preparation of its national report. 106. Iceland applauded the achievement of Latvia since the first review, including the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse and the abolition of the death penalty in law. 107. India welcomed the accreditation of the Office of the Ombudsman with “A” status and urged Latvia to extend adequate resources to it. It encouraged Latvia to continue to pay attention to the high maternal mortality rates; enhance funding for the rehabilitation of victims of trafficking; address hate crimes and discrimination; and work towards more inclusion in education. 108. Indonesia recognized the progress of Latvia in several fields of human rights since the first review and appreciated its initiatives to involve the Office of the Ombudsman Office and non-governmental organization in reviewing the draft of its national report. 109. Iraq appreciated the achievements in passing laws related to immigration and the amendments to the Criminal Law, particularly regarding torture. It welcomed efforts in enacting the nationality law and the increased number of beneficiaries of that law and commended the measures to protect the rights of the child. 110. Ireland welcomed the positive contribution of Latvia through its presidency of the European Council. It welcomed the country’s record in confronting gender inequality and encouraged it to take further steps for the elimination of domestic violence, including improving data collection methods. 111. Israel highlighted the measures adopted by Latvia in recent years, including amendments to the legislation relating to obtaining citizenship, the legal capacity of persons with disabilities, combating hate crimes, discrimination and trafficking and persons. It also noted the various plans and guidelines that had been adopted. 112. Ghana noted the reduction in the number of detainees in Latvia since 2013. It was concerned about allegations of the use of excessive use of force and ill-treatment of suspects by law enforcement officials during arrests and investigations and encouraged Latvia to take measures to address the issue. 113. Latvia commenced its concluding responses by providing statistics in answer to further questions on minority education and stated that State support for education in minority languages in Latvia exceeded that provided by most European countries. 114. Latvia stated that it continued to take measures to further improve asylum procedures. It provided details on the rights of asylum seekers under the new law adopted in 2016. It emphasized that the grounds for the detention of illegal migrants were clearly described in law and could only be used as an exceptional measure and were decisions subject to review by the courts. 115. Latvia provided information on persons with disabilities in response to questions from a number of states. The Government had adopted a holistic document for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and action plans had been prepared. Education, employment, social protection and public awareness had been defined as priorities of the policies in Latvia. There were also individual support mechanisms for children with special needs. 116. Latvia stressed that in 1999 it was the first country in Eastern and Central Europe to elect a female president and that the current Prime Minister was a women, as were 4 of the 12 ministers. 13