A/HRC/18/9 to pass an oral exam and naturalization fees are very low. Information campaigns have been organized. However, according to a survey, the economic situation is more important than obtaining Latvian citizenship. Non-citizens enjoyed most of the rights of citizen and may even travel to the Russian Federation without paying for a visa, unlike Latvian citizens. 61. Regarding children of non-citizens, the Ministry of Interior has just proposed new provisions to ease their registration as citizens. Such children could already become citizens by simple registration; the new measures ease the process even more. 62. Latvia condemns in absolute terms all totalitarian ideologies, including Nazism and neo-Nazism. The delegation referred to several criminal cases involving expression on the Internet. There were no Nazi marches in Latvia. 63. Latvia recalled that the Constitution guarantees the principle of non-discrimination, and criminal law criminalizes all forms of discrimination and all acts of racial hatred and intolerance. Racist motivation was considered as an aggravating circumstance. Marital rape was already criminalized. 64. Although the death penalty is still applicable in wartime, the four relevant commissions in Parliament held a debate in 2011, and all explicitly supported its abolition. The Ministry of Justice has initiated the process for the ratification of relevant treaties and amendment to the criminal law. 65. Since the establishment of the Probation Service, alternative sanctions are increasingly used and more crimes can be punished through such sanctions. New major criminal law reforms are intended to decrease the use of detention while increasing the use of alternative sanctions. Rehabilitation of inmates is also at the forefront of the reforms. A new detention centre for juvenile prisoners has been created and about 5 million Euros has been allocated for renewing existing prisons. Furthermore, public-private partnerships are under consideration to build new prisons. 66. The Constitution and a number of laws guarantee gender equality. The Ministry of Welfare together with relevant stakeholders, including NGOs, have been working on the elaboration of a new planning policy document on gender equality and domestic violence for the next two years. 67. A large number of women are political leaders or hold managerial positions in enterprises. Child development in the family is a national priority. Latvia assists families of disabled children through various services. In 2011, Latvia discussed a reform on the legal capacity of mentally disabled persons pursuant to a decision of the Constitutional Court. 68. Equal access to education is provided for ethnic minorities and Latvia finances education in eight minority languages. In response to demographic challenges, a number of schools have been closed; more Latvian-language schools than minority schools have been closed. The State provides funds on an equal basis for students in minority and Latvian schools. Respect for diversity, civic education and ethics, among others, are included in school curricula and in continuing education curricula for teachers. 69. With regard to human trafficking, since 2000, Latvia has had in place an effective system to combat human trafficking. To date, only a few cases have been reported. Latvia went beyond the Palermo Protocol in that the use of force against potential victims of sexual exploitation is not a precondition for instituting a criminal case against traffickers. Latvia has a system to identify victims and a budget is allocated for the identification and rehabilitation of victims. 70. Regarding society integration, the Ministry of Culture supports ethnic minorities through various financial instruments. Latvia engages, at different levels, various consultative bodies representing ethnic minorities. Funds are also provided to combat 10