A/69/44 58. 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; (b) Entry into force of the new Asylum Law on 14 July 2009; (c) Amendments to the Law on the Procedures for the Coming into Force and Application of the Criminal Law supplementing the law with article 24.1 on the definition of torture, on 23 December 2009; (d) Entry into force of the Law on Patients’ Rights, which protects the rights of juveniles in particular and provides for a patient’s right to claim compensation, on 1 March 2010; (e) Amendments to the Law on Medical Treatment concerning the actions of medical institutions if patients have been subjected to violence, which entered into force on 1 January 2011; (f) Amendments to the Law on Enforcement of Sentences concerning the resocialization of prisoners, introduced on 8 August 2011; (g) Abolition of the death penalty from the Criminal Law, on 1 December 2011. (6) The Committee also welcomes the efforts of the State party to amend its policies, programmes and administrative measures to give effect to the Convention, including: (a) Adoption of the basic guidelines on the improvement of the mental health of the population for 2009–2014, on 6 August 2008; (b) Adoption by the Government of the concept on resocialization of convicted persons sentenced to deprivation of liberty, on 9 January 2009; GE.14-12596 45