2.2 LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR CHILD PROTECTION 50. Latvia is party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol. The revised European Social Charter is recognised as having immediate legal effect in the domestic legal order.44 51. The Latvian Constitution recognises the special protection needs of “disabled children, children left without parental care or who have suffered from violence.”45 The Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child adopted in 1998 provides a framework for the relevant sectorial laws and policies and designates institutional duty-bearers. Section 3 of that Law provides that the state will ensure the rights and freedoms of all children “irrespective of race, nationality, gender, language, political party alliance, political or religious convictions, national, ethnic or social origin, place of residence in the State, property or health status, birth or other circumstances of the child, or of his or her parents, guardians, or family members.”46 52. The Ministry of Welfare, in cooperation with other ministries and stakeholders, develops long-term policies in the area of child protection and delivery of social services. The main policy documents on child protection and children’s rights include the Guidelines on State Family Policy 2011–2017 and Action Plan; Policy Guidelines on the Development of Social Services 2014-2020; and Policy Guidelines on the Development of Education 2014-2020 and Action Plan.47 Other key institutional duty-bearers in the area of children’s rights are: the State Inspectorate for Protection of Children’s Rights, a body subordinate to the Minister of Welfare, which carries out supervision of the observance of relevant regulations, conducts inspections and operates a trust helpline; and the Orphan’s courts, which oversee custody issues and defend the personal and property interests and the rights of the child. 53. The Ombudsman can receive complaints from children and carry out monitoring visits to the relevant state care institutions. In 2015, the Ombudsman received a total of 890 submissions on children's rights, a 24% increase as compared to 2014. The largest number of submissions concerned the rights of orphans and children left without parental care.48 54. According to civil society representatives and expert assessments, the relevant legislation and policies are satisfactory overall; however, their implementation remains inadequate.49 It would appear that, due to the decentralised nature of the child protection system, there exist considerable disparities between different municipalities in developing and implementing child protection programmes and providing assistance and support to families. 55. During the visit, civil society representatives expressed concerns as regards the low number of social workers and other professionals, such as psychologists, available to provide targeted services to children and families, in particular as concerns the needs of children with disabilities. According to data provided by the Ministry of Welfare, in 2014 the total number of social workers in local government social services was 1208, a figure including 535 general social workers, 359 specialists in services for adults, and 314 persons specialising in families with children. In 2015 the total number of social workers was increased by 50 to 1258, with 381 specialists providing services for adults and 357 specialising in family and children-focused services.50 56. The Commissioner encourages the Latvian authorities to create more training and study opportunities to train child protection professionals in their respective municipalities in order to eliminate existing disparities and strengthen locally available support services which will meet the needs of the population. Cooperation between the local and central authorities should be further enhanced in 44 Latvia and the European Social Charter factsheet, Department of the European Social Charter: Directorate General of Human rights and the Rule of Law, updated in November 2015. 45 Article 110, The Constitution of the Republic of Latvia. 46 The Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child, English translation Latvian State Language Centre 2015. 47 Information submitted by the Ministry of Welfare on 27 September 2016. 48 Annual Report 2015, Ombudsman of the Republic of Latvia. 49 Member States' Policies for Children with Disabilities, Country Report on Latvia, Policy Department C - Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs, European Parliament, December 2014 50 Data provided by the Ministry of Welfare, 29 September 2016. 13