Analytics, Corruption, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Legislation, USA

"In every part of the world, we see an accelerating trend by both state and non-state actors to close the space for civil society, to stifle media and Internet freedom, to marginalize opposition voices, and in the most extreme cases, to kill people or drive them from their homes," he said.

The report, compiled on a country-by-country basis by U.S. diplomats, has no legal implications for U.S. policy and a critical write up does not compel Washington to cut ties or military aid to rights abusers or to impose sanctions upon them.

But Kerry argued that the detailed report – the 40th his department has produced – would strengthen U.S. determination to promote what he called "fundamental freedoms" and to support those groups Washington sees as human rights defenders.

The report's section on Latvia says that the most significant human rights problem during 2015 was corruption.

Additional human rights problems included police abuse of persons in their custody, poor conditions in detention and prison facilities, delays in court proceedings, and incomplete restitution of Jewish communal property.

The report also says non-citizens naturalized at a slow rate and could not participate in elections.

Furthermore, there were reports of violence against women, anti-Semitic incidents, trafficking in persons, and societal discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons.

It also says Latvian government took steps to prosecute officials who committed abuses in most instances, although significant concerns remained regarding accountability for corruption.

The report is critical of Russia and China – where it says civil rights groups face increasing repression – and of foes like Iran and North Korea, where citizens face extrajudicial killings and torture.

But it also paints a grim picture of the state of play in some allied countries, including NATO member Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has cracked down on opposition media and arrested several leading journalists.

The Turkish government has "used anti-terror laws as well as a law against insulting the president to stifle legitimate political discourse and investigative journalism," the report says.

It accuses Turkish authorities of "prosecuting journalists and ordinary citizens and driving opposition media outlets out of business or bringing them under state control."

Egypt, which receives USD 1.5 billion dollars in U.S. military aid despite President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi authoritarian style of rule, also faced stern criticism.