Just last year, the UN held its second review of the human rights situation in Lithuania. Now, having received more than 150 recommendations, the government has until March to reply with which suggestions it will be implementing.

Although Lithuania received praise for its commitment to gender equality and its efforts to combat domestic violence, the country's government also received a fair share of criticism for its reluctance to fight intolerance towards certain social groups.

Violence still being justified

The international community called upon the government to improve the situation of children, strengthen its support to the Office of the Children's Rights Ombudsperson, explicitly prohibit corporal punishment by law, and address the problem of suicide among young people.

Having analyzed the recommendations submitted by the UN, Birutė Sabatauskaitė, the director of the Lithuanian Center for Human Rights (LCHR), claimed that the state's position on violence has to be exceptionally clear and indivisible.

"Time and time again, we hear of violence against children, and often there are attempts to justify it. For example, there have been reports in the media of how a stepfather drove his eight-year-old son out of their house. While the police managed to find the boy in, there were authorities that claimed that he was a problem child. It’s an unthinkable attempt to blame the minor for a crime that he himself fell victim to," Sabatauskaitė said.

A fair number of the recommendations to Lithuania stemming from the UN Universal Periodic Review involved criticism of the state’s policies towards gender equality and domestic violence.

Lithuania was urged to ratify the Istanbul Convention, to continue fighting domestic violence and to ensure the ability to get equal pay for equal work.

UN members also drew attention to the fact that, at least for the time being, sexual violence in marriage is not expressly stated to be a crime.

Multifaceted discrimination

By far the most recommendations called for strengthening the mechanism for reducing discrimination and fighting hatred more efficiently. It is necessary to not only adopt laws, but also to ensure that they are working properly. Other countries advised Lithuania to increase funding for and enhance the authority of the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson.

"Every other conference I hear that those working with refugees or foreigners are unable to find them housing. As soon as they’re told the identity of their prospective tenants, landlords either hang up or simply state that they are not interested. We’ve also heard of cases of women being assaulted in Rukla. The locals tried pull off their veils," said the head of LCHR head.

The LGBT remain one of the most vulnerable groups in the country. The member states of the UN urged Lithuania to amend the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Minors Against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information, which so far have only been applied to the information disseminated by the LGBT community. Attempts to narrow down the definition of “family” and the fact that there is still no legal recognition of transgender persons were also subject to criticism.

Even though Lithuania had ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, disabled people or organizations representing their interests were not consulted when drafting the terms of its implementation. Lithuania should focus more on accessibility and inclusive education, and pay more attention to people with mental disabilities.

Integration

The situation concerning ethnic minorities drew criticism as well. Lithuania was encouraged to sort out its legal framework, allow the use of native languages and continue with efforts to integrate the Roma people. It is important that the ethnic groups concerned are involved in decision-making that affects them. With the issue of refugees in Lithuania becoming more and more important as time goes on, we should start thinking about how to achieve full integration.

The international community noted that hate crimes were still not being investigated properly in Lithuania. Hate speech is not considered to be a serious offense. UN member states proposed taking steps to ensure that investigations are effective and that the guilty parties are actually punished.

Source: manoteises.lt