Today, the Human Rights Monitoring Institute and the Center for Ethnic Studies hosted a round table discussion on “Discrimination in Lithuania: Evaluation by International Institutions”.
The focus of the discussion and the preceding press conference was on the latest research and the recent assessment and comments by the international institutions in the field of intolerance and discrimination in Lithuania. Participants shared their points of view on possible measures to improve the current situation which is clearly deteriorating.
Henrikas Mickevicius, HRMI Executive Director, stressed that United Nations Committee against Racial Discrimination in its recommendations urges Lithuania to consider the establishment of an independent national human rights institution, in accordance with the Paris Principles relating to the status of national, which would, inter alia, contribute to monitoring and evaluating progress in the implementation of the this Convention. According to H. Mickevicius, this institution should not deal with individual complaints, but mould national human rights policies in cooperation with governmental agencies and NGOs.
HRMI Executive Director emphasized the necessity to level the human rights issues as disregard for human rights and thereof declining image of our country in the international community produces unwanted consequences in the various aspects of country life, including economics, where we can already see a noticeable decline in direct foreign investment.
Natalija Kasatkina, Director of the Center for Ethnic Studies, introduced the findings of the recent studies conducted by the Center, emphasizing:
- rising level of intolerance to “others” (members of racial, ethnic and religious minorities);
- emerging signs of islamofobia;
- manifestations of racial violence;
- absence of issues related to intolerance and discrimination on the national political agenda;
- negative influence of media.
The deepest concern according to N. Kasatkina is the inability of the political leadership and the society to realize that wellbeing of the racial/ethnic groups and migrants is indivisible from general wellbeing of the country as well as national security, which has been explicitly shown in the recent example of France.
Darius Staniulis, Director of Human Rights and NGOs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, analyzed in depth the recent recommendations of the Committee against Racial Discrimination, developed in response to the periodic report by Lithuanian government. He pinpointed that the Committee refers to the same problems that have repeatedly been mentioned in various international documents, for example in the 2006 report by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI). The main problems continue to be intolerance for and multiple discrimination of Roma minority, the need to deal with Roma housing, employment, education, citizenship, health care and other problems, the necessity to improve the legal framework against intolerance and discrimination. The Committee has also stressed the need for awareness raising among the general society.
Danguole Grigoloviciene, Adviser to the Ombudswoman for Equal Opportunities, informed that in 2005 the Office received 18 complaints regarding racial/ethnic discrimination, 11 of which concerned members of the Roma community. “The biggest resonance was caused by the demolition of Roma houses at the end of 2004. After thorough investigation we issued a warning to the mayor of Vilnius,” she said.
D. Grigoloviciene mentioned that complaints regarding racial and ethnic discrimination are third in numbers after gender and age discrimination. She thinks that members of ethnic minorities are still unable to identify human rights violations, there’s an obvious lack of educational and preventive work.
Among other participants of the discussion were representatives of the Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs, Parliament Ombudsman Office, Ministry of Social Security and Labour, Office of the Prosecutor General, Department of National Minorities and Lithuanians Living Abroad, National Police Department, Vilnius Police Department, Lithuanian Labour Center, Lithuanian Children’s Fund, Council of Ethnic Minorities and Roma Cultural Center.
See more (in Lithuanian) in news portal Delfi and legal information site Infolex.
© 2012 Human Rights Monitoring Institute