HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE TAKES UP LITHUANIA`S SECOND REPORT ON COMPLIANCEîÁÚÁÄ
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE TAKES UP LITHUANIA`S SECOND REPORT ON COMPLIANCE
WITH COVENANT ON CIVIL, POLITICAL RIGHTS
The Human Rights Committee this afternoon began its consideration of
Lithuania`s second periodic report on compliance with the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, hearing about the recent steps
taken by the Government to help the country`s Roma people overcome
`grave` disadvantages, as well as its efforts to ensure equal
opportunities between mean and women and to prevent violence against
women and children.
Sarunas Adomavicius, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
introduced Lithuania`s report and said that during the past two years
the Parliament had ratified a number of human rights treaties, with the
Government opting for an open and proactive approach to all human rights
issues. During last year`s major legal reforms, Lithuania had witnessed
the adoption and entry into force of six codes -- including new Civil
and Criminal Procedure codes. That had been an extremely important step
in bolstering the country`s legal and penitentiary systems and in
bringing legislation into line with the highest human rights standards.
Most of the Committee`s experts seemed troubled by the conditions of the
Roma -- a people facing serious challenges throughout Europe as they
struggled to preserve their unique heritage and tried to play a larger
role in the national life of their home countries. On Lithuania`s
efforts to counter discrimination against the Roma, Mr. Adomavicius said
that, although the population was very small -- just over 2,000 -- two
years ago, the Government had adopted a national Programme for the
Integration of the Roma (2000-2004). That initiative covered welfare,
health care and preservation of their culture.
Another major focus was ensuring adequate education for Roma children.
To that end, two pre-school classes had been organized for 60 Roma
children last year and, among other things, the first textbook in the
Roma language had been published. Stanislav Vidtmann, Deputy
Director-General of the National Minorities and Emigration Department,
added that Roma children were not segregated from others and that
following pre-school, they entered the public school system. Special
activities had also been targeted for Roma teenagers. He also noted
that several television shows created to counter cultural stereotypes
and foster tolerance had aired throughout the country.
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* The 2180th Meeting was closed.
Human Rights Committee - 1a - Press
Release HR/CT/652
2181st Meeting (PM) 24
March 2004
On domestic violence and violence against women, Mr. Adomavicius
highlighted Lithuania`s National Equal Rights Programme, which had been
approved last year. It envisages improvement of the legal framework,
particularly the development of the legal grounds under which an
offender could be isolated from a victimized family, development of a
network of crisis centres, support to non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) working in the field, and disseminating information on domestic
violence to local communities.
He said that two years ago, an Immediate Action Plan for the
Prevention of Violence Against Children had also been approved and,
subsequently, regulations governing State institutions and law
enforcement authorities had been revised to bolster protection of
children`s rights. Despite the attention given to those issues, he said
statistics from a 2001 survey had shown that some 82 per cent of female
respondents over 16 years of age had been subjected to some form of
violence in their homes. Other data had shown that 1,134 cases of
violence against children had been registered in 2002, 8 per cent of
which concerned sexual abuse. `These are very high numbers`, he
acknowledged.
The Committee will reconvene tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. to
continue its consideration of Lithuania`s second periodic report on
compliance with the Covenant.
(page 2 follows)
Background
The Human Rights Committee met this afternoon to begin its
consideration of Lithuania`s second periodic report on compliance with
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
That report (document CCPR/C/LTU/2003/2), which covers the human
rights situation in the country between 1997 and 2002, includes
information on the essential amendments to Lithuania`s legislation and
the subsequent changes that have taken place. Spurred by the desire to
get rid of the country`s Soviet-modeled regulatory framework, the
Government has backed an `intensive` slate of legal measures to help
reinforce rights-based principles in Lithuania`s laws.
According to the report, between 1998 and 2002, a Civil Code,
Criminal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, Labour Code and Code on the
Enforcement of Sentences, were among the new measures adopted. The
period also witnessed the emergence of a system of administrative courts
and the abolition of the death penalty. The Constitutional Court,
active since 1998, has been an important guarantor of those new laws and
continues to ensure that presidential decrees and other legal acts or
decisions are consistent with the Constitution, as well as international
human rights norms. For the past five years, Lithuania has also begun
harmonizing its legislation with guidelines set by the European Union,
the report adds.
On Lithuania`s implementation of specific objectives of the
Covenant, the report states that the country`s Constitution guarantees
equal rights between men and women (Article 3) in all areas of life. In
2000, the Government established the Commission for Equal Opportunities,
which includes representatives of all ministries and two State
departments -- six men and 12 women, in all. The report also notes that
in 1999, the Seimas, or Lithuanian Parliament, had approved the
establishment of the Ombudsman`s Office for Equal Opportunities, to
investigate complaints about discrimination and sexual harassment, among
others.
On Lithuania`s efforts to address its problem with trafficking
in human beings -- particularly women and illegal immigrants (Article 8)
-- the report says that the Government has upgraded its law enforcement
measures in those areas, and, with the help of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), has focused on destroying criminal enterprises
engaged in trafficking, prostitution and the abuse and commercial
exploitation of children. A major programme on the Control and
Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings and Prostitution (2002-2004)
was also under way.
Introduction of Report
SARUNAS ADOMAVICIUS, Under-Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Lithuania, said the Government had opted for an open and
proactive approach in addressing all human rights issues. Since
September 2002, the Human Rights Committee had examined two individual
communications against Lithuania and decided that the country had
violated articles of the Covenant. Lithuania had upheld the Committee`s
decisions, taking appropriate measures at the domestic level in order to
give full effect to the Committee`s views.
Last year, he said, Lithuania had witnessed a major development
in the reform of its legal system. The adoption and entry into force of
six new codes had been an extremely important step in fostering the
country`s legal and penitentiary systems and bringing legislation in
line with the highest human rights standards. The new codes had
introduced a modern concept of victim protection and a humanized system
of punishments.
He said the new Criminal Code provided a more liberal and flexible
punishment policy with shorter custodial periods and the possibility to
more widely apply suspended and non-custodial sentences. A new Code of
Criminal Procedure was expected to accelerate procedure and achieve more
efficient criminal justice. The Code of Enforcement of Punishments
improved conditions for serving penitentiary sentences, reinforced the
protection of inmates` human rights and freedoms and increased the legal
possibilities to apply conditional release to a wider range of
prisoners.
The new Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure accomplished the
reform of civil law in Lithuania, he said. Both aimed to strengthen the
protection of human rights and freedoms and ensure the effectiveness of
legal remedies for breaches of those rights and freedoms. The new
Labour Code created more flexible conditions for social dialogue and
corresponded to the new economic realities in Lithuania. The Code
explicitly forbade discrimination in the labour market on any grounds.
He said that amendments to the constitution and to the Law on
Municipal Elections provided non-citizen permanent residents with the
right to vote and to seek election to municipal councils. The Law on
State-guaranteed Legal Aid set up a comprehensive regulatory framework
and organizational infrastructure to guarantee free legal aid for
socially disadvantaged people in the criminal, civil and administrative
cases.
Also adopted, he said, were the following programmes, which were
being implemented through the joint efforts of government institutions
and NGOs: the National Programme for Control and Prevention of
Trafficking in Human Beings and Prostitution 2002-2004; the National
Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2002-2004; the
Programme for the Roma Integration into Lithuanian Society 2002-2004;
and the Immediate Measures of Prevention of Drug Addiction and the
Spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Custody and Correctional
Institutions.
Lithuania`s Response to Written Questions
Mr. ADOMAVICIUS then gave an executive summary of replies to the
list of questions submitted by the Committee. He said that the
relationship between national legislation and international law in
Lithuania was based on the monistic principle, which meant that
international treaties such as the Covenant, which had been ratified by
Parliament, were directly applicable within the Lithuanian legal system.
According to existing laws, damage caused by the unlawful action of
institutions of public authority were compensated by the State.
He went on to say that the Parliamentarian Ombudsman`s Office
had been established in 1994. That branch investigated individual
complaints concerning abuse of office by State and government officials
or institutions, as well as local government institutions and military
institutions. The Ombudsman received about 2,000 complaints a year and,
in 2003, the Office took up 28 matters for investigation by its own
initiative. Also, members of Parliament referred
219 complaints to the Office. Throughout 2003, the majority of
complaints dealt with the restoration of property rights and other land
management issues. Some
26 per cent of the complaints concerned the actions of correctional
officers, and 13 per cent concerned the actions of police.
The Parliamentarian Committee on Human Rights considered draft
laws dealing with relevant issues, he continued. It was also the main
institution in supervising the Government`s implementation of the
National Plan on Human Rights. Moving on to other issues, he said
Lithuania`s counter-terrorism strategy had been adopted in 2002 and had
been carefully considered to ensure that it conformed to international
human rights norms. The measures aimed to shore up the national
anti-terrorist legal framework, identify and protect possible terrorist
targets, reinforce anti-terrorist related intelligence and identify
terrorist funds or assets.
He next drew attention to a number of other advances, including
the establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman for Equal Opportunities
for Women and Men in 1999. That Office was an independent public
institution answerable to the Parliament, and during the past year it
had received 72 complaints and opened, at its own initiative,
investigations into 34 cases alleging direct and indirect discrimination
on the grounds of sex or age. Regarding the country`s efforts to
counter discrimination of the Roma people, he said that two years ago
the Government had adopted a national Programme for the Integration of
the Roma
(2000-2004).
That initiative dealt with four major issues, including education,
welfare, health care and preservation of the Roma culture. He said that
another major focus had been to ensure adequate education for Roma
children and help them integrate into Lithuanian society. To that end,
two preschool classes had been organized for Roma children last year
and, among other things, the first textbook in the Roma language had
been published. Special activities had also been launched for
teenagers.
Turning to domestic violence and violence against women, he
highlighted Lithuania`s National Equal Rights Programme, approved last
year, which focuses on those issues. The programme envisaged
improvement of the legal framework, particularly the development of the
legal grounds under which an offender could be isolated form the
victimized family, development of a network of crisis centres, support
to NGOs working in the field, and disseminating information on domestic
violence to local communities. He added that the Crisis and Information
Centre for Men, which worked with offenders, had recently been
established.
Further, in 2002 the Government had approved the Immediate
Action Plan for the Prevention of Violence Against Children, he said.
Subsequent to that plan`s adoption, regulations governing State
institutions and law enforcement authorities had been revised to bolster
their support for and protection of the rights of children. He stressed
that, even in light of all the work being done in the field, statistics
following a 2001 survey had shown that some 82 per cent of female
respondents over 16 years of age had been subjected to some form of
violence in their homes. Other data had shown that 1,134 cases of
violence against children had been registered in 2002, 8 per cent of
which concerned sexual abuse. `These are very high numbers`, he
acknowledged.
Mr. ADOMAVICIUS wrapped up his summary with an overview of
Lithuania`s efforts to prevent acts of torture and ill-treatment of
detainees in prisons, by both inmates and law enforcement officers. He
said the country`s new code for the enforcement of punishments helped
ensure safer conditions for prisoners and encouraged good behaviour
among convicts.
Expert Questions
MAXWELL YALDEN, expert from Canada, asked whether the position of
Ombudsman gave the power to bring actions before the courts, and, if
not, why not? More details were needed about the activities of the
Equal Opportunities Ombudsman with respect to the private sector. How
often had it been possible to make changes to private sector practice?
How would the Ombudsman`s activities work against discrimination? How
would all the new laws mesh together to discourage discriminatory
behaviour with respect to labour practices?
Noting that the integration of the Roma was a very grave question across
Europe, he said it was clear that they were at the bottom of the pole in
all areas of civic life. They were also the victims of discrimination
every day.
ROMAN WIERUSZEWSKI, Committee Vice-Chairman and expert from Poland,
asked whether the legal system had special procedures to incorporate the
decisions of international bodies. What happened if the proposals of
the ombudsmen were not recommended? Was there any recourse to the
courts? What kind of investigations were involved and to what extent
was there equality in protecting the rights of all people?
MARTIN SCHEININ, expert from Finland, asked why the information
on terrorism had been presented to the Human Rights Committee instead of
to the Security Council`s Counter-Terrorism Committee.
He asked what was being done to facilitate the establishment of
an independent investigation mechanism. Was the Government developing
community service as an alternative to imprisonment in order to reduce
the number of detainees? What was being done about the apparent lack of
sex education in schools and elsewhere, with its alarming consequences
for the young? Those issues were important to the lives of young men
and women.
The expert from Japan, NISUKE ANDO, also wondered about the
status of cases remaining open in the Ombudsman`s Office and asked for
further information in that regard. He also wanted to have more
information on the Lithuanian Constitutional Court. Who was supporting
that body`s decisions and the actions of its judges?
PRAFULLACHANDRA NATWARLAL BHAGWATI, expert from India, also
wondered about compensation being paid for unlawful acts by judges,
particularly in the High Court. On other matters, he asked if there was
any systematic attempt underway to find out whether existing laws or
those inherited from the previous regime were compatible with
international norms?
MAURICE GLELE AHANHANZO, expert from Benin, also expressed
concerns about the disquieting situation of the Roma people, in wider
Europe as well as Lithuania. He wondered about the levels of Roma
participation in the various levels of Lithuanian society. He
particularly wanted more information about the Government`s plan to
ensure the education of Roma Children. Were the Roma children taught in
the same classrooms as other children or were they kept separate? He
also asked for more information on Lithuania`s effort to return
properties belonging to Jewish families.
RAFAEL RIVAS POSADA, expert from Colombia, asked for more
information on the Government`s efforts to compensate victims alleging
violations of their rights, particularly such violations allegedly
committed by State officials. Was there direct settlement between the
parties and the State? Did it involve arbitration of reconciliation?
What procedure set the amount of compensation?
FRANCO DEPASQUALE, expert from Malta, wondered if the decisions
handed down by Lithuania`s various ombudsmen were just recommendations
or had the force of law. If those decisions had legal implications, how
were they reconciled with the decisions handed down by national courts?
How were they enforced?
Lithuania`s Response
STANISLAV VIDTMANN, Deputy Director of National Minorities and
Emigration, addressed the question of unemployment among the Roma,
saying that the community was very small in Lithuania, with about 2,000
members. The first stage of their integration covered only about 450
people living in Vilnius, the capital. The Department of Statistics had
not collected data about unemployment among Lithuania`s various ethnic
groups, but it was higher among the Roma than among other peoples. The
second stage of the integration programme was under preparation.
He said there were no segregated schools for Roma children. All
children attended public schools, but two preschool centres were located
in the Vilnius Roma centre, where they learned the Lithuanian language
before joining the public schools.
Regarding discrimination, he said that in 2002 and 2003 Lithuanian
public radio and television had run programmes to discourage stereotypes
about the Roma community. Next year, national television would
establish Roma programming, but at the moment there were no Roma
journalists.
On the proportion of Roma people in public life, he said a large part of
the community was not well educated and their participation in public
life was very limited. However, NGOs would be more active in the
future, and community leaders would participate more actively in public
life.
JANAS VIDICKAS, Deputy Director of Migration, said it was expected that
a draft law on citizenship would be adopted this year. A law adopted in
September 2002 regulated the acquisition of citizenship by children.
Children could become Lithuanian citizens by birth, naturalization, or
other grounds as provided for under international treaties. In
addition, a child with one native-Lithuanian parent and one who was
stateless or of unknown nationality would be granted citizenship. A
child found in the national territory whose parents were unknown would
also be granted citizenship.
VYGANTE MILASIUTE, Ministry of Justice, said that in 2000 the
constitutional court had examined the compatibility of capital
punishment with the constitution and determined that it was
incompatible. In cases where extradition was requested to countries
where capital punishment existed, extradition was refused.
She said that since the restoration of Lithuania`s independence,
legislators had aimed to create laws that were modern and compatible
with international human rights standards. The Covenant was in no way
inferior to the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights
and its provisions were examined with a view to their reflection in
Lithuanian statutes.
About who decided whether the highest court had issued a mistaken
decision, she said international procedures could be employed.
Decisions by such bodies as the European Court of Human Rights or the
United Nations Human Rights Committee were always taken into
consideration and the complainant was always awarded compensation if the
international body so decided.
On non-judicial procedures for paying damages resulting from the
unlawful acts of State institutions, she said the person claiming
damages could decide to make the claim to the Ministry of Justice.
Following consultations, they could reach agreement without going before
a court.
Regarding existing legislation on victims of discrimination on grounds
of gender, she said the Civil Code provided that a person sustaining
damages could claim pecuniary damages or non-pecuniary damages if that
right was specified under any other law.
AUDRA PLEPYTE-JARA, Head of the Human Rights and NGOs Division,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the seven-member Parliamentary
Committee on Human Rights investigated all laws and draft legislation
concerning fundamental rights to determine whether they were compatible
with international norms. The Committee also oversaw the work of the
offices of the various ombudsmen and would take up individual complaints
if an ombudsman requested further assistance.http://nvolgatrade.ru/
