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Lithuania - Annex to State Party Report [2014] UNCERDSPR 24; INT/CERD/ADR/LTU/17423 (31 August 2014)

ANNEXES : Sixth to eighth periodic reports of Lithuania (CERD/C/LTU/6-8)
Annex 1
Statistical data

Table 1. Population

Beginning of year, thousands

¹ The population at the beginning of 2008–2011 was re-calculated on the basis of the Lithuanian national population

and housing census of 2011

Table 2. Residents by citizenship

Table 3. Residents by nationality

Table 4. Residents by nationality and age group, 2011

Table 5. National minorities in the biggest cities of Lithuania, 2011 (%)

Table 6. Residents of major nationality groups by education, 2011

(education per 1 000 residents aged 10 or above for the respective nationality)

Table 7. Residents of major nationality groups by foreign languages spoken

Table 8. Housing by type

Table 9. Traditional housing by type and accommodation

Table 10. Traditional housing by type and ownership

Table 11. Traditional housing by number of residents and useful area

Table 12. Traditional housing by number of rooms and useful area

Annex 2

Implementing measures of the National Anti-discrimination Programme for 2009–2011^[1]

Annex 3

Inter-institutional Action Plan for Promotion of Non-discrimination for 2012–2014^[4]

I. General Provisions

1. The purpose of the Inter-institutional Action Plan for Promotion of Non-discrimination for 2012–2014 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Plan’) is to ensure the implementation of educational measures for promotion of non-discrimination and equal opportunities, to raise legal consciousness, mutual understanding and tolerance on grounds of sex, race, nationality, language, origin, social status, beliefs, convictions or views, age, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity and religion, and to inform the public about the discriminatory practices in Lithuania and the negative effects on the opportunities of certain groups of the society to participate in its activities under equal conditions.

2. The terms used in the Plan are defined in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Equal Treatment (Official Gazette 2003, No 114-5115; 2008, No76-2998) and in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (Official Gazette 1998, No 112-3100).

3. The Plan was drafted with regard to:

3.1. The 2010 Report of the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman;

3.2. Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (OJ 2000 L 180. p. 22) (hereinafter referred to as 'Directive 2000/43/EC’);

3.3. Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (OJ 2000 L 303, p. 16);

3.4. The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (Official Gazette 1996, No 21-549), ratified by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania by Resolution No I-1035 of 10 September 1995 (Official Gazette 1995, No 76-1764);

3.5. The observations issued by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on 2 July 2008;

3.6. The observations and recommendations issued by the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 24 March 2011.

4. The Plan devotes special attention to:

4.1. Measures intended for effective implementation of the educational policy for promotion of non-discrimination and equal opportunities;

4.2. Informational measures intended to raise public awareness of the issues of equal opportunities and non-discrimination.

5. The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and other legislation are essentially in conformity with the non-discrimination provisions found in European Union legislation as well as treaties signed by the Republic of Lithuania. Thus, the legal conditions for equality and protection against inequality and discrimination are in place, yet certain groups of residents encounter discriminatory practices in various spheres of life. Often, due to lack of information, the public are unable to recognise the discriminatory nature of certain behaviours or actions.

6. Discrimination on grounds of sex. Discrimination on grounds of sex in employment, education, culture and other areas may be experienced by the disabled, youth or the elderly, as well as persons of different races, nationalities, religions, beliefs, convictions or social statuses. The manifestations of sex discrimination of vulnerable groups of society have not been adequately researched. There is insufficient information on the specific problems of women and men in certain social groups that they suffer due to discrimination based on sex, race, nationality, religion, convictions, health status or some similar grounds.

The United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, having considered the third and fourth reports of the Republic of Lithuania on the implementation of the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on 2 July 2008, issued to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania recommendations expressing concern that the reports lacked information concerning the situation of disabled women, women belonging to ethnic minorities, especially Roma women, and migrant women in the spheres of education, employment and health care, access to housing and other aspects of their status, as well as information concerning cases of multiple discrimination, when women are discriminated against on grounds of age, race, health status etc.

7. Age discrimination. Discrimination of people on grounds of age represents a universal problem manifesting itself in various forms (direct/indirect discrimination, harassment or offensive behaviour, violence) and in nearly every sphere of life, especially during the economic recession, when the number of complaints against age discrimination increased (according to the 2010 Report of the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman). People of various age groups are vulnerable to age discrimination.

In accordance with the European priorities for active ageing and solidarity between generations for 2012, published by the European Commission, efforts must be made to ensure social security for the elderly (mostly people of the retirement age). Lithuania has not devoted adequate attention to this phenomenon. To combat this social phenomenon, it is necessary to make sure that people understand it as a problem and are capable of recognising not only the obvious but also the concealed, far more subtle instances of age discrimination.

8. Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. Lithuania already has the legal framework for equal opportunities in place: the relevant principles are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania, Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania, Law on Equal Treatment of the Republic of Lithuania and other legal acts. There is also a network of authorities entrusted with the defence of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual people, consisting of the courts and the Office of Equal Opportunities Ombudsman.

Lithuania has established the conditions for adequate defence of the rights of homosexual persons and a mechanism for the exercise of those rights is functioning. However, public opinion polls and other surveys show that certain discriminatory practices still persist. Lack of safety makes integration into the society rather difficult for some homosexuals.

9. Discrimination on grounds of race, nationality and ethnicity. The population census (2001 data) revealed that Lithuania has residents belonging to 115 nationalities, yet only 29 nationalities have 100 or more members. The national structure of the Lithuanian population is quite homogenous: Lithuanians account for 83.45 per cent, Poles – 6.74 per cent, Russians – 6.31 per cent, Byelorussians – 1.23 per cent, Ukrainians – 0.65 per cent, Jews – 0.12 per cent, Germans and Tartars – 0.09 per cent each, Latvians – 0.08 per cent, and Gypsies (Roma) – for 0.07 per cent of the total population. Vilnius has the most diverse ethnic structure of the population: it is 57.8 per cent Lithuanian, 18.7 per cent Polish and 14 per cent Russian. A second multi-national city is Klaipėda, where Lithuanians account for 71.3 per cent, Russians – 21.3 per cent, and Ukrainians and Byelorussians for roughly 2 per cent each. The largest share of non-Lithuanians reside in Visaginas (85 per cent of the town’s total population, including 52.4 per cent of Russians). The most homogenous nationally is Panevėžys, where 95.7 per cent of the population are Lithuanians. In Kaunas and Šiauliai, Lithuanians account for 92.9 and 92.8 per cent, respectively.

Intolerance among the public is demonstrated by the data of the study carried out by the Ethnic Research Centre of the Lithuanian Social Research Centre in 2000: as many as 69.2 per cent of those polled said they would not like to have Roma as neighbours, 55.7 expressed the same attitude towards Chechens, 44.5 per cent towards Muslims, and 31.3 percent towards black people.

The United Nations Committee on Racial Discrimination expressed their concern in the conclusions dated 24 March 2011 that racial and xenophobic incidents in Lithuania still occur and discriminatory attitudes towards ethnic minorities persist, and called for further efforts to combat certain preconceptions in the society.

10. Discrimination on grounds of disability. The Lithuanian legal framework guarantees equal rights and opportunities to the disabled in all spheres of public life. The social integration of disabled people is organised in line with the principles of equal rights, equal opportunities, discrimination prevention, full participation, independence and freedom of choice, accessibility and others.

According to the data of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, around 266 000 disabled persons resided in Lithuania in 2010. Discriminatory practices against the disabled occur in the areas of goods and services, education and labour relations.

One of the main methods of inclusion into society and combating discrimination is employment. However, the data of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour show that only approximately 46 000 disabled persons of the working age, i.e. only one in four, have a job.

The number of employed disabled people is so low because the physical and informational environment and workplaces are not adequately adapted to their needs, the employers and society do not receive adequate education in that respect, and positive attitudes towards the disabled are not promoted among them.

11. Conclusions:

11.1. there is a shortage of instruments for effective implementation of educational measures for promotion of non-discrimination and equal opportunities;

11.2. there is a shortage of research, surveys and studies on the issues of non-discrimination;

11.3. there is a shortage of public awareness raising and education campaigns on the issues of equal opportunities and promotion of non-discrimination;

11.4. there is a shortage of teaching aids to promote non-discrimination and foster tolerance and respect for the human being;

11.5. financial assistance to non-governmental organisations defending human rights is inadequate.

II. THE PLAN’S OBJECTIVES, TASKS, MEASURES, APPROPRIATIONS AND IMPLEMENTING BODIES

III. PLAN ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND VALUES THEREOF

IV. PLAN IMPLEMENTATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY

12. The Ministry of Social Security and Labour is responsible for the coordination of the implementation of the Plan and its implementing measures. The measures under the Plan are implemented by the public authorities and bodies specified in Chapter II of the Plan.

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^[1] Annex to the National Anti-discrimination Programme for 2009–2011, approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania by Resolution No 317 of 15 April 2009