005 Third Report Submitted by Lithuania
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Strasbourg, 21 September 2011 ACFC/SR/III(2011)005 THIRD REPORT SUBMITTED BY LITHUANIA PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 25, PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES Received on 21 September 2011 1 THE THIRD REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA SUBJECT TO ARTICLE 25 (2) OF THE CONVENTION 2011 2 Table of Contents: I. Introduction………………………………………………………………………...…..3 II. Report by Individual Article .........................................................................................6 Article 1-2 ..........................................................................................................................6 Article 3............................................................................................................................. 9 Article 4............................................................................................................................16 Article 5............................................................................................................................33 Article 6............................................................................................................................41 Article 7............................................................................................................................50 Article 8............................................................................................................................51 Article 9............................................................................................................................55 Article 10..........................................................................................................................61 Article 11..........................................................................................................................63 Article 12..........................................................................................................................68 Article 13..........................................................................................................................73 Article 14..........................................................................................................................75 Article 15..........................................................................................................................79 Article 16..........................................................................................................................90 Article 17..........................................................................................................................91 Annexes. National Legislation.........................................................................................94 Annex 1. Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania........................................................94 Annex 2. The Republic of Lithuania Law on Education..................................................97 Annex 3. Law of the Republic of Lithuania Amending the Law on Equal Treatment.. 103 3 PART I. INTRODUCTION. On 1 February 1995, the Republic of Lithuania joined the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (hereinafter: the Framework Convention) and on 17 February 2000, ratified it without reservations. On 3 November 2006, the Council of Europe Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities received the Second Report of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the Implementation of the Framework Convention in the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the Second Report). In view of the recommendations of the Council of Europe Advisory Committee (hereinafter: the Advisory Committee) to inform the public about the implementation of the Framework Convention, the Second Report was released in Lithuanian, English, and Russian and was given publicity at local, national and international level through different seminars and conferences and disseminated to the public authorities in charge of securing the freedoms and rights of national minorities in the country and to the non-governmental organisations (hereinafter: NGOs) of national minorities. The Second Report was posted on the websites of the Department of National Minorities and Lithuanians Living Abroad under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the Department of National Minorities and Lithuanians Living Abroad) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). On 19-22 November 2007, representatives of the Advisory Committee conducted a contact visit to Lithuania with the aim to analyze the situation of national minorities residing in Lithuania and to meet with representatives of governmental authorities and NGOs. Based on the information on implementing the provisions of the Framework Convention in the Republic of Lithuania collected during the meetings, on 28 February 2008, the Advisory Committee adopted its Second Opinion on Lithuania, to which detailed responses of Lithuanian competent authorities were provided. Prior to 1 January 2010, the Department of National Minorities and Lithuanians Living Abroad used to shape and implement state policy on the sustainability of national relations in Lithuania. After the department was reorganised, on 1 January 2010 the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the Ministry of Culture) took over coordination of issues concerning the protection of rights of persons belonging to national minorities as well as fostering their culture. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the Ministry of Education and Science) co-ordinates the educational issues of national minorities. In accordance with the provisions of Article 25(2) of the Framework Convention, the Third Periodic Report on legal and other actions taken to implement the provisions of this Framework 4 Convention (hereinafter referred to as Third Report) is hereby being provided. The Third Report has been drafted referring to the Outline for the State Reports to be submitted under the third monitoring cycle, pursuant to the decision of the Committee of Ministers ACFC/III (2008) 001. It is significant to note that at the time of drafting the Third Report, the Resolution of the Committee of Ministers (Deputies) of the Council of Europe on the Second Report transmitted by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania was not approved. Therefore, Part II of the Third Report will provide only information on legal and other actions taken by Lithuania to implement the provisions of the Framework Convention in the country following transmission of the Second Report. Information is provided according to the articles of the Framework Convention and covers the period from 2006 to Q2 2011. The Third Report has been prepared by the Ministry of Culture on the basis of the analysis and summary of information obtained from the Ministry of the Republic of Lithuania of Social Security and Labour, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior, the Prosecution Service of the Republic of Lithuania, the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language, the Office of Equal Opportunities Ombudsman, the Office of the Journalist Ethics Inspector, the Lithuanian Statistics Department (Statistics Lithuania), the Lithuanian Labour Exchange under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour (hereinafter: the Lithuanian Labour Exchange), the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, the National Courts Administration, municipalities of Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda cities and municipalities of Vilnius, Panevėžys, Trakai and Šalčininkai Districts and the Lithuanian Art Museum. In order to submit the most objective and detailed information, the draft Third Report was discussed with members of the Council of National Communities (a consulting body reporting to the Ministry of Culture). The draft Third Report was sent to NGOs dealing with human rights (the Centre for Human Rights, the Human Rights Monitoring Institute). Comments were received from the Centre for Human Rights and from the Council of National Communities and were taken into account as far as possible. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania highly appreciates the dialogue with the Advisory Committee and takes into consideration its Second Opinion on Lithuania adopted on 28 February 2008. In view of the specific recommendations for Lithuania provided therein, improvements were made to national legislation governing protection of the rights of Lithuanian citizens (including national minorities) in the reporting period: the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Citizenship, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Equal Opportunities, the newly revised Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Election of Municipal Councils, and the newly developed the Draft Legal Regulation Concept of the Law on National Minorities of the Republic of Lithuania 5 (hereinafter: draft Concept of the Law on National Minorities), which will serve as basis for drafting the new Law on National Minorities, etc. The Republic of Lithuania has continued to improve both criminal and administrative legal prerequisites to protect persons who may be threatened or subjected to discrimination or hostility based on their national, cultural