COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONSIDERS REPORT OF LITHUANIA

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights today considered the second periodic report of Lithuania on how the country is implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Presenting the report, Gintaras Klimavičius, Vice-Minister of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania, said since Lithuania joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, its legislation had been harmonized with European Union legal acts. Successful measures to eliminate gender inequalities and close the gender pay gap were outlined, as were efforts to reduce poverty and youth unemployment. Efforts to end discrimination against persons with disabilities, and to promote and protect the rights of national minorities and the Roma and strengthen their integration into society and the labour force were outlined. Measures had been taken to promote safe contraceptive methods and reduce the use of abortion as a form of birth control, and a smoking ban was implemented in 2007. The global economic crisis had been a significant challenge for Lithuania, but despite economic difficulties, social protection for the most vulnerable groups of the population was maintained.

During the interactive dialogue Committee Experts praised Lithuania for its efforts to achieve gender equality in the workplace and public life, and close the gender pay gap as well as its achievement of having the most women scientists in the world. Questions were asked about the integration of Roma in all areas of life and the rights of national minorities, including being educated in their mother tongue. Access to clean drinking water and sanitation in rural areas, efforts to tackle poverty and social security provisions were also raised. Experts also raised the high abortion rate, forced evictions and HIV prevention efforts.

In concluding remarks, Mr. Klimavičius thanked the Committee and reassured them that Lithuania was doing everything it could to fully implement the Covenant, despite the challenges outlined.

In concluding remarks, Waleed Sadi, Committee Member acting as Country Rapporteur, thanked the delegation for their clear, concise and full answers, and commended them on measures taken so far in the field of economic, social and cultural rights.

Zdzislaw Kedzia, Committee Chairperson, in concluding remarks, thanked the delegation for an excellent dialogue and their solid cooperation, and said the Committee would publish its concluding observations at the end of the session.

The delegation of Lithuania included several representatives of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, as well as representatives of the Research and Higher Education Monitoring and Analysis Centre, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Health and the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The Committee will next meet in public at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 7 May to commence its review of the combined second to third periodic reports of Armenia (E/C.12/ARM/2-3).



Report

The second periodic report of Lithuania: (E/C.12/LTU/2).

Presentation of the Report

GINTARAS KLIMAVIČIUS, Vice-Minister of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania, said since Lithuania joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, its legislation had been harmonized with European Union legal acts and European Union law was being implemented in Lithuania. He noted that the European Institute for Gender Equality, the only European Union specialized agency on gender equality issues, was established in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, and spoke about measures taken to eliminate gender inequalities, close the gender pay gap and generally empower women. Women made up almost 40 per cent of public managerial positions and held two of the three highest State positions: the President and the Chair of Parliament, he noted. During its Presidency of the Council of Europe in the second half of 2013, Lithuania had focused on several areas which related to rights set out in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Those included gender equality, anti-discrimination and employment, in particular youth employment. The Presidency also oversaw a common agreement on a new financial instrument for the most deprived people, which led to the adoption of the Regulation on the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived, with funding of almost €3.5 billion for European Union States until 2020.

The Office of the Ombudsman was envisioned to soon function as an independent national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles, once Parliament adopted the draft law. Lithuania had strong cooperation with international organizations and since 2014 had been a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. In 2010 Lithuania had ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, and had since taken many measures to end discrimination against persons with disabilities and help them to better participate in political, social, cultural and economic life. In 2013 it signed the Convention on Preventing Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and consequently passed a law to more effectively tackle domestic violence. It also ratified the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. The Criminal Code of Lithuania was recently amended to more effectively tackle sexual abuse of children, particularly online, including more severe penalties.

Strategies to protect the rights of national minorities and foster their cultures were described, such as funding non-governmental organization projects such as cultural centres or weekend schools. A draft law on national minorities was currently under consultation. The Action Plan for the Integration of Roma 2012 to 2014 focused on improving Roma education, employment, development of social skills and promotion of public tolerance. A new action plan would be adopted this year that would focus on Roma housing and empowerment of Roma women. A draft law on housing would ensure that families had adequate housing facilities, including social housing. Priority measures for young people included initiatives to increase youth employment, promote entrepreneurship and vocational orientation, provide more online training, and better accessibility to higher education in general. A dedicated programme aimed to integrate socially-excluded young people into the labour market and education system.

On health, Mr. Klimavičius spoke about measures to promote safe contraceptive methods and reduce the use of abortion as a form of birth control. A ban on smoking in public was implemented in 2007. Efforts to promote cultural rights were also highlighted, including the establishment of the Lithuanian Film Centre and the Lithuanian Culture Council in 2012. The global economic crisis had been a significant challenge for Lithuania, but despite economic difficulties, austerity measures such as temporary reduction of public sector salaries and revision of certain benefits between 2010 and 2011 made it possible to keep social protection for the most vulnerable groups of the population. Today reduced benefits had been restored to the previous amounts.

Questions from Committee Experts

WALEED SADI, Committee Member acting as Country Rapporteur, welcomed the delegation and praised it for its gender balance, but regretted the 10 year delay since the Committee last reviewed Lithuania, as some follow-up momentum was lost in the interim, which was not necessarily Lithuania’s fault. He agreed with the Head of the Delegation that Lithuania had made progress in implementing the Covenant since presenting its initial report to the Committee in 2004 but highlighted some problems including the reported slow judicial system, stating that “justice delayed was justice denied”.

The many programmes for the integration of Roma were commended but nevertheless reports that 50 per cent of Roma did not have bathrooms and other basic sanitary facilities were disappointing. The population of Lithuania was 85 per cent Lithuanians, and Poles, Russians and Belarusians made up much of the other 15 per cent. What was the relationship between those various ethnic groups, he asked, as the report did not provide much information, especially in light of the commendable removal of rules restricting the employment of people from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)? The promotion of gender equality in Lithuania was admirable, the Country Rapporteur said. However, women from minority groups did not do so well, and more information on gender equality advancement would be welcomed.

Another Committee Expert took the floor and expressed delight not only with the amount of women on the delegation, but the number of women who held public functions and high office in Lithuania. He asked the delegation how the Covenant was applied in domestic law. Was the Government considering ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Covenant, which would allow the Committee to examine individual cases from Lithuania? He asked about the status of the draft bill currently before parliament to create an independent human rights commission.

An Expert asked about discrimination against certain groups of people, especially lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and their access to gender reassignment surgery. As a member of the European Union what percentage of Lithuania’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) did Lithuania give in development aid? An Expert asked about languages in Lithuania, in particular minority languages and the use of languages in the judicial system.

Regarding the right to work, an Expert asked whether trade unions were allowed in Lithuania. He also asked for information on unemployment, including benefits and support for job-seekers. An Expert asked about the rights of migrants, foreigners and asylum seekers under the Right to Work Act. She also asked about the apparent decrease in the number of Roma who were employed. Due to the austerity measures the amount of benefits and the qualifying conditions had been reduced. The Expert was heartened to hear that the reduced benefits had now been restored to the previous amounts, but asked what those amounts were. On discrimination against women in the workplace she asked about horizontal and vertical segregation of women, saying that it seemed that vertical segregation was less obvious, but horizontal segregation of women appeared to be less obvious.

The Head of the Delegation emphasized how much Lithuania prioritized youth employment in his presentation, an Expert commented, and asked whether youth unemployment had fallen from the 2010 high. Had the measures taken so far yielded any results, he asked; had youth employment increased?

Lithuania had one of the lowest levels of employment in Europe, an Expert said. What was being done to deal with that? Was it correct that currently around 400,000 people received free food, and if so, why? Why was there a widespread practice of part-time employment of qualified workers, particularly in the area of education? Teachers in Lithuania reportedly only worked half a week – 21 hours. It appeared that the education system in Romania had around 30,000 people only being employed part-time. The delegation stated that it currently had no intention to ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on Social Security 118; could it explain why?

Programmes to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities were raised, with an Expert asking if any new action plans or programmes would be implemented. Lithuania had a sizeable population of working-age persons with disabilities, at 172,000, of which only 46,000 were employed. Yet only around 200 people a year, on average, were engaged in the aforementioned Government programmes. Was that due to financial restrictions? There was a very commendable system of providing subsidies to companies that employed persons with disabilities, but a system of obligatory hiring quotas would be more effective, both for public and private sector employers.

Response by the Delegation

Regarding the establishment of an independent national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles, a delegate explained that in 2011 the parliament established a Working Group to make amendments to the draft law on establishing that office – the Ombudsman’s office. That same draft law had been reviewed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the international community, and received very positive comments. Unfortunately the timing was not conducive as parliamentary elections took place in November 2012, and in 2013 a debate on the necessity of a national human rights institution re-started, given the presence of 17 human rights bodies in Lithuania. The economic situation also made the process take more time.

Regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, a delegate spoke about the proposal to have the right to gender reassignment established in law, but the law was never passed, leaving a legislation gap. The courts awarded compensation for that legal gap, a consistent practice that was already applied in a number of cases.

On issues concerning gender equality and the improvement of the situation of women in general, a delegate began by talking about how they evaluated the effectiveness of the national action plan, starting with an impact assessment in 2003 to map the overall situation and identify priority areas. Root causes of gender gaps, and the reasons for gender stereotypes were also considered. In 2009 a second impact assessment was undertaken, to see which measures worked and which did not. Society’s opinions on gender stereotypes were measured: how it looked at women leaders, women who managed households, and women in decision making roles – whether in business, politics, science or any other sector. Society was becoming more tolerant and accepting of women leaders, the results showed. A new gender impact assessment, including on combating stereotypes, was now being carried out, and the results would be available later this year, the delegate said.

Discussing the Roma programme, a delegate outlined cooperation between the Government and the Roma community to enhance their economic, social and cultural rights. A new action plan which would focus on the empowerment of Roma women was planned for the end of the year. The delegate said that in Lithuania they were able to collect data on ethnicity, and census data from the last five years did show good progress in the integration of Roma, and in the school attendance rates of Roma children.

There was no law on the protection of national minorities at the moment, a delegate explained, but stressed that the programme of the current Government included national minorities and the Government prioritized the adoption of that law.

Questions from the Experts

An Expert said Lithuania was a transit country for persons subject to trafficking for sexual exploitation. He commended the State party for its legislation and programmes to tackle the problem but asked about its effectiveness. Domestic violence did not appear to be criminalized, was that correct? If so, were any laws planned in that area?

On reproductive health, the high abortion rate among women under 19 years old was striking, an Expert said, noting that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) had also expressed concern. It seemed that contraceptives were not available for that age group. Furthermore half of women between 15 and 25 years old did not use contraception. There was limited access to methods of family planning, in particular for young women in rural areas. Abortion should be a last resort and other forms of contraception should be made available. What campaigns were planned to reverse that trend?

Lithuania had a high and growing prevalence of mental health and behavioural disorders. Were there any special programmes aimed at school-aged children with those disorders, or to combat bullying? There was also a high suicide rate, an Expert said. Had a study into the root causes of suicide been carried out, and what measures had been taken to reduce that problem?

An Expert asked about HIV prevention among people who injected drugs in Lithuania. Access to harm-reduction services and Opioid Substitution Treatment appeared to be limited and declining due to unsustainable financing. Furthermore it appeared that injected drug use was extremely widespread among prison populations, around 30 per cent. There were reports of a HIV epidemic in prisons – what was being done to combat that devastating situation?

Under the right to health, an Expert asked about access to clean drinking water and sanitation, saying that 12.7 per cent of all conventional dwellings still lacked access to piped water. The figure rose to almost a quarter of dwellings in rural areas, where some 28 per cent of households also lacked flush toilets.

The at-risk of poverty rate stood in 2012 at 13 per cent in cities and 25 per cent in the countryside, a drop of 0.5 and 0.7 per cent compared with 2011. The most vulnerable people to poverty were the elderly, those with young children, the unemployed and single-parent families. The at-risk of poverty rate had not declined by much in recent years, so did the Government plan to increase social transfers?

Forced evictions were raised by an Expert who asked what Government legislation was in place to regulate the practice, and whether the Committee’s guidelines were used.

Concerning the subject of education, an Expert said the drop-out rates among school children were high, as was the number of children who were not enrolled, as noted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. There was also discrimination regarding access to education by ethnic and national minorities, especially Roma, and also children with disabilities. What was being done by Lithuania to make education more accessible for those children? Did the delegation have any information on the number of schools which lacked the necessary infrastructure to ensure the adequate provision of services?

On the use of languages in education, an Expert spoke about an amendment to the law on education on the right to teach in national minority languages, and asked the delegation to provide the Committee with information on the impact of that law. What was being done to promote the use of Roma language in all tiers of education? The delegation was also asked for statistics on the number of Roma children who completed secondary education, and the placement of Roma children in special-needs schools.

According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) figures, Lithuania had more women working in science than any country in the world. An Expert expressed surprise that Lithuania had not mentioned that impressive figure in its report, and congratulated it. UNESCO said only five countries in the world had achieved gender parity in science, and Lithuania was the top. Lithuania ought to share the ways in which it achieved such parity with the rest of the world, and highlight the initiatives used.

An Expert pointed out that Lithuania’s overseas development aid (ODA) contribution was just 0.13 per cent which was far less than the 0.7 United Nations target and even way below the European Union target of 0.3 per cent by 2015. Lithuania’s overseas development aid contributions needed a threefold increase to meet that target next year; how would the State party meet the target?

Lithuania must be proud of the gender equality it had achieved, as had been pointed out by several Committee Members, an Expert said. It was especially commendable that society now believed that a woman could be a leader. However, the Expert asked about support for women working part-time and temporary jobs in terms of balancing their work and family responsibilities, and how much men contributed to family work and childcare. What percentage of men and women were in part-time work? Regarding the gender pay gap, an Expert asked if there was a system to evaluate equal work of equal value, in order to provide equal pay.

Response by the Delegation

A delegate spoke about the impact of the global financial crisis on Lithuania, and on Lithuania’s overseas development aid contributions. The European Union target was not an easy one to meet but Lithuania intended to meet it, especially in view of its aspirations to join the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Involving men in family life was a priority issue with the national programme to promote gender equality, and a number of measures were being taken to that end. The first was paternity leave, which was very popular with young men in Lithuania. Paternity leave was one month, and could be taken after the birth of a child. However, fewer men took childcare leave. In 2013 about seven per cent of men took childcare leave. The number of men who took on household and family responsibilities was far less than women. The European Gender Equality Institute’s Gender Equality Index showed that Lithuania had the lowest European Union average in that regard.

Only 11 per cent of women had a part-time job, which the Government was pleased about. It was true that all of those factors influenced the gender pay gap, which had recently been reduced from 20 per cent to 12.7 per cent today. The decrease of vertical labour market segregation had been an important factor. There was a methodology used by employers to evaluate salaries that respected the equal work of equal value for equal pay principle, a delegate confirmed.

Lithuania took a lot of measures to tackle youth unemployment after the rate peaked in 2011 at almost 36.2 per cent. Today the youth unemployment rate had decreased to around 21 per cent. Around 21,000 youth were registered with the labour office. Vocational training, an increase in fixed-term contracts for new jobs and subsidized employment were among the measures used to reduce the unemployment rate. The agriculture and forestry service checks introduced last year gave young people an opportunity to work in those fields. Lithuania received an additional allocation for the youth initiative. The Labour Code assigned a minimum monthly wage, which was for all workers, not just unqualified workers, a delegate said.

In 2013 legislative amendments to employment relations recognized that all citizens of Lithuania, as well as migrants and stateless persons, could be members of trade unions if they were 16 years old or more. However, despite those amendments there was still quite low membership of trade unions – around 100,000 people.

Regarding family law, an Expert said that in 2011 the Lithuanian Constitutional Court declared that the definition of the family in domestic legislation was unconstitutional; the court understood that there should be a broad definition of the family, it could not be dependent upon the requirement of marriage, for example. The court emphasized that different forms of family in a society should not be discriminated against.

A draft housing law which set out the entitlements to social housing was currently being considered; benefits would include orphans, families with five or more children or who had three children at the same time, and to lone persons with disabilities. Forced eviction was only possible in a limited number of cases; it was only permitted by a court decision and was regulated by law. It was only possible if a child had been provided with alternative housing.

Lithuania’s Rural Development Programme was outlined to the Committee, with a delegate explaining that some €40 million had been provided to develop rural villages in the last few years. The money had been spent on replacing asbestos roofing, helping small farmers and other projects.

The Government was very concerned about housing conditions in rural areas, and not only was Government money allocated to improve the housing, but also money from the European Social Fund. Regarding sanitation and clean drinking water in rural areas, a delegate said the systems had been improved, for example by electric water pumps. There was an Investment in Rural Areas for Implementation of Centralized Water and Sanitation programme, which was financed by the European Union, and a programme for agricultural development as well. Local groups also invested in village infrastructure.

The National Mental Health Strategy was adopted in 2007 along with action plans for its implementation between 2014 and 2016. The computerized monitoring system was established according to that plan. Healthcare services for mental health and behavioural disorders were organized at a primary level; over 100 mental health centres had been established by municipal level authorities and the private sector. There were five State-run centres for addictive disorders which were regulated by the Ministry of Health and funded by the State budget and compulsory health insurance fund. General hospitals also had psychiatric units and day-care centres. There were also mental health crisis centres. The high number of mental health and behavioural disorders registered was probably due to an improvement in the collection of statistical data.

Regarding HIV prevention among drug-injecting users, a delegate said 51 per cent of individuals infected by HIV were infected through injecting drugs. The Government saw the necessity of developing healthcare and social services, and better access to individuals with drug addictions. By law all HIV positive patients were provided with healthcare through public funds. Any anti-retroviral treatment was reimbursed. Needle-exchange programmes were run by the Ministry of Health, alongside other drug-addition reduction programmes.

In 2003 a National Crime Prevention Programme and action plan was approved, which included concrete measures to support victims of trafficking in persons. Since 2002 Lithuania had provided financial support to non-governmental organizations that focused on social assistance and the reintegration into society and the labour market for victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Corporal punishment was forbidden under the law on domestic violence, a delegate added, as were all forms of domestic violence. On the same subject, a delegate commented that the new 2011 law on domestic violence defined the concept and strengthened the rights of victims, as well as established prevention measures. The majority of domestic violence cases were prosecuted under the Criminal Code on infliction of violence or pain, as well as the threat to kill, threat to health or physical harassment. Approximately 1,300 domestic violence cases were heard by courts in 2012. The number of cases being brought to court rose after the introduction of the new law.

Concerning abortion and contraception, a delegate said that Lithuania had improved accessibility to emergency contraception in 2008 by changing the classification of such medicine and making it accessible without a prescription. A working group on the draft law on reproductive health was set up in January 2014. The Government sought to promote the availability of contraception methods and the risks of repeated abortion.

Poverty rates had increased much more in urban areas than in rural ones, a delegate said. The overall amount of State benefits amounted to 1.061 billion euro in 2010, an almost 169 million increase as compared to 2008. That showed that even during the global financial crisis the Government found ways to increase cash social assistance for poor families.

On national minorities, the delegation said the Government made no difference between national and ethnic minorities, unlike other European countries such as Poland. Lawyers tended to use the term ‘national minorities’, while scholars tended to use ‘ethnic minorities’. Furthermore the term ‘linguistic minority’ was not used either. The draft law on national minorities provided for very broad definitions. The Council for National Minorities was an advisory body to the Ministry of Culture and established the national minority communities; those communities who comprised some 100,000 people could nominate three representatives to the Council.

In Lithuania national minorities were able to study in their national language, although some courses were run in the national State language, but that allowed minorities to better integrate. A delegate spoke about the almost 100 Polish schools in Lithuania to cater to the children of the 200,000 Lithuanian citizens of Polish origin. There were some problems with teachers in Russian schools because they began to learn other languages too late, but there were university courses for teachers although they were unsubscribed. Russian language was studied in Lithuanian universities, a delegate continued.

There were national and European indicators for school drop-out rates, and the rate was less than one per cent; the rate was considered low, but there were some 1,300 students who could not be tracked right now, a delegate said. Primary level enrolment was about 70 per cent, and the main problem was increasing enrolment at the primary level in rural areas. Some 16 per cent of students left vocational students, while 18 per cent completed Bachelor Degree programmes, seven per cent achieved Master’s Degree programmes and five per cent completed PhD programmes.

Anti-discrimination measures continued to be implemented through the nationwide action plan, primarily through educational and training measures, with coordination from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour.

Every school in the country had free internet access, and all higher education institutions had free Wi-Fi and guaranteed access to online information databases. The way of learning was changing, a delegate said. The number of students countrywide was declining every year in Lithuania, she added, so unusually the country had more school buildings than it needed.

In response to the comments about women in science, a delegate thanked the Expert for his complement. She said that there were over 17,000 scientific researchers in Lithuania, over 52 per cent of whom were women – something they were very proud about. Lithuania cooperated through both European and international science programmes, among others. Cooperation at the institutional level was very active, and Lithuania was proud to have so many institutional science partners worldwide.

Follow-Up Questions by Experts

When would the new law on minorities enter into force? What department in the Ministry of Culture was responsible for minorities and how many people worked there, an Expert asked? He expressed concern that amendments to the education act changed the essence of educational reform, moving to a system with different types of schools. Access to the internet by disadvantaged groups was raised by an Expert, who said it was becoming a major issue as increasingly countries were being run using the internet, so if a person was cut off that was very significant.

Response by the Delegation

The new minorities’ law would be submitted to the parliament in the autumn 2014 session, but it was not possible to predict when parliament would adopt it. Issues concerning national minorities were handled by the Division for National Minorities within the Ministry of Culture, which was staffed by four leading specialists. A delegate spoke about the wide access to the internet throughout the country as well.

Concluding Remarks

GINTARAS KLIMAVIČIUS, Vice-Minister of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania, thanked the Committee and reassured them that Lithuania was doing everything it could to fully implement the Covenant, despite the challenges outlined.

WALEED SADI, Committee Member acting as Country Rapporteur, thanked the delegation for their clear, concise and full answers, and commended them on measures taken so far in the field of economic, social and cultural rights.

ZDZISLAW KEDZIA, Committee Chairperson, in concluding remarks, thanked the delegation for an excellent dialogue and their solid cooperation, and said the Committee would publish its concluding observations at the end of the session.


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ESC14/008E