News

Today, the Human Rights Day is celebrated across the world. It commemorates the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which calls upon all countries to observe human rights, promote democracy and disseminate democratic values.

Over a decade of its EU membership, Lithuania together with the rest of the EU took actions which proved its determination to promote human rights and democracy, working to turn the principles set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into a reality.

At the United Nations Security Council and other institutions, Lithuanian diplomats constantly call for effective action to ensure the full enjoyment of human rights and freedoms, to strengthen peace, security, democracy and to prevent aggression. Today, particular concern is raised over the ongoing violence and the erosion of human rights in eastern Ukraine and in illegally annexed Crimea. Lithuania constantly calls for stopping external aggression in eastern Ukraine, implementing the Minsk agreements, ending grave violations of human rights in the occupied territories of Ukraine and restoring the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

This year, the UN launches a campaign ‘Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always’, dedicated to raising awareness of the following Human Rights Covenants on their 50th anniversary: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. On the international scene, Lithuania will continue to seek to implement the principles of universality and indivisibility of human rights and will fully support efforts to maintain freedom, democracy, and the rule of law around the world.