Systemic discrimination
The Committee viewed Lithuania's efforts to improve the situation of the Roma community in a positive light. Due to society’s hostility towards and systematic discrimination against the Roma, some members of the community are not covered by health insurance, have not finished primary or secondary education, and are unable to secure a stable job.
The Committee also expressed concern regarding LGBTI discrimination. Lithuania should make efforts to ensure the right of same-sex couples to enter into partnerships or marry. The refusal to recognize sexual identity in law remains yet another problem area. Lithuania still lacks legislation on the conditions and procedures for gender reassignment.
The Committee observed that hate crimes and hate speech against LGBTI people, Roma and Jews, migrants and asylum seekers are acute problems within the country. The gap between reported cases and real discrimination and hate speeches shows that this is a latent problem.
In addition to the gap in crime statistics, there is another gap regarding the equality of men and women in the labor market.
Attention was also drawn to the problems of domestic violence: the committee recommended prosecuting perpetrators more efficiently, to ensure that protection measures are available for victims and to avoid mediation in domestic family cases. It also called for the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
Imprisonment and asylum
The Committee noted that suspects in Lithuania are still disproportionately often detained during pre-trial investigation, with such alternatives as bail or written promises not to leave the country being very rarely used. At the same time, prison conditions in Lithuania have been found more than once to be extremely poor, violating human rights.
The Committee points out that asylum seekers are being disproportionately detained, in some cases for as long as 18 months. The Committee observes that there have been reports of asylum seekers being refused entry into the country altogether, or officials not even registering their applications.
