UNITED NATIONS Press release COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONSIDERS REPORT OF LITHUANIA Committee on the Rights of the Child 18 January 2006 (Chamber B) The Committee on the Rights of the Child today considered the second periodic report of Lithuania on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Introducing the report was Violeta Murauskaite, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania, who said that among the main achievements in the field of child rights protection was the Government's collection of statistical data on children, the creation in 2003 of the Municipal Children's Rights Protection Office, which was responsible for the implementation of measures on the protection of the rights of the child at the municipal level, and the creation of the Council of the Child's Welfare in October 2005. Moreover, a law had recently been drafted on social services which aimed to increase availability of social services for families and children, such as family counseling and alternative family child care, among other things. In terms of education, she noted the creation by the Parliament of a new version of the Law on Education of Lithuania and the National Strategy of Education for 2003-2012 to ensure equal opportunities for children to receive proper education. In preliminary remarks, Committee Expert Lucy Smith, the Committee Expert who served as country Rapporteur for the report of Lithuania, thanked the delegation for a fruitful dialogue which had provided the Committee with a clearer picture about the situation of child rights in Lithuania. It was the impression of the Committee that there was a political will in Lithuania to strengthen the rights of the child and to understand the importance of those rights. Among other things, the Committee commended the Government for its efforts to implement the National Plan of Action of Children, however it was noted that it needed to be funded adequately. Other Committee Experts contributed to the debate by raising questions pertaining to, among other things, cooperation with non-governmental organizations; domestic violence and child abuse; corporal punishment; foreign children, in particular children from Chechnya and Afghanistan; Roma children; children with disabilities; the Office of the Ombudsman; reproductive health; alternative care institutions; education; and trafficking in humans and prostitution. The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Lithuania towards the end of its three-week session which will conclude on 27 January. The delegation of Lithuania was made up of representatives of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of the Interior; the Ministry of Justice; the Department of Drugs Control; and the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to United Nations Office at Geneva. As one of the 192 States parties to the Convention, Lithuania obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with the provisions of that treaty. The delegation was on hand during the day to present the report and to answer questions raised by Committee Experts. When Chamber B of the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 19 January, it will take up the second periodic report of Mauritius (CRC/C/65/Add.35). *Report of Lithuania* The second periodic report of Lithuania (CRC/C/83/Add.14) deals with measures undertaken by Lithuania between 2001 and 2003 for the purpose of implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and is aimed at providing an impartial and comprehensive understanding of changes that took place in the children's lives in Lithuania. It is noted that between 1990 and the beginning of 2003 the number of children diminished by 194,000 or by 20 per cent. During the reporting period Lithuania adopted, amended or supplemented a number of specified legal acts regulating the protection of the rights of the child including its Civil Code, which contains the rules which define general legal principles of the family law and contains a separate section which deals with the child's rights and obligations; and regulations concerning childcare which define the principles of organization of guardianship for a child deprived of parental care. In December 2002, the Government also approved General Regulations of the Child's Rights Protection Agencies, which protects the child's rights and lawful interests, among other things. During the reporting period Lithuania acceded to several international conventions and protocols aimed at promoting the child's rights protection in the spheres regulated by them, the report states. Among them is the Convention Concerning the Powers of Authorities and the Law Applicable in Respect of the Protection of Minors; the Convention on the Civil Aspects of the International Child Abduction; and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. With concern to the recommendations of the United Nations General Assembly's Special Session on Children held in May 2002 in New York concerning the development of national plans of action, the Parliament (Seimas) of Lithuania passed a resolution in May 2003 approving the State policy concept of the well-being of the child, the report indicates. Among other developments are the implementation of the Immediate Action Plan for Combating Violence against Children; the approval of the National Programme of Children's Day Care Centres of Non-Governmental Organizations, for the purpose of addressing social problems of pre-school and school age children growing in problem families at the national level; and the implementation of the 2000-2002 Juvenile Criminal Justice Programme. Moreover, it is noted that the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been incorporated into all training programmes for teachers and is also included in the contents of compulsory subjects in higher schools of Lithuania training social pedagogues and social workers. *Presentation of Report* VIOLETA MURAUSKAITE, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania, noted that, while taking into consideration the final document adopted at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session, A World Fit for Children, in 2003, the Parliament of Lithuania (Seimas) had adopted a resolution on the Agreement of Political Parties on the State Policy Strategy Guidelines on Child Welfare. With the participation of non-governmental organizations, the Government in 2005 had approved a long-term Action Plan for 2005-2012 on Child Welfare. Among the main achievements in the field of child rights protection was the Government's collection of statistical data on children, Ms. Murauskaite said. As a result of enhanced efforts there was more comprehensive information on the situation of children in Lithuania. Furthermore, in 2003, the Government adopted a resolution and assigned the Ministry of Social Security and Labour as a central authority, responsible for coordination of child rights policies. Also in 2003 the Municipal Children's Rights Protection Office was set up which was responsible for the implementation of measures on the protection of the rights of the child at the municipal level. In 2005, the mandate of the Adoption Service under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour was extended and was reformed into the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service under the Ministry. Also noted was the creation of the Council of the Child's Welfare in October 2005 as an advisory body aimed to bring forth issues on child welfare in order to have pubic debates and agree on solutions. >From 2004 a universal monthly benefit – "child's money" – started to be paid to every child, she said. In 2005, over 42 per cent of all children living in Lithuania received "child's money". Moreover, to create more favorable education conditions for schoolchildren from poor families, every year about 22 per cent of children attending school enjoyed a free lunch. A draft of a law on social services was also being considered which aimed to increase availability of social services for families and children, such as family counseling and alternative family childcare, among other things. In terms of education, she noted the creation by the Seimas of a new version of the Law on Education of Lithuania and the National Strategy of Education for 2003-2012 to ensure equal opportunities for children to receive proper education. On health care, it was noted that 2004 was declared the year of the child's health and its main focus had been promoting healthy lifestyles for children and the idea of "healthy schools". *Questions Raised by Committee Experts* LUCY SMITH, the Committee Expert who served as country Rapporteur for the report of Lithuania, noted that Lithuania was a small country with 3.6 million people, which had recently joined the European Union. The country had a high unemployment rate and a high incidence of poverty. The Rapporteur also noted that Lithuania had ratified all major international instruments protecting children's rights, which was to be commended. She noted that the report had an abundance of information on laws and resolutions adopted pertaining to child rights, however, there was a lack of information on the implementation process and on the necessary by-laws Ms. Smith said among the most serious problems facing children in Lithuania were family violence, violence against children and the great number of children without parental guidance. There also seemed to be problems with coordinating work being done for children. She asked what was being done to strengthen cooperation between all the institutions working for children's rights. Concerning the national plans of action, she asked who had the responsibility for implementing these various plans of action. Information was also sought on the child rights protection agencies in the country, the results of reform efforts related to child rights, and child rights monitoring mechanisms, as well as the Office of the Ombudsman. She asked in particular how many complaints were received by the Office of the Ombudsman and how it dealt with these complaints. Information was also sought on cooperation with civil society and non-governmental organizations and to which extent non-governmental organizations had the possibility to receive sufficient funds to carry out their work. Another Expert raised questions pertaining to discrimination, in particular that affecting Roma children. She asked to what extent they had access to basic health services and education. While drawing attention to the programme of social integration for Roma, she asked for detailed information on the results of that programme. In general, information was sought on disaggregated data on minority groups. While noting that there were no juvenile courts in Lithuania, an Expert asked what the status of the Convention was in national legislation and whether it could be invoked directly in court cases. Another Expert asked for information on training for judicial staff and those responsible for upholding the law to familiarize them with the provisions of the Convention. An Expert asked for details regarding the situation of children from Chechnya and Afghanistan living in Lithuania and any ethnic and/or religious discrimination against them. A number of Experts raised questions on the incidence of domestic violence in Lithuania, noting that these cases were on the rise despite substantial efforts by the State. More information was sought in that regard. Other Experts raised a series of questions pertaining to the age of consent for sexual relations; the criteria for allocating State funds; corporal punishment; religious freedom; the system of asylum seeking concerning children; the children's rights protection agencies; and the freedom of association for children. Drawing attention to the Child's Parliament in Lithuania, an Expert asked to what extent a child's voice was heard in decision making in the family, school and government. While noting that there were some 13,000 children in care of the State, an Expert asked whether these children had direct access to the Ombudsman. Other Experts asked for additional information on the Office of the Ombudsman, in particular whether it was independent. In a second round of questions, the Rapporteur asked for additional information about the placement of children in institutions and the process by which a child was taken out of the home. She also asked for information on school dropouts and what efforts were being done to keep children in schools. Additional information was also sought on children with disabilities, adolescent and reproductive health programmes, teenage pregnancies, school costs, pre-primary school education, recreational activities for children, and the age by which a child could be heard on medical issues. Another Expert asked for more information on the exploitation of children, in particular the most common victims of this abuse. On trafficking in children, she asked what the results of various Government programmes had been in that regard. While noting that child prostitution was a problem in Lithuania, she further asked for information on related legal provisions and the level of awareness of children of this problem. On the right to health, an Expert noted that there had been a decrease in the number of children with disabilities in institutions. He asked what achievements had been made to lead to this trend. He also asked for information on the situation of children in rural areas. Information was sought on the health insurance law, its benefits for children and its relation to poverty. Given that during the reporting period, there had been a percentage increase in adolescent suicide, he asked what measures had been taken to prevent this. Other questions posed during the second round of questions related to adoption procedures; the measures taken to address cases of missing children; conditions of juvenile detention; refoulment of asylum seeking children; the status of children whose parents were non-citizens living permanently in Lithuania; the incidence of tuberculosis; access to health services; and poverty reduction programmes. *Response by Delegation of Lithuania* In response to the questions and comments, the delegation noted that at the governmental level, under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour there was a department on children and youth as well as other bodies dealing with children's affairs that were accountable to the municipalities. The budget for these offices had recently been doubled and efforts were being undertaken to increase their staffing. These offices were engaged in providing social services for families and children. At present, there were over 200 employees working in these offices. Responding to another question, the delegation said there were criteria on how to identify the measures that needed to be taken for children living in families at risk. Among the steps taken to assist these children was placement under guardianship programmes and in foster care. The aim was to get a clear picture as to what facilities were available to children and what was needed. There was also a Child Welfare Council, established at the end of 2005, which was composed of representatives of the Ministries of Social Security and Labour, Justice, Interior, Education and Health, as well as representatives from various associations working in child rights. The Council held common hearings where child rights cases were discussed and to which non-governmental organizations and other members of society were invited to share their views. The overall goal was to provide more facilities for families in need. Concerning training, the delegation said finances had been allocated for training for all law enforcement personnel on child rights. To that end, a handbook on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that explained it article by article had been translated and disseminated in the Lithuanian language. Each municipality and each court had received copies of the handbook and it had also been made available on the Government website. As to cooperation with and support for non-governmental organizations, it was noted that between 2001 and 2005, several joint projects were initiated between the Government and non-governmental organizations with the aim of assisting children in need. As per the new law on social services it was hoped that financing for non-governmental organizations would be increased. The policy of the Government was to provide support to non-governmental organizations and to facilitate their work by way of sharing information and to assist with resources. Moreover, the Government was working in partnership with non-governmental organizations in various campaigns to combat domestic violence and violence against children. With regard to the issue of violence, the delegation acknowledged that violence against children and domestic violence was a major issue in Lithuania. There was a general understanding of this and a change of attitude had been taking place. A number of programmes had been implemented to assist victims of violence and to determine its root causes. In particular, a programme was instituted on trafficking in children. One of the biggest successes of the Government in this regard was the reform of the State's Penal Code allowing for the removal of violators from the family. Moreover, since 2004 there had been a general countrywide campaign promoting no violence which consisted of messages about the harms of domestic violence and views of children. Since 2002 increased measures had been taken to strengthen reporting obligations of professionals to determine acts of violence committed against minors. On the budget allocations for children, a member of the delegation said some five per cent of the State's GDP was allocated to child welfare. This money was distributed to various programmes, the biggest part of which was earmarked for the education system. Between 2004 and 2005, the budget for child welfare had increased by ten per cent. As to the age of sexual consent, the delegation noted that this was a highly debated topic in Lithuania. There were no legal provisions on the age of consent in Lithuanian law. From the age of 18 a child had the right of sexual consent. When a person was under 14 the situation was usually deemed to be rape. Between the age of 14 and 18, the court must examine the child's social situation to determine if the minor was able to give his/her consent for sexual relations. Concerning religious education, the education law of Lithuania determined that if the child was under 14, the parent decided the religious denomination of the child. The Constitution of Lithuania provided that the members of any group could practice their religion freely. There were three groups of religious communities – traditional religious communities, including Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Muslim; State-recognized religious groups; and non-traditional religious communities. Students could chose whether they wanted to attend classes in a specific religion and were not discriminated against for their beliefs. As to the situation of Roma children, the delegation said for the school year 2004-2005 there were 597 Roma children registered in schools; that made up 0.11 per cent of the entire school population. Overall, there were 2,750 Roma living in Lithuania. The Government programme for Roma was divided into four sectors - education, social, health and national identity preservation. The programme was being implemented by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour. In 2004, a textbook was published in the Roma language and special training courses were conducted for teachers in that regard. Additionally, all Roma children had free access to health services. With concern to the application of the Convention in Lithuanian courts, the delegation noted that international treaties were applied directly in national courts; there was no need to adopt national laws to make them effective. There was supremacy of international treaties over national laws. There were some 20 court cases where the Convention on the Rights of the Child had been invoked before the courts of Lithuania. On corporal punishment, although there was no direct provision prohibiting this practice in Lithuania, it was not permissible. It was clearly forbidden for teachers to practice corporal punishment in schools. If a teacher disciplined a child with force, he or she could be held accountable as per the Penal Code which prohibited any harmful acts against children. Parents could also be held criminally liable for causing physical or mental harm to their children. These cases could also be investigated by authorities. It was the intention of the State to provide legislation specifically prohibiting corporal punishment both at schools and at home. Awareness raising campaigns were also being conducted to sensitize the public to this issue with messages of no tolerance. In response to a question, the delegation said a child may not be kept in pre-trial detention for a period of over 48 hours, and only in extreme cases could a child be held. As to foreign children, all unaccompanied minors had the right to social services. Most of these children originated from Chechnya, the delegation noted. These children were housed in special centres where they were afforded services including health care, food and shelter. These children were also able to attend schools in Lithuania free of charge. Concerning children with disabilities, the delegation noted that at present there were some 3,000 students with disabilities in the school system. In 2003, 53 pedagogical service centres were established in the municipalities catering to the needs of these children. Moreover, during that same year the Government instituted the "Yellow Buses" programme which provided transport services for students with disabilities. It was further noted that the majority of students with disabilities were enrolled in the regular school system. Turning to the Office of the Ombudsman for Children's Rights, the delegation noted that the Ombudsman was established in 2000. At present, the Office had nine advisors specializing in different areas. Since its inception, the number of complaints received by the Office had been increasing steadily. The Office was accountable to the Parliament but not the Government. The Ombudsman was appointed by the Chairman of the Parliament for a term of five years. The Ombudsman also had the right to initiate a legal procedure if there was evidence that a crime had been committed. As to health services, the delegation said all persons up to the age of 18 years were insured by the State and were provided with free medical coverage. Health care could be administered to a minor between 16 and 18 years old with their consent, although for those under 16 the parent or guardian must give consent. With regard to reproductive health issues, the delegation said there was a high rate of underage pregnancies in Lithuania. Reproductive health education was provided both in the classroom and by medical doctors. It was envisaged that youth-friendly services in this regard would be increased. In response to a question, the delegation confirmed that tuberculosis cases among children had been decreasing. Turning to mental health, the delegation noted that Lithuania had a high rate of teenage suicide. To address this issue the Government had established telephone hotlines and had created an informative website, among other things. In response to questions raised by Experts on education, the delegation said the fees of around 35 per cent of the children attending pre-school were paid by the Government. However, as of next year the Government would be covering full costs for all pre-school students. As to school drop outs, the delegation noted that their rate had been declining in recent years. It was noted that some 12,000 students were benefiting from the State's "Yellow Bus" programme, which along with the "school basket" and "free lunch" programmes had improved the school dropout situation. In terms of school democracy, the Lithuanian Student Parliament was an institution which provided a voice for students on issues affecting them in schools. As to children in alternative care centres, the delegation noted that all children placed in institutions in Lithuania fell under the care of the State's Children's Protection Agency of the respective municipality. A reform process was underway to improve the procedure by which decisions were taken to place children into alternative care. Of the children living in these alternative care centres, some 50 per cent were in foster families and 50 per cent in State-run institutions. In response to a question, the delegation noted that in recent times there were fewer cases of adoption of children in Lithuania to foreign countries. Efforts were also being made to facilitate the process of adoption including a draft law being put before Parliament. Concerning trafficking in human beings and prostitution, the delegation said these problems were rooted in socio-economic factors, and were often linked to poverty. There was no reliable data on the situation of trafficking in Lithuania. Police data usually only concerned registered cases and did not reflect the actual situation. Lithuania was a country of transit and destination. According to data from the European Union, there were about 1,000 women trafficked into and out of Lithuania annually. As to registered cases, from 1999 to 2004, there were 84 cases of trafficking in human beings of which only a small portion involved juveniles. A national programme was instituted in 2003-2004 to combat this problem. The Ministry of the Interior was the lead governmental body in such cases. Within the last few years the Government had also conducted a public awareness campaign to address the problem. Last year the Penal Code was amended to provide harsher sentences for traffickers of juveniles which could be up to 15 years imprisonment. The revised Code also called for a harsher line on prostitution, including child prostitution. *Preliminary Remarks* LUCY SMITH, the Committee Expert who served as country Rapporteur for the report of Lithuania, thanked the delegation for a fruitful dialogue which provided the Committee with a clearer picture about the situation of child rights in Lithuania. Ms. Smith said it was the impression of the Committee that there was a political will in Lithuania to strengthen the rights of the child and to understand the importance of those rights. Among other things, the Committee commended the Government for its efforts to implement the National Plan of Action of Children, however it was noted that it needed to be funded adequately. Among other things, the Committee was concerned about the instances of domestic violence and child abuse in Lithuania, the numbers of children placed in alternative care centres and about the Government's measures to promote reproductive health. * *** * This press release is not an official record and is provided for public information only.
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