Social issues
Social issues
International Labour Organisation (ILO)
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is the only specialised UN body, which has a tripartite governing structure – representing governments, employers and workers. ILO was established in 1919 and has 185 member states. The republic of Lithuania became a member of the International Labour Organisation in 1921 and renewed its membership on the 4th of October, 1991.
Lithuania took part in the activities of the ILO as a Substitute Management Board of the Governing Body during the cadencies of 2008 – 2011 and 2014 – 2017. From June 2011 to 2014 Lithuania is acting as a full member. During the 319th session of ILO Governing Body, Lithuania chaired in the EU Coordination meetings while being Eastern European Regional Coordinator for ad hoc issues.
In June, 2014 a meeting between Algimanta Pabedinskienė, Minister of Social Security, and Guy Ryder, the Director-General of the ILO, took place in Geneva. The meeting discussed the issues of undeclared asset, youth employment promotion and ILO reforms. During the meeting with Raymond Torres, Director of the International Labour Office Research Department, A. Pabedinskienė signed an agreement between Ministry of Social Protection, the Institute of Social Politics and ILO Research Department for deeper collaboration in the sector of social protection and labour law.
Lithuanian representatives continue to actively participate in the Committee on Standards during which various trade unions and employers' complaints are discussed. ILO activities are based on the International Labour Office cooperation with regional coordinators: Lithuania is participating in all informal consultations, negotiations between the Governance Council and conferences with a format of regional groups’ coordinators, employers and employees representatives.
The interests of Lithuania are represented by the Ministry of Social Protection and Labour together with the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the UNOG.
World Health Organization (WHO)
World Health Organisation is the coordinating authority for health within the UN system, which is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends. Lithuania became a formal member of the World Health Organisation on 25th of November 1991 and together with other 53 states is a part of the European Regional Office.
On May 25th, 2012, at the World Health Assembly, Lithuania’s representative prof. V.Grabauskas was elected as a member of the WHO Executive Board for a second three-year term (first term: 1999-2002). On May 2013 during the 133th WHO Executive Council Lithuania was elected to represent European region states in the WHO program budget and administration committee.
In May 2014, during the 67th Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA), Mr. Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, former Minister of Health of Lithuania, met with WHO Executive Board and chaired for the Session of Assembly. He also chaired for the plenary meetings of the Session, met with Zsuzsanna Jakab, the director of the WHO European region office, and signed an agreement for health cooperation with Moldova. The 65th WHO European region session of 2015 will be organised in Lithuania.
Lithuanian representatives participate in decision-making and the reform of the WHO, in the selection and election process of the Director General and election process as well as in important issues such as mental health, chronic non-infectious diseases, AIDS and infectious diseases. Together with WHO, Lithuania implements more than 30 continuous projects such as “School for Health Promotion”, “Healthy Cities”, “Healthy Hospitals”, “Countrywide Integrated Non-communicable Diseases (CINDI)”, “Health 2020”, HIV/AIDS Prevention, Suicide and Depression Reduction, Reform of European States Health Safety System, Decisions for Tuberculosis Issues in European States, Prevention of Youth Drugs Use, etc.
The interests of Lithuania are represented by the Ministry of Health together with the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the UNOG:
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) - is a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN), which coordinates the global use of the radio spectrum, promotes international cooperation in relation to the choice of the orbits of satellites, and also contributes to the improvement of communication systems in developing countries.
In December 2013 during the ITU Radio Regulations Board meeting the representative of Lithuania, Dr. Mindaugas Žilinskas, Director of the Radiocommunication Department of the Communications Regulatory Authority was elected as the Vice-chair. In 2009, dr. Mindaugas Žilinskas was elected RRB chairman and in the 2010 Plenipotentiary Conference, elected to the RRB for a second term (2011-2014).
The election of Lithuanian representative to RRB shows internationally highly regarded expert competence in the field of radio communications. Communications Regulatory Authority participates in ITU working groups of experts activities such as performing international protection of radio stations, registering radio stations in the ITU register, harmonizing radio frequencies at the global level, coordinating the activities of radiocommunication services, and in compiling regional tables of radio frequency allocations.