HRC50: Statement of Lithuania on the right to education
23 June 2022, 50th session of the Human Rights Council Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to education
We thank the Special Rapporteur for her report. We fully agree with the statement that implementation of the right to education must respond to the needs of all persons. Full participation in digitalization processes of communities, including minorities, should be acknowledged by every state.
We would like to draw your attention to the recent amendments to the Code of Education in Belarus, which will affect the education of children from national minorities, including Lithuanian. Schools of Lithuanian national minority in Belarus, which are supported by grants from Lithuanian Government, are forced to change the language of instructions from Lithuanian to Belarusian or Russian. Even lessons of our language and literature will be eliminated as mandatory subjects.
With these actions Belarus violates the educational and linguistic rights of the Lithuanian minority there. These clear signals of progressing russification also might be the first step towards closure of national minorities’ schools.
It is widely known that children who are taught in their mother tongue can more effectively acquire core skills that are essential for their development and further learning.
Ms. Special Rapporteur,
We ask for your attention to these alarming developments in Belarus. It is our priority to ensure the right to education to every child without any discrimination.
I thank you.
