Lithuania Participates in Human Rights Council Session
Last week, the Delegation of Lithuania continued active participation in the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
On 12 March, the Permanent Representative of Lithuania took the floor in the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur and Fact-Finding Mission for Myanmar. In his intervention he expressed support to their international mandates as well as concern about the continuing violence and crimes against humanity in the Rakhine State targeting the Rohingya minority. Lithuania called on Myanmar to cooperate with the international mechanisms and to grant them unrestricted access.
On 13 March, the Permanent Representative made a statement in the interactive dialogue with the UN Commission of Investigation for the Syrian Arab Republic. He expressed support to the Commission as well as to the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism, condemned military attacks by the Syrian Government forces and their ally Russia against civilians in Eastern Goutha and Idlib, and called for referring the situation to the International Criminal Court.
He spoke the same day in the HRC interactive dialogue with the UN Commission of Investigation for Burundi. He expressed support to the Commission’s mandate and called on Burundi to cooperate with it. He further expressed concern about the efforts of the Burundian authorities, through the change of Constitution, to upset the interethnic political balance established by the Arusha accords. He gave a negative assessment to Burundi’s withdrawal from the ICC Rome Statute.
The UN Human Rights Council was established in 2006. It consists of 47 elected members from among UN Member States. Each membership mandate lasts for three years. Currently Lithuania participates in the work of the HRC as an observer.
