Lithuania Responds to Russia's Accusations at UN Human Rights Council
On 15 March, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Lithuania to the UN Office and other International Organizations in Geneva Ambassador Andrius Krivas, using his right to reply, responded to the intervention by the Russian Federation made during the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council on human rights abuses in certain countries. The Russian delegate, among other things, had accused Lithuania of tolerating nationalism and neo-Nazism.
Ambassador Krivas expressed regrets that the Human Rights Council was used for selective and politicized accusations against certain countries. The Ambassador stressed that Lithuania did not tolerate racism, discrimination, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or other manifestations of hate and was systematically fighting them. According to the Lithuanian Permanent Representative, the eradication of these phenomena is only possible by coordinated efforts of the international community. Therefore, in this regard Lithuania cooperates with relevant international institutions. Lithuanian Permanent Representative suggested that the Russian Federation might take over Lithuania's good practices, because in the Russian Federation itself people often become victims of hatred, and extremist, hate-spreading ideologies and movements are thriving and enjoy political support.
The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system that was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006. The Council is responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights and freedoms, and for addressing situations of human rights violations. The Council also makes recommendations on them.
