Lithuania Speaks at UN Human Rights Council
Lithuania took the floor at the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council in the Interactive Dialogue with the Commissions of Inquiry (CoI) on Syria on 18 September and on Burundi on 19 September 2017 in Geneva.
Lithuania expressed strong support to the mandate of the CoI on Syria and called on the Government of Syria to grant it unimpeded access to places and interlocutors. Lithuania further condemned the use of chemical weapons, human shields and attacks against critical civilian infrastructure and insisted that perpetrators of human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity be brought to justice.
On Burundi, Lithuania condemned the ongoing gross violations of human rights by all parties in the internal conflict and called on the Burundi Government to fully cooperate with the CoI and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In response to Lithuania’s question about how to support Burundian civil society, the Chairman of the CoI urged the international community to exert pressure on the Government of Burundi to open up political space for freedoms of expression, association and demonstration.
