Naujienos

Gegužės 31 d. Ženevoje vykstančios Jungtinių Tautų Žmogaus teisių tarybos 23-osios sesijos metu, Lietuvos Nuolatinis atstovas prie JT biuro ir kitų tarptautinių organizacijų ambasadorius Rytis Paulauskas interaktyviame dialoge su JT specialiuoju pranešėju Maina Kiai pasisakė susirinkimų ir asociacijos laisvės klausimu bei išreiškė palaikymą spec. pranešėjo veiklai. Pateikiame pilną pasisakymo tekstą.  

Jungtinių Tautų Žmogaus teisių tarybos 22-oji sesija vyks iki birželio 14 d. 

Statement by Permanent Representative of Lithuania

H.E. Ambassador Rytis Paulauskas

 23^rd Session of the Human Rights Council

Geneva, 30 May, 2013

ID with the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association

Thank you, Mr President,

Lithuania welcomes Special Rapporteur Mr. Maina Kiai and would like to express its appreciation for his second report to this Council. It was a great honor and duty for my country jointly with the Czech Republic, Indonesia, the Maldives, Mexico, Nigeria and the United States to present the resolution on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association at the 15th session of the Human Rights Council, by which the mandate of the Special Rapporteur was established.

As true foundations of democracy, the right to assemble and the right to freedom of association are guaranteed by major human rights treaties, national constitutions and laws. Protection of these rights is crucial for creating a tolerant society in which groups with different beliefs, practices, or policies can exist peacefully together.

We appreciate the efforts of the Special Rapporteur to address the issues of funding of associations and holding of peaceful assemblies in the current report. As outlined in the report, over the past years civil society actors have been facing increased control and undue restrictions in relation to the funding they received or are seeking to receive and these measures often aim at silencing the voices of dissent and critics. We fully share the Special Rapporteur’s views that States have the obligation to facilitate, not restrict, access for associations to funding, including from foreign sources, which would allow them to effectively take part in the democratic process and contribute to development. While recognizing the challenges which the civil society sector faces in practice, we would like to ask the Special Rapporteur to elaborate further on the implementation of the State’s obligation to facilitate access for civil society actors to funding, also on the role of the civil society itself in this process.

Overall, Lithuania strongly supports excellent work of the Special Rapporteur and urges the international community to continue highlighting the significant human rights concerns about the violation of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

Thank you