European Council Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and its Implementation

The Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and its implementation

The Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, adopted in Strasbourg on 1 February 1995, is one of the main and most important international instruments for the protection of the rights and freedoms of persons belonging to national minorities. The Convention sets out the legal rules that each state should follow once it has become a party to and ratified the Convention: respect the rights and freedoms of national minorities, fight against discrimination, ensure the equality of all before the law, protect and develop the essential elements of the identity of national minorities: language, religion, traditions and cultural heritage, guarantee the right of persons belonging to national minorities to education, freedom of expression in the language of their mother tongue, and promote their participation in public life.

Lithuania, one of the first European states to sign the Convention (1 February 1995) and to ratify it without reservations (23 March 2000), has committed itself to respecting and protecting human rights and freedoms, to creating equal conditions for the freedom of expression of citizens of all nationalities, and to ensuring equality of cultures. Reports on the legal and other measures taken by States to implement the provisions of the Convention shall be issued regularly every five years. 

The report is based on an analysis and synthesis of information received from the Ministries of Culture, Social Security and Labour, Education, Science and Sport, Justice, Foreign Affairs, and the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, Department of Public Administration, the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language, the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, the Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics, the Department of Statistics under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, the Migration Department and the Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, the Cultural Heritage Centre, Vilnius City Municipality, Lithuanian Labour Exchange under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania and other institutions. The draft report is being coordinated with the Council of National Communities under the Department of National Minorities.

The fifth report on the implementation of the Council of Europe’s framework convention for the protection of national minorities in the Republic of Lithuania subject to article 25 of the convention
List of Annexes to the Fifth Report on the Implementation of the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in the Republic of Lithuania

The Department of National Minorities has prepared and submitted the interested institutions the fourth report on implementation of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on National Minorities in Lithuania. The document is available HERE.

Fourth Opinion on Lithuania - adopted on 30 May 2018.
Thematic commentary No.4 The scope of application of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities