European Foundation of Human Rights

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European Foundation of Human Rights
founding 2010
Art Non-governmental organization
legal form Viešoji įstaiga
Seat Vilnius - Naujininkai
Field of activity Human rights
main emphasis Minority protection
Website http://www.efhr.eu

The European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR) ( lt. Europos žmogaus teisių fondas , pl. Europejska Fundacja Praw człowieka , rus. Европейский Фонд Прав Человека , dt. European Foundation for Human Rights ) is a Lithuanian non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Vilnius , which works for the enforcement and protection of human rights , in particular the rights of ethnic minorities in Lithuania.

Background and history

After independence from the USSR in 1990, the Republic of Lithuania strove for rapid integration into the community of free-democratic states in Europe, as well as membership in the European Union (EU). For both, progress was necessary, including in the area of ​​human rights, which was also recorded between 1990 and 2004. Since Lithuania joined the EU as part of Part I of the eastward expansion in 2004, human rights organizations have pointed out on various occasions that there has been an increase in disregard for human and, in particular, minority rights, both by the state and by the private sector.

After the expiry of the Lithuanian Law on Ethnic Minorities of 1989 on January 1, 2010, which granted the national minorities in Lithuania specific rights and protection, only the generally formulated principles in the Lithuanian constitution remained. This situation continues to this day (as of August 2015), although Lithuania also ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 2010 . The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance of the Council of Europe criticized the existence of a legal vacuum in the Lithuanian legal system. Against this background, the European Foundation of Human Rights was founded in 2010 by members of the Polish minority , which makes up around 6.6% of the total population in Lithuania.

Goals and Activities

The EFHR sees itself as a human rights organization that focuses on the protection and promotion of the rights of ethnic minorities in Lithuania, especially the Polish minority. It is active in different ways:

Information and education in the field of human rights

On the one hand, the EFHR gathers information about human rights violations in Lithuania as well as current political and legal developments in the field of human and minority rights and communicates it via its website, leaflets and other publications. Those affected by human rights violations and discrimination are offered information on how they can legally defend themselves against it. Every two years a report on the current situation of minority rights in Lithuania with recommendations for legislation and public administration is published.

In addition, the organization is involved in human rights education , for which it offers free workshops on the subject of human rights, which are led by experts such as scientists or experienced lawyers. In cooperation with secondary schools, she organizes teaching units on human rights and topics such as discrimination or the work of NGOs. In order to equally reach people outside of the larger cities, some of whom do not have access to the Internet, the EFHR is also organizing corresponding events in the Lithuanian hinterland. There is also regular cooperation with other NGOs, E.g. with activists from Amnesty International as part of the European Action Week against Racism in 2015 at Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius.

Monitoring of media and internet

Furthermore, the organization takes action against racist or discriminatory speech (so-called hate speech ) in the media, especially in comments on internet portals. Relevant internet portals and news sites are actively examined for relevant content, third-party references to such content are collected and incidents are reported.

Free legal advice and representation

In addition, free legal advice and, if necessary, legal representation in court and other institutions are a field of activity. The organization employs its own lawyers for this purpose, but also cooperates with external law firms. The subjects of the consultations are all forms of discrimination, but also support with administrative processes such as B. Name changes towards the non- liturgical spelling of family names. The organization advises or arranges advice for both natural persons and companies.

successes

In the course of the EFHR campaign against hate speech on the Internet, over 450 incidents have been reported since 2010, which in more than 40 cases led to criminal convictions of the authors. The number of relevant comments on Lithuanian Internet portals, which has increased since 2006, has meanwhile declined again, which is also associated with the campaign.

During the same period, the organization reported more than 30 vacancies to the Equal Treatment Officer of the Republic of Lithuania, which it believed indicated unlawful, discriminatory recruitment criteria. In 14 cases this suspicion was considered well-founded, the advertisements were declared illegal and their authors were officially warned.

In 2014, the US changed NGO Freedom House on intervention EFHR in its annual report 2013, the information published on Lithuania to the effect that the phrase "The Rights of ethnic minorities, (...), are legally protected" ( " The rights ethnic minorities, (...), are legally protected ") and instead it was established that discrimination against ethnic minorities is still a problem in Lithuania.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.lietuva.lt/de/ber_litauen/geschichte , accessed on August 6, 2015
  2. ↑ European Foundation of Human Rights: Report - Observance of human rights in Lithuania for years 2012-2013 - The rights of national minorities in Lithuania , page 4 ( online , accessed August 6, 2015)
  3. ↑ Human Rights Monitoring Institute: Human Rights in Lithuania 2007-2008 - Overview , page 6 ( online , accessed August 5, 2015)
  4. ↑ European Foundation of Human Rights: Report - Observance of human rights in Lithuania for years 2012–2013 - The rights of national minorities in Lithuania , page 4 ( online , accessed August 5, 2015)
  5. ↑ Amnesty International: Annual Report 2008 - The State of the World's Human Rights , pp. 195 f. ( online , accessed August 5, 2015)
  6. ^ Law on Ethnic Minorities , accessed August 5, 2015
  7. ↑ European Commission against Racism and Intolerance: Report on Lithuania , Council of Europe, September 13, 2011, page 14 ( online , accessed August 5, 2015)
  8. ↑ Lithuanian Census 2011 ( Memento of the original from January 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 5, 2015  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / db1.stat.gov.lt
  9. ↑ European Foundation of Human Rights: EFHR's lectures in schools , accessed on August 6, 2015
  10. ↑ courier Wilński: Warsztaty na temat praw człowieka w szkołach polskich , accessed on August 6, 2015
  11. ^ Mykolas Romeris University: Announcement of March 18th, 2015
  12. ↑ European Foundation of Human Rights: EFHR encourages law enforcement bodies to change their attitude towards crimes committed on the Internet , accessed on August 5, 2015
  13. ↑ European Foundation of Human Rights: When personal opinion becomes public: EFHR fight against discrimination in the virtual space , accessed on August 5, 2015
  14. ↑ European Foundation of Human Rights: Visible effects of the campaign led by EFHR against offensive comments in the cyberspace , accessed on August 5, 2015
  15. ^ European Foundation of Human Rights: Discrimination in advertised vacancies , accessed August 6, 2015
  16. ^ Freedom House: Freedom in the World 2013 - Lithuania , accessed August 5, 2015