In recent years, Lithuania has been taking more and more steps in implementing the protection of human rights in the country, but we still have a long way to go. For example, in 2019, Lithuania was the only country in the European Union, which has not made any progress in a field of equality between women and men, and is only 23rd in the ranking of the EU. In the European LGBTI Rights Index published in the same year, Lithuania ranks 22nd out of 28 European Union countries. It is obvious that in the areas of gender equality and ensuring the rights of LGBTI people, fundamental decisions need to be taken, which cannot bypass the public sector and the representatives of this sector, their education.
The Identification of hate speech and hate crimes is another area of Human Rights in which Lithuania still has unresolved challenges. Although the number of hate speech cases is extremely high, in a year only few hate crimes have been recorded in the country as these types of violations are usually qualified as, for example, violations of public order without assessing the aspect of incitement to hatred. Due to this reason, for the Public Sector it is important to develop the ability to recognize, respond to and be able to assist in situations of hate crime.
As well the impact of digital technologies on changes in the human rights system cannot be forgotten. “With regard to recent developments in the field of Human Rights, the focus is on data protection and personal privacy. We can also highlight the European Commission’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy which was presented in February and pays attention to the relationship between Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, its points of contact and the challenges that might arise. The public sector must also stand against all these issues by ensuring Human Rights in the country,” said Giedre Semyte, Project Manager, Human Rights Voice expert.
These are just a few of the key aspects that will be affected by the newly developed and implemented public sector human rights education model. This Autumn the first “Human Rights and the Public Sector” seminar will be held to improve the Human Rights skills of public sector employees. In 2020 and 2021, more such events, forums and seminars are planned, which will result in the development and implementation of Human Rights Education Model in the public sector.
Human Rights Voice Lithuania (lt. Žmogaus teisių balsas) is a think tank dedicated to educating the public about human rights in Lithuania and the world, conducting research and making recommendations for improving the human rights situation.
