OSCE representatives visit to EFHR headquarters

On March 15 2016 a meeting took place between representatives of the High Commissioner on National Minorities for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) at EFHR’s headquarters.

The meeting was arranged to discuss the current situation of national minorities in Lithuania. The main topics included the state legislative situation in the field of education, the original spelling of names and surnames, the issue of bilingual topographical signs, and incidents of discrimination and hate speech. We also shared information about EFHR’s current court cases and spoke about issues raised.

Previously, EFHR had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the High Commissioner at the EFHR conference “Protection of the rights of national minorities in Lithuania: Five Year Trends” on 23 October 2015. A representative of the OSCE also visited the EFHR headquarters for a meeting to discuss the situation of national minorities in the autumn of 2014. You can learn more about these meetings/events on our website here.

EFHR is extremely pleased and grateful for the sustained contact and co-operation between EFHR and OSCE over the last few years. We truly hope that the observations and insights that we share with OSCE are helpful to the High Commissioner in forming an accurate opinion of the current situation and in making recommendations that can better Lithuania.

EFHR