The Council of Europe has published the updated text of the European Court of Human Rights’ “Practical Guide on Admissibility Criteria“. We have written about the changes implemented on the 1st February 2014 in the Rules of the Court which tightened the conditions for filing a complaint. The updated version of the guide contains amendments…
DetailsIn accordance with the changes in Lithuanian passport law on January 1st 2015 there is a possibility to record one’s nationality in a passport. We have already written about this issue before – here and here. The media have recently been reporting on difficulties related to the procedure of entry itself. Therefore we have decided to…
DetailsOn 13th November 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) issued a preliminary ruling on the case of Vital Pérez v Ayuntamiento de Oviedo (municipality of Oviedo, Spain). The court found that the law of Asturias, which determines a maximum age of 30 years when recruiting for the position of local police officer,…
DetailsFilip Król is an M.A. student of International Relations at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Filip has many interests, particularly issues related to national minorities in Eastern Europe. Filip’s dream is to find the factors influencing the perception of cultural diversity in societies of Eastern Europe. As an idealist, he believes that all tensions between societies are an…
DetailsWhen celebrating Global Elections Day on the 5th of February, the Committee On State Administration And Local Authorities (Seimo Valstybės valdymo ir savivaldybių komitetas) and the Central Electoral Commission (CEC, Vyriausioji rinkimų komisija) organized a conference entitled “Electoral geography: from the analysis of voting behaviour to planning the next elections.” During the conference, the participants could…
DetailsIn recent years, Poland has introduced many changes in legislation concerning the spelling of names and surnames and also in the rules for changing them. It seems that Poland may be a good example of how to adjust the national law when it comes to delicate issues like names and surnames by taking into consideration the needs of…
DetailsOn January 29, EFHR was searching the internet and found a page, “People’s Republic of Vilnius – Виленская Народная Республика”, created on a social networking site, Facebook. Its description contained the phrase: “We demand to bring in Polish “green people” to Vilnius and carry out a referendum among the indigenous people there.” EFHR believes that such…
DetailsThe sixth meeting of the Polish Discussion Club (Polski Klub Dyskusyjny) took place at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University on January 15th. During the meeting there was a debate between Vilnius mayoral candidates. The upcoming elections are crucial as this will mark the first time that voters will directly choose the…
DetailsThe Third Opinion of the Advisory Committee of the Council of Europe on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) in Lithuania was adopted on 28 November 2013 and published on the website of the Council of Europe on 10 October 2014. The document, which was not disclosed to the…
DetailsThe European Foundation of Human Rights is looking for new employees for the positions of: Administrator Project Coordinator The offer is addressed to people interested in human rights and the rights of national minorities. We are looking for an ambitious person who wants to learn and develop, and who has some computer skills. Legal and accountancy…
DetailsOnce again, the year 2014 turned out to be very productive with a lot of trainings organized by European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR). Their topic concerned broadly defined both human and civil rights and liberties. EFHR realizes how serious and important the issue of human rights is and how little society knows about it…
DetailsThis year marks the end of the innovative project “Europeans, Poles, Citizens”, carried out by The European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR). The selection of the winners of the examination in civics as part of the project took place on the 20th of December during a solemn gala at the hotel “Runmins”. More information about the project…
DetailsThe Lithuanian Ministry of Culture has announced a call for projects aimed at promoting the cultures of national minorities. Legal entities working in a cultural field in Lithuania could receive partial financial support (up to 80%) for projects which are signed between 15th November and 15th December 2014. This year financial grants will be allocated…
DetailsThe Citizenship Act has recently been discussed publicly at great length, especially due to amendments on its content which were introduced by the President of Lithuania. However, from the point of view of many experts, the currently proposed amendments might be inconsistent with provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and with the…
DetailsOn 18 November 2014, the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania held a press conference on ‘The erroneous interpretation of the Constitutional Act on the State Language’, in which the European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR) asked some fundamental questions. Back in July this year, the EFHR presented the opinion on the draft law, indicating…
DetailsOn 20th November people all over the world celebrate Universal Children’s Day. Today marks the 55th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Rights of the Child and the 25th anniversary of the enacting of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Therefore, the European Foundation of Human Rights wants to draw attention to…
DetailsThe European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR) wishes to express its concerns regarding the growing success of extreme right nationalist parties in recent parliamentary elections across Europe. Our foundation strongly believes that these tendencies must be stopped and actions must be taken in order to prevent the repeat of historical events like the terrible persecution of…
DetailsOn 10th November the Strategic Planning Committee of the Government of Lithuania discussed the idea of creating a Department of National Minorities. They have decided that this government department will begin working from July 2015. The European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR) supports this idea, especially as it is compatible with what the Council of Europe has already suggested. The Council criticized Lithuania for…
DetailsThe European Foundation of Human Rights is a public non-profit organization based in Vilnius. It was founded in 2010 as a reaction to an increase in the number of violations of human rights and the rights of national minority groups in Lithuania. The main aim of our actions is the promotion of the activities of citizens and…
Details“On-Arrival Training” was organized in Bebrusu Dvaras between 15-18 October 2014 for new participants of the European Voluntary Service in Lithuania. Some 20 people from 7 countries took part in the training session, among them two volunteers from the European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR). The European Voluntary Service (EVS) is an international volunteer programme funded by the European…
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