In a new opinion the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities calls on the Lithuanian authorities to take action to improve the situation for national minorities, including adopting a comprehensive legal framework for the implementation of linguistic rights, promoting minority rights and language use, and addressing the challenges faced by Roma.
According to the opinion, Lithuania's society remains generally tolerant and respectful towards national minorities, including the Polish minority, although long-standing negative attitudes persist towards Roma. Besides, the Russian Federation's war of aggression against Ukraine has worsened perceptions of Russians and Belarusians while fostering more positive attitudes towards Ukrainians.
The Advisory Committee highlights several shortcomings, such as an insufficient legal framework for linguistic rights, particularly concerning the use of minority languages in administrative contexts and public signage. There is also inconsistency in how municipalities handle written minority language requests. The 2022 law on personal names did not fully resolve issues related to name spelling in minority languages.
The opinion has been published together with the comments of the Lithuanian authorities. A summary of the opinion in Lithuanian is also available.
The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and Lithuania
