Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Pre-sessional working group

List of issues in connection with the consideration of the second periodic report of Lithuania (E/C.12/LTU/2), adopted by the fiftieth pre-sessional working group (3-7 December 2012)

I.General information

1.Please provide information on court decisions invoking the provisions of the Covenant.

2.Please provide information on concrete steps taken to establish a National Human Rights Institution in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions (Paris Principles) with a mandate covering economic, social and cultural rights, as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding observations.

II.Issues relating to the general provisions of the Covenant (arts. 1-5)

Article 2, paragraph 2 – Non-discrimination

3.Please provide updated information on cases received by the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman regarding discrimination in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, as well as their outcomes.

4.Please provide information on any tangible results attained through the “Programme of Integration of the Roma into the Lithuanian Society” thus far, with updated disaggregated statistical data on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by Roma, in particular the rights to education, employment, housing and health care. Please also provide information on whether this programme has been extended beyond 2010.

Article 3 – Equal rights of men and women

5.Please provide concrete information on the impact of the National Programme for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men to address prevailing traditional stereotypes regarding economic and social roles of women and men.

III.Issues relating to the specific provisions of the Covenant (arts. 6-15)

Article 6 – The right to work

6.Please provide updated statistical data on employment, disaggregated by full-time/part-time employment, nationality, urban and rural residence, sex, age group and year, as collected during the 2011 census. Please also provide updated statistical data on employment among refugees, stateless persons and persons with disabilities.

7.Please provide information on the impact of various measures and initiatives taken by the State party to combat regional disparities in employment, such as the Local Employment Initiatives, Programme for the Development of the Regions of the Republic of Lithuania, Lithuanian Regional Development Strategy, and the Promotion of Labour Migration Force Inside the Country for 2008 – 2010. Please provide updated information on what further measures are being taken to address any remaining regional gaps in employment.

8.Please provide updated statistics concerning youth unemployment, measures taken to address the root causes of youth unemployment and their impact, and additional measures envisaged to address the issue.

Article 7 – The right to just and favourable conditions of work

9.While noting the information provided in paragraph 339 of the State party’s report that the Tripartite Council is tasked with determining the minimum wage based on financial possibilities and economic and social indicators, please provide further information on whether a system of indexation exists, as requested in the 2004 concluding observations, as well as on the frequency of review and adjustment of the minimum wage to ensure that adequate standards of living are guaranteed for all workers.

10.Please provide updated information on cases recorded during the reporting period where administrative and/or criminal responsibility of employers has been established for failure to provide healthy and safe working conditions.

11.Please provide updated information on the existence of a gender remuneration gap, disaggregated by region and by sector, the impact of measures adopted thus far, such as the National Programme for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, and additional measures envisaged by the State party to eliminate such a gap.

12.Please explain how Roma’s access to the Lithuanian welfare system is guaranteed in view of the difficulties they encounter in registering with the Labour Exchange.

13.Please explain what measures the State party is undertaking to integrate people with disabilities in the labour market under its “National Programme for Social Integration of People with Disabilities for 2007 – 2012”.

Article 8 – Union rights

14.While noting the information provided in the State party’s report that strikes are currently prohibited only for first aid medical services, please clarify other remaining restrictions on the right to strike, particularly in relation to sectors or services deemed to be “vital to the needs of the people” under the Labour Code.

Article 9 – The right to social security

15.Please indicate whether basic pensions are in fact sufficient to ensure an adequate standard of living. Please indicate whether the State party intends to ratify ILO Conventions No.102 (19520 on Minimum Standards of Social Security and No.118 (1962) on the Equality of Treatment of Nationals and Non-Nationals in Social Security.

16.Please provide information on the legal framework guaranteeing the right to social security of refugees and asylum seekers, including persons temporarily residing in the country who have subsidiary protection.

Article 10 – Protection of the family, mothers and children

17.Please provide information regarding the “State Family Policy Concept” and the definition of family in domestic legislation.

18.Please provide statistical information on complaints, prosecutions and convictions of persons involved in trafficking in persons. Please also provide information on the number of shelters available for boys or men who have been victims of trafficking.

19.Please provide information on legal measures taken to ensure that corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings, particularly in the home, penal institutions, and alternative care settings.

20.Please provide information on whether domestic violence, in particular violence against women, is prohibited as a specific crime under domestic legislation. Please provide statistics on domestic violence, including data on complaints, prosecutions and sentences in matters of domestic violence, as well as information on assistance provided to victims.

Article 11 – The right to an adequate standard of living

21.Please provide updated disaggregated and comparative data on the number of people living below the poverty line, especially in rural areas and in relation to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.

22.Please provide updated information on the extent of homelessness and inadequate housing without access to basic infrastructures and services such as water, heating, waste disposal, sanitation, and electricity.

Article 12 - The right to physical and mental health

23.Please provide information on the impact of the National Mental Health Strategy for 2008 - 2010 in reducing suicide rates and what other measures have been adopted since then.

24.Given the high levels of bullying among school-age children indicated in the State party report, please provide information on measures taken to address this issue.

25.Given the high levels of mental health problems indicated in the State Party report, please indicate what measures are being taken to combat them.

26.Please provide updated statistics on abortions, as well as information on measures taken to ensure access to affordable/free basic sexual and reproductive health services, including access to contraceptives, particularly in rural areas. Please also provide information on measures taken to promote awareness of safe contraceptive methods and health risks of using abortion as a method of birth control, as requested in the 2004 concluding observations, and whether the use of contraceptives is included in sexual education curriculum in schools.

Articles 13 and 14 – The right to education

27.Please provide updated statistical data on school dropout rates at various levels of education, disaggregated by sex, region, and urban/rural areas.

28.Please provide information, disaggregated by urban/rural areas, on the number of schools which lack the necessary infrastructure to ensure adequate provision of services, including institutions and educational programmes for minorities.

29.Please provide information on the extent to which the amendments to the Law on Education, which entered into force in September 2011, have impacted the right to teach subjects in national minority languages in primary and secondary schools in comparison with the situation prior to the adoption of the amendments.

Article 15 – Cultural rights

30.Please provide updated information on measures taken to ensure access to cultural life by all individuals and communities, including by national or ethnic minorities, particularly at the community level.

31.Given the reported repeal of the 1989 Law on National Minorities in 2010 and the dismantlement of the Department of National Minorities and Lithuanians Living Abroad, please provide information on legislative and institutional mechanisms to guarantee and to promote the rights of national and ethnic minorities.