Lithuania becomes UN Human Rights member for first time

The UN General Assembly has elected Lithuania as the member of the organisation’s Human Rights Council, which has happened for the first time, Lithuanian Foreign Ministry reports.
On Thursday, October 14, in New York, the UN General Assembly elected Lithuania to the Human Rights Council for the 2022-2024 term. 178 UN member states expressed their support to Lithuania. Until now, the country has been an observer state of the UN Human Rights Council and will become a full-fledged member for the first time on January 1, 2022 for a period of three years.
Lithuanian diplomats wrote that Lithuania has been an active member state of the UN for 30 years and has committed itself to the active defence of universal human rights and to the promotion of effective cooperation with countries and civil society around the world.
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«Membership of the UN Human Rights Council opens up new opportunities for Lithuania to participate in the highest level discussions on the protection of human rights, drawing the international community’s attention to the nations, communities and their members that are experiencing repression. I am glad at this membership and affirm Lithuania’s readiness to make a significant contribution and to be a voice for those in great need,» the country’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis evaluated.
The priorities of Lithuania’s membership of the UN Human Rights Council include primarily the protection of the rights of children and people with disabilities, the safety of human rights defenders, human rights in conflict zones, and a timely response to human rights violations. Lithuania will also continue its intensive activities in the sphere of the protection of all human rights of women and girls, the freedom of expression, freedom to peaceful assembly and association, the safety of journalists, and freedom of religion or belief, according to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.
Created by the UN General Assembly in 2006, the UN Human Rights Council is made up of 47 member states. It is an inter-governmental body within the UN system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and makes recommendations on them, Lithuanian diplomats wrote.