"The human rights and fundamental freedoms, which have long been universally accepted as assumptions, are far from being taken for granted in the present world. Their assurance has become a difficult challenge," Lithuania's Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Mantas Adomėnas said at the opening of the Forum.
This year, participants of the Forum were also invited to the Foreign Ministry's discussion on experience gained during the first year of Lithuania's membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2022-2024 term. In 2022, Lithuania worked for the first time as a full-fledged member of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Council is made up of 47 member states that contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide. Lithuania has very actively raised the issue of Russia's human rights violations in the context of its war in Ukraine and contributed significantly to the adoption of the Council's resolution on monitoring the human rights situation in Russia and establishing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur.
Lithuania has held the National Human Rights Forum every year since 2018. The Forum is co-organized by the Seimas (Parliament), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office, the Children's Rights Ombudsman Institution, the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, Vytautas Magnus University, the Coalition of Human Rights Organisations, and Lithuanian Disability Forum.
