Lithuania has been actively engaged in the UN activities for almost 30 years. During the conference, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius, the Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the United Nations, Ambassador Audra Plepytė, and the Permanent Representative of Lithuania, Ambassador Andrius Krivas discussed Lithuania’s engagement in the organisation's activities. Our voice, although Lithuania is a small country, is heard in solving global challenges.
“The United Nations provides a space for Lithuania to protect its interests, i.e., to strengthen the rules-based international system, the principles of the rule of law, accountability, disarmament, and human rights. Lithuanian soldiers actively participate in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) Cyprus. However, the Lithuanian society is not aware enough about this organisation or about Lithuania’s engagement in its activities,” said the Foreign Minister.
The Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Commemoration of the United Nations 75th Anniversary Fabrizio Hochschild-Drummond, representatives from the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, the Ministry of National Defence, and youth organisations also spoke at the conference.
The conference was attended by representatives from all the UN agencies working in Lithuania – the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organisation for Migration, the World Health Organisation, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). They discussed how the agencies were addressing various issues of great importance for the international community, including the refugee protection, migration, ensuring children’s rights, and combating pandemics.
Lithuania's Foreign Minister was glad that Lithuanian students were actively participating in the drawing contest “The United Nations I Need” organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The participants of the contest creatively looked at important current global issues. Linkevičius congratulated the winner Toma Aleksandrovaitė, whose drawing reflects the link between the climate change and cities.
The UN – the largest international organisation – was established on 24 October 1945 in San Francisco, the U.S.A.
