I am writing to you with reference to the recently adopted the ‘Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effects of Public Information, which will institutionalise homophobia, and violates the right to freedom of expression and the right to be free from discrimination.
I urge you to respect your obligations not to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, and to repeal this law immediately.
Further more, I am extremely concerned by the proposed amendments to the Penal and Administrative codes,which would criminalize almost any public expression or portrayal of, or information about, homosexuality.
I urge you to not endorse any legislation that would criminalize, or otherwise prohibit, the public portrayal, expression or promotion of homosexuality, or any information relating to it, and to ensure that all persons in Lithuania, including children, fully enjoy the right to freedom of expression – including the right to seek, receive and impart information; Additionally, I urge you to provide adequate non-discriminatory information and support to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, including children, and to ensure that human rights defenders working on issues of sexual orientation and gender-identity are able to carry out their work without the threat of criminal prosecution or other legal and administrative obstacles.
Lithuania is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), both of which guarantee the freedom of expression (Articles 19 and 10 respectively). I urge you to uphold your commitments to these, and the commitments undertaken by Lithuania when it signed a joint statement on sexual orientation and gender identity at the UN General Assembly on 18 December 2008.
Sincerely,
International Affair Coordinator
Lambda Warsaw, Poland
