In 2023, 40 police officers participated in a training organized by the Lithuanian Disability Forum on the topic of "Hate crimes and violence against people with disabilities: causes of vulnerability, recognition and help options".
In 2023, 25 judges participated in a training covering the following: the concept and recognition of hate crimes; distinguishing between hate speech and hate crime; court practice in dealing with hate crimes; the practice of the European Court of Human Rights and national courts; peculiarities of the criminal process of hate crime cases; the impact of hate crimes and hate speech on victims and vulnerable communities; the needs of hate crime victims; and communicating with hate crime victims.
In 2023, the Action Plan for the Implementation of Equal Opportunities, 2024-2026, was approved by order of the Minister of Social Security and Labor of the Republic of Lithuania. The purpose of the plan is as follows:
• to develop respect for people;
• to ensure the implementation of the provisions of legal acts establishing the principles of non-discrimination and equal opportunities;
• to increase public legal awareness and understanding regarding gender, race, nationality, citizenship, language, origin, social status, faith, religion or beliefs, views, age, sexual orientation, disability, state of health, ethnicity and other grounds of discrimination;
• to inform the public about measures to promote equal opportunities and non-discrimination; and
• to strengthen inter-institutional co-operation in the field of equal opportunities.
The Action Plan also includes measures to prevent hate speech and hate crimes.
In 2023, methodological recommendations on the pre-trial investigation of hate crime and hate speech were approved by the Prosecutor General following amendments. The recommendations were drafted with the assistance of ODIHR experts, and include the OSCE's hate crime definition, a list of bias indicators, and main provisions on hate crime recording. The recommendations are based on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
This category only includes hate crimes committed with a bias based on sexual orientation.
This category includes hate crimes based on convictions or views (4), and based on social status (1).
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published relevant recommendations in its "European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) ‒ Final report on Lithuania adopted on 2 July 2024 by ECRI at its 95th plenary meeting (2-5 July 2024)".
ODIHR recognizes Lithuania's efforts to enhance the capacity of prosecutors to investigate and prosecute hate crimes. However, based on the available information, it observes the low numbers of officially recorded hate crimes. In addition, Lithuania would benefit from further building the capacity of prosecutors and judges to address hate crime.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decisions 9/09 and 12/04, OSCE participating States committed to collect reliable data and statistics, take appropriate measures to encourage victims to report hate crimes – including through co-operation with civil society – and to make use of all reliable information available. To that end, a robust system for recording hate crime and initiatives to encourage victims to report such crimes must be introduced. Participating States have also committed to introducing or further developing professional training and capacity-building activities for law enforcement, prosecution, and judicial officials dealing with hate crimes.
ODIHR stands ready to support Lithuania in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as by providing further tailored capacity-building assistance for the prosecution, and judiciary.
🛈 Please note that the total number of incidents may be lower than the sum of incidents presented in the breakdown chart above, as some incidents involve multiple bias motivations.
🛈 ODIHR no longer presents descriptions of property attacks in the incident tables below. Data on property attacks are presented in the breakdown charts above. One property attack may target multiple properties or involve multiple types of attack.