All the fundamental human rights have been established in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania without reservations: in Chapters 2 (”The Individual and the State”), 3, 4 and 13 and the Preamble. All the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania acquire the fundamental rights defined in the constitutional provisions. Upon the introduction of the martial law or state of emergency, individuals may temporarily be subject to restrictions of their rights and freedoms including the inviolability of private life, property and dwelling, freedom of expression, movement, association and assembly. Every citizen can defend his or her rights on the basis of the Constitution. Article 18 of the Constitution states that human rights and freedoms are inherent and inalienable. This means that the state is not a provider of human rights and freedoms; it is held directly responsible for their protection. In 12 March 1991 the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania committed itself to adhere to the principles of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and on the same day, adopted a resolution to accede to the (1966) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the (1996) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Subsequently, the Constitution has been based on the ideas and principles of the above international human rights documents. Moreover, pursuant to Article 138, international agreements ratified by the Seimas have become an integrated part of the legal system of the state.

Today Lithuania is an active participant in many internationally acknowledged human rights organisations. It became a full member of the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation Europe (OSCE) in 1991, and of the Council of Europe in 1993. In 1992 Lithuania, in co-operation with other countries, signed the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities of the United Nations. The national laws and norms with regard to citizenship and the rights of aliens conform to the spirit of this Declaration. The Declaration also influenced the further development of legislation. In 1995 a Law on Religious Communities and Associations was adopted.

In 1995 the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) were ratified. In 1996, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984) was also acceded to.

Lithuania has joined in many international agreements related to human rights, primarily within the framework of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and UNESCO. After a 70-year break, in 1991 Lithuania renewed its membership in the ILO and in 1994 and 1997 ratified more than 20 ILO conventions, most of which directly related to fundamental human rights, for example to Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, the Collective Bargaining Convention, the Equal Remuneration Convention, the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention.

In 1995, the Seimas adopted the UN statement ‘Concerning the Manifestations of Racism, Xenophobia, Anti-Semitism and Intolerance’, by which it assumed an obligation to accede to relevant multilateral agreements.

Lithuania has submitted reports to the United Nations on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) and the Convention on the Rights of the Children (1989).

The accession to the Council of Europe was equally important for Lithuania. When Lithuania became a member of the Council of Europe (CE) in May 1993, it signed the CE Statute. In 1995, Parliament ratified the 1950 European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention) and other Protocols additional to this Convention. In September 1997 the revised European Social Charter was also signed.

Since March 1995 the Council of Europe has been supervising the fulfilment of human rights obligations in Lithuania. In 1997 the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly approved a statement on Lithuania fulfilling its human rights obligations as a member state and in essence positively evaluated efforts to comply with the major principles of the Council in defending human rights.

According to Article 29 of the Lithuanian Constitution all persons are equal before the law, the court and other state institutions or officers. The individual’s rights may not be restricted in any way, and no privileges may be granted on the basis of sex, race, nationality, language, descent, social status, religion, convictions, or opinions.

The Constitution guarantees the fundamental civic and political rights: the right to private property, freedom, inviolability of person and private life, and freedom of expression, the right to profess a religion, to form societies and political organisations, and to participate in public administration.

Much attention is devoted to economic, social and cultural rights. The Constitution guarantees the right to free primary and secondary education, a possibility to freely choose an occupation or business, the right to rest and leisure, health protection, and to social assistance in case of unemployment, illness, widowhood and other cases prescribed by the law. However, not all categories of rights are ensured equal protection and guarantees. Compared to economic rights, more has been achieved in ensuring civic, political and cultural rights. Non-governmental organisations and the media play an exceptional role in promoting and defending the human rights. It is stated in the Constitution that the state, political parties or other institutions or persons may not monopolise the media and that censorship of the media is prohibited.

Provisions of several laws of the Republic of Lithuania are presented below to give a better picture of the legal protection of women’s rights and the equality of their rights with those of men.

The Right to Vote. Article 2 of the Law on Elections to the Seimas, Article 2 of the Law on Elections to Local Government Councils and Article 3 of the Law on Presidential Elections provide for universal suffrage. Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who on the day of the election are 18 years of age have the right to vote. Persons who have been declared incapable by court cannot participate in elections. Any direct or indirect abridgement of the right to vote of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania on the grounds of their descent, political convictions, social or property status, nationality, sex, education, language, religion or convictions is prohibited.

When speaking about prostitution, one should begin with the fact that legislators have not formulated the concept of this phenomenon, therefore, an institution or an officer who deals with prostitution treat it according to their own understanding.

In Lithuania prostitution is treated as an administrative offence which incurs a fine of LTL 300-500, and a person who is punished for these activities repeatedly is fined LTL 500-1000 or is kept under administrative detention for up to 30 days. Judging from the statistical data of recent years, this activity has been spreading rapidly: 58 persons were imposed an administrative punishment for prostitution in 1994, 165 in 1995, 254 in 1996, and 437 in 1997.

There is no criminal liability for prostitution in Lithuania, thus we can only speak about punishable actions closely related to prostitution:

1) directly related to prostitution;
2) indirectly related to prostitution;
3) committed toward prostitutes;
4) predetermined by prostitution.

In the first case, it is crimes stipulated in Article 239 and Part 1 Article 241 of the Criminal Code. Running of dens and procuration are crimes that violate the public order, pose threat to the public security and health. Running a den for depravity means providing premises for sexual relations or for other activities of depravity.

Procreation is a constant bringing together of men and women for sexual relations: persuasion, organising dates, finding partners who agree to enter into sexual relations, providing premises to concrete persons for sexual relations.

Involvement in prostitution means actions that encourage an under-aged girl to engage in prostitution. An under-aged girl can be involved in prostitution by persuasion, promises or coercion. Involvement in prostitution is when the perpetrator helps the under-aged girl to engage in prostitution who has been engaged in this prior to this event.

According to the data of the Ministry of Interior, in Lithuania 16 persons were charged for procuration in 1996, criminal proceedings were instituted on the basis of the fact of procuration in 47 cases in 1997, and in 25 cases during the five months of 1998.

The above provisions of the Criminal Code are in fact “dead” and do not play any role in the fight against prostitution as they are applied on exceptionally rare occasions. In newspapers one can spot advertisements about cool champagne, beautiful women and massage, and in the opinion of experts, it requires enormous efforts to take criminal actions against such “firms”: they have to be monitored continuously, their activities have to be recorded on video tapes, evidence needs to be collected, many people who avoid giving evidence for understandable reasons have to be interviewed. Meanwhile, the final result is rarely noticeable and effective, because the law does not consider these activities to be grievous crimes and thus the punishment is mild.

According to the Ministry of Interior, over 70 firms and about 100 persons provided sex services in Lithuania in 1997. About 2000 women of different age work as prostitutes. This figure does not include those women who are engaged in prostitution only form time to time and for whom it is not the main source of income. It is not only Lithuanian women who are involved in prostitution. There are women from foreign countries as well: Russia, Belarus, the Ukraine and other states. Usually they cross the border illegally by bypassing border check points. A person has to be identified within ten days. This is too short a period for detention centres to receive personal identification documents from other countries (namely, form the CIS) and, thus, 10 days later the woman is obligated to leave Lithuania on her own. Fifty two young women were ordered to leave Lithuania in 1997, and during the last five months of 1998 the same orders were issued to 24 women.

Crimes that have an indirect relation to prostitution are also widespread. They all have one feature in common: they are committed by prostitutes or with their active participation. These crimes are usually personal theft and violations of currency regulations. There is another group of crimes – robbery, theft, overt theft, swindle – that are committed not by prostitutes, but by other persons who are helped by prostitutes to choose victims or to create favourable conditions to perpetrate the crimes. During an anonymous survey, women who regard themselves as professional prostitutes confirmed that all of them have committed or participated in the perpetration of such crimes. The survey also showed that nearly all the prostitutes were threatened or they paid contributions to the criminal world.

Crimes that are usually committed against prostitutes are as follows: personal theft from flats, extortion of personal property, overt theft and robbery, grievous and medium bodily injuries.

Crimes preconditioned by prostitution are also connected with venereal diseases and AIDS. As a rule these diseases are not spread by professional prostitutes because they take precautionary measures. However, the situation may change and we should have legal instruments ready to solve these problems when they arise.

Provisions of the Law on the Health System do not give advantages to any sex, although the law does not contain any special provisions eliminating discrimination of sexes. All persons have equal rights to health care, including, but not limited to, measures provided in family planning centres and state health care institutions.

By guaranteeing women the highest standards of physical and mental health, Article 53 of the Constitution stipulates that citizens of the Republic of Lithuania are entitled to acceptable, accessible and appropriate health care. Article 19 of the Law on Health Care System guarantees free individual health care (supported (free of charge) by local authorities) to pregnant women (Paragraph 2), as well as to mothers until the baby is one year of age (Paragraph 3). Mother and child health care services are accessible to all women. All of them are taken care of by specially trained personnel. Most hospitals joined the “baby friendly hospital” campaign, encouraging breastfeeding and mother and child contact immediately after delivery.

These provisions are being implemented by a number of regulations issued by the Ministry of Health. These regulations enable women to receive medication free of charge and other services by allocating resources for medical treatment from the state, local and social care budgets.

The Government-approved Programme for the Improvement of Nutrition of Babies and Children of up to 3 Years of Age (1995) encourages women to breastfeed and extend the period of breastfeeding. If breastfeeding is not possible, babies receive adapted baby food, that is, food that in its contents and nutritional value is very close to mother’s milk. One of the realistic ways to supply babies and children with locally produced quality food is to develop its production in Lithuania and to import only diet or curative food. Currently the production of Lithuanian baby food is subsidised by the state. The Ministry of Health formed a commission in 1997 to carry out a feasibility study of production of liquid dairy baby food. The findings of the commission will help the Government to adopt a decision that is rational from the point of view of health.

Reproductive health depends on physical and mental state and sexual health. Equality of rights in sexual relations between men and women and in bearing children calls for mutual respect, consent and responsibility. The right to give life depends on whether the couples or persons recognise the right to free and responsible decision on how many children they want to have and when this should happen. Abortions remain a sore issue. Although termination of pregnancy is not considered a family planning method, nevertheless, it is still practised on a broad scale. In recent years the number of abortions has diminished, although it still remains high.

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania has already started the execution of the Mother and Child Health Programme. This programme consists of several major projects:

1. The Programme for the Prevention of Perinatal, Neonatal and Congenital Anomalies was launched in Lithuania in 1993. A three-stage Programme on Prenatal Care is offered to pregnant women, women in delivery and new-born babies.
2. A three-year Programme on Healthy Nutrition.
3. Programme on Prevention of Chronic Diseases.
4. Programme on Immunopreventive Medication.
5. Programme on Mental Health of Children.
6. Programme on Healthy Living.
7. Programme on Prevention of Teeth Caries in Children.
8. Family Planning Programme. This programme is aimed at improving and developing of women’s reproductive health. The programme focuses on family planning among young couples and the training of family planning personnel.

At present, in Lithuania there are only two programmes that are fully financed from the state budget: the Programme for the Prevention of Perinatal, Neonatal and Congenital Anomalies and the Programme on Immunopreventive Medication.

Form the legal point of view, in the sphere of education the discrimination of sexes is abolished. Article 41 of the Constitution provides for a compulsory education of persons under the age of 16. The same article establishes that everyone shall have an equal opportunity to attain higher education to their individual abilities. The implementation of this provision is foreseen in Article 33 of the Law on Science and Studies, that provides for equal opportunities for all members of society to education according to their individual abilities. Article 35 of the same law establishes equality of all sexes in becoming a scholar and participating in various competitions to receive an academic degree.

Article 38 of the Constitution stipulates that marriage shall be entered into upon the free consent of a man and a woman. Such a right is also guaranteed by Article 4 of the Marriage and Family Code which prohibits any direct or indirect abridgement of rights or providing direct or indirect priorities in concluding marriage and in family relations on the basis of descent, social status, sex, education or other circumstances.

The law also guarantees equal rights to freely choose a partner and to enter into marriage on one’s free will and upon mutual consent. The main condition for entering into marriage is the consent of both partners who have become of age as established by the law.

Equal rights and duties when in marriage and upon its dissolution are regulated by Article 21 of the Marriage and Family Code. The property acquired by spouses in marriage is the joint property and can only be used upon mutual consent. Article 19 of the said code has a straightforward statement that in marriage spouses enjoy equal rights.

The dissolution of marriage is possible upon the death of one of the spouses or by a request of one or both of the spouses. According to the Marriage and Family Code, both spouses have equal rights both during marriage and after it is dissolved:

1. To choose or retain the surname before and after marriage (Article 18);
2. To possess and use the joint property (Article 21);
3. To possess and use the property of the spouse if its was improved significantly during marriage (Article 22);
4. To demand the division of property acquired in marriage (Article 23);
5. To demand that the spouse provides material support after the dissolution of marriage (Article 28).

The Code of Marriage and Family stipulates that the spouses decide jointly on the issues of upbringing of children and other family matters (Article 19). Article 64 of the Code establishes that after the dissolution of marriage the spouses have equal rights and duties in bringing up their children. Besides, according to Article 57, parents who have not registered their marriage have the same duties. Chapter 20 of the Code provides for equal child alimony duties during marriage and after its dissolution.

In case of child adoption, according to Article 110 of the Marriage and Family Code, persons who have reached the age of 18 have equal rights regardless of their sex.

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The laws of the Republic of Lithuania contain provisions regarding women’s legal status and the ways of its implementation. The differences between the real and actual situation of women with respect to the protection of rights should be eliminated not only at the initiative of legislators, but also with the active involvement of women.

If central and local government authorities violate women’s rights, a person may lodge a complaint with the Parliamentary Ombudsman in order to protect himself or herself from office abuse or bureaucracy. In cases of violation of equality of rights of men and women, persons may lodge their complaints regarding discrimination or sexual harassment with the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman whose office was opened in 1999.