Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy is visiting Lithuania
On 16 December, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Dr. Mantas Adomėnas met with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, Dr. Ana Brian Nougrères. During the meeting, the Special Rapporteur presented the objectives of her visit, informed which institutions and non-governmental organizations she met with, and expressed her initial observations about Lithuania’s personal data protection system.
The Foreign Vice-Minister emphasized that protecting personal data was crucial for Lithuania. It is constantly improved and updated in light of contemporary realities. Therefore, the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur could instigate further progress. “After years of total surveillance in the Soviet Union, we wished our personal data to be treated properly,” Adomėnas said, recalling that the Personal Data Protection Inspectorate was established in Lithuania in 1997.
The UN Special Rapporteur is paying a working visit to Lithuania on 11-16 December to fulfill her mandate - to identify good practices and areas for improvement and provide constructive and specific recommendations to protect the right to privacy. Based on the information gathered, a report on the right to privacy in Lithuania will be prepared and presented to the UN Human Rights Council.
During her visit to Lithuania, Dr. Ana Brian Nougrères met with representatives of various government institutions, members of the Human Rights and the National Security and Defense Committees of the Seimas (Parliament), and the representatives of non-governmental organizations.
During the meetings, the UN Special Rapporteur emphasized that Lithuania’s data protection system had set a good example. According to her preliminary observations, the measures implemented in our country to ensure the privacy of individuals could be transferred to states in other regions of the world, sharing good Lithuanian practices.
Lithuania issued a standing invitation to all United Nations Special Procedures mandate holders to visit the country in 2001. However, this is only the second time a UN special mandate holder has arrived in Lithuania to prepare a report. Previously, such a visit took place in 2007, when the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, Doudou Diène, visited Lithuania.
Photos: The Chancellery of the Seimas / Ilona Šilenkova
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