Racism in Lithuania appears mainly in the form of negative attitudes and actions towards people who are not considered ethnically Lithuanian, mainly started and spread throughout themely dangerous. Especially if the foreigner is of different race. According to the data provided by the Centre for Ethnic Studies,

Roma people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

Chechens The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "Eu ...

, refugees and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

are regarded with disfavour most of all in Lithuania.Responding to racism in Lithuania
(European Network Against Racism, pdf) Anti-Polish sentiments are also very strong in Lithuania. However, recent research showed that Lithuanians themselves claim to be tolerant. The problem of racism is still not widely admitted, although the Government itself has put some effort to reduce

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

in Lithuania. Since the mid-2000s the Law on Equal Opportunities forbids any direct or indirect discrimination on the basis of racial or ethnic origin, gender, religion, nationality or belonging to any other group. Lithuania is a member of the following international instruments aimed to combat racism:

Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime, concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems is an additional protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime. This ad ...

(since 2007),

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) is a multilateral treaty of the Council of Europe aimed at protecting the rights of minorities. It came into effect in 1998 and by 2009 it had been ratified by 39 member ...

(since 2000) and

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third -generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discri ...

(since 1998; individual complaints against Lithuania aren't allowed). The approximate number of xenophobic acts is not known in Lithuania, but the level of racism varies depending on the region. According to the journalist I. Larionovaitė,

Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...

should be considered the most racist town in Lithuania,Rasizmas Lietuvoje – su valdžios palaiminimu
/ref> since it is the only city which is not a signatory of a program for refugees, accepted by the Government. There was one incident where an individual was hurt because of his ethnic background. In 2007 a refugee from

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

Gulaid Abdiaziz Salah legally living in Klaipeda was beaten after he had spoken up about the racism in Lithuania to the

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

References

External links

CERD concluding observations on LithuaniaReport of the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance on his visit to Lithuania
2008
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance — reports on Lithuania
* ENAR reports on Lithuania
20052006200720082009/102010/112011/122012/132013/14
{{Europe topic, Racism in Lithuania

See also

References

External links