Lithuanian president calls on UN HRC's greater decisiveness

  • 2022-02-28
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Monday urged international organizations, including the UN Human Rights Council, to be more decisive in the wake of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

"We cannot silently watch how human rights become hostage to military intervention. International organizations – and the Human Rights Council in particular – must step up their efforts. We must be resolute and quick, for such military conflict disrupts and destroys countless innocent lives," the Lithuanian president said in his address to the UN HRC on Monday.

In his words, it is critical, therefore, to closely follow the central tenet of the Human Rights Council, stating that "no one should be left behind, and no human right ignored".

The Lithuanian president underlined in his speech that the Russian-Belarusian attack was not provoked.

"This combined action of the Russian and Belarusian authorities and their military forces is a despicable crime against humanity. Its effects on the global human rights situation will be felt for decades. It is the most horrific event in our recent history," the president said.