European Foundation of Human Rights

Foundation mission

The activity of the EFHR focuses mainly on protecting and promoting the rights of ethnic minorities living in Lithuania, particularly the Polish minority which numbers at 6.6% of the total population. From the very beginning, the EFHR has struggled against laws forbidding the Lithuanian Poles using the original Polish spelling of their names in passports and other official documents, or of putting up Polish-language street signs. The Foundation also takes measures to prevent all forms of discrimination with special regard to the employment discrimination.
The European Foundation of Human Rights was established during the growing legal uncertainty around the situation of ethnic minorities in Lithuania. As of 1 January 2010, the Law on National Minorities from 1989, which previously regulated minority rights, is no longer in force and no law has been adopted to fill the legal vacuum. However, Lithuania in 2010 ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities with no reservations. Attempts undertaken by the Lithuanian parliament to enact the relevant provisions have not yielded results. On the other hand, the controversial amendments to the Law on Education were adopted on March 17, 2011. According to Polish organizations operating in Lithuania new law restricts the right of minorities to receive education in their native language. These events were the impetus for the creation of the EFHR.
The Foundation provides free legal advice to all those who have become victims of discrimination, intolerance, or believe that their human rights were violated. Most attention is given to cases concerning the original spelling of names and surnames and discriminatory job offers. It also runs educational workshops and training in the field of human rights, specifically targeting high school students with Polish language of instruction. The EFHR also monitors media and the Internet in search of statements and comments inciting hatred and complaints to the law enforcement agencies.
As a result of the efforts of the European Foundation of Human Rights, one of the world’s biggest organization for democracy, Freedom House, has changed its report Freedom in the World 2013. In the section on Lithuania the statement "The rights of ethnic minorities,(...), are legally protected" was removed. Instead of that, Freedom House underlined that discrimination against ethnic minorities remains a problem in Lithuania.