Governments continue weakening democracy in 2022, EU-wide annual rule of law report by 45 civil liberties groups finds

February 28, 2023

Berlin-Brussels-Vilnius

Most EU countries made little effort to resolve documented rule of law issues, allowed existing shortcomings to go unaddressed, or even made things worse in all areas assessed, ‘Liberties Rule of Law Report 2023’ finds. Exceeding the scope of the European Commission’s annual rule of law audit, Liberties’ (a watchdog CSO that safeguards the human rights of everyone in the European Union) report lays out the most striking developments concerning justice, corruption, media freedom, checks and balances, civic space and systemic human rights issues in 2022 as compiled by 45 human rights organizations in 18 countries across the EU. The Report is the most in-depth ‘shadow report’ exercise to date on the rule of law by an independent civil liberties network in the EU.

In Lithuania the Human Rights Monitoring Institute emphasizes violation of Lithuania’s obligations under international refugee law: continued pushback policy and practices at the Lithuania-Belarus border, remaining legal possibility of mass de facto detention of irregular migrants and asylum seekers, denial-oriented asylum policy, and the government’s push for enshrining pushbacks into national law as the most concerning human rights’ issues.

“Unfortunately, in managing the migration crisis, Lithuania missed the opportunity to show the European Union member states that national security and respect for human rights are compatible and can coexist. The government chose a strategy of deterrence towards foreigners arriving irregularly from Belarus, did not always provide assistance to persons in vulnerable situations at the border, performed en masse detention of people who entered Lithuania, and did not ensure adequate living conditions and respect for human dignity of these persons.” – said Martynas Jockus, a project manager at the Human Rights Monitoring Institute.

Key findings from Lithuania

  • Migrant pushbacks, taking place at the Lithuanian border with Belarus, violate international obligations, which Lithuania signed to when ratifying the Refugee Convention;
  • Remaining legal possibility of mass de facto detention of irregular migrants and asylum seekers without providing for judicial review of such detention;
  • Denial-oriented asylum policy raises doubts as to the fairness of the overall asylum procedures;
  • The government’s effort to enshrine its pushback policy into law causes concern as such a law would contradict international law.
  • In the area of media freedom and freedom of expression, there are instances when journalists’ access to documents of public interest is restricted on the basis of data protection.

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