Lithuanian Parliament accepts Law on Equality which includes provision on the age ground

Following lengthy discussions in the Lithuanian Parliament, the Equal Opportunities Law has been accepted by the National Parliament (“Seimas”) of the Republic of Lithuania and it includes now a ban on discrimination on the ground of age.

On 16 June 2008, AGE wrote a letter to express its concern on the part of its Lithuanian members to the Speaker and to the Committee on Human Rights of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania regarding the amendments (XP-2384(6)) made to the Law on Equal Treatment. This proposal made by the Member of Parliament Egidijus Klumbys on 5 June had narrowed the definition of discrimination down to sex, race, nationality, language, origin, social status, religion, convictions or opinion and was clearly discriminatory as this would have deprived the people of Lithuania of legal protection from discrimination on the ground of age as stated in the Council of the European Union Directive 2000/78/EC.

AGE and its Lithuanian members welcome the new Equal Opportunities Law and send their wholehearted congratulations to the Lithuanian Government and to its citizens on this significant step. This will help combat age discrimination and ensure that both younger and older people can enjoy equal opportunities in Lithuania.

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