Coordination at national level

• Author: Sabatauskait?, Birut?
• Pages: 120-121

120

9 COORDINATION AT NATIONAL L EVEL

In May 2017 an Action Plan for the Promotion of Non-discrimination 2017-2019 was

adopted by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour.351 It replac ed the previous version

of the Action Plan fo r the Promotion o f Non-discrimination for 2015-2020, which was

approved by the Government, but which was formally discontinued at the end of 2016.352

The cancellation of non-discrimination programmes prior to their d ates of implementation

is not an unusual practice and has happened in the past. This time, however, the action

plan was taken from Government l evel to the level of the Ministry of Social Security and

Labour. Moreover, previous plans would be allocated a certain budget (or planned

budget), while the cu rrent plan envisages the implementation of all the measu res

outlined using the regular resour ces of the institutions involved and potential EU

structural funding.

However, the acti on plan has been largely criti cised by non -governmental organisat ions,

international institutions and different groups affected by discrimination. Its shortcomings

have even been recognised by representatives of the coordinating Ministry of Social

Affairs and Labour, which described it as more or less a plan made u p of activities that

are usually carried out by institutions, but without any strategic approach.353

The Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, who has a significant role in the plan, express ed

doubt about its efficiency, given that no additional funding was allocated for its a ctivities

in the framework of the plan in 2017.354 However, underfunding has b een a fairly regula r

practice in the past. The previous action plan in 2016 was given only 35 % of its ori ginal

budget, according to rough estimates. The p revious version of the plan, the Inter-

institutional Action Plan for the Pr omotion of Non-discrimination 2012-2014,355 was not

implemented in full – in 2014 it rec eived EUR 51 627 (or 44.3 % of the initially planned

funding), and in 2013 it received 59 % of its initial budget, which was, however, an

improvement on the position in 2012, when the figure was only 35 %. In this respect,

2015 was an ex ception (97 % of the funding was actually allocated), although the total

budget for anti-discrimination measures that year wa s only EUR 192 000.

The Ministry of Social Security and Labour is the coordinating institution, while the Equal

Opportunities Ombudsperson, the Department of National Minorities under the

Government and the Department of A ffairs of the Disabled under the Ministry of Social

Security and Labour a re the main institutions involved in the implementation of the plan.

The current version of the Action Plan for the Promotion of Non-discrimination 2017-2020

sets out improvements to legislation, awarenes s raising and education, research and the

strengthening of inter-institutional cooperation as key areas of activity.

The Equal Opportunities Ombudsp erson implements many of the activities set out in the

plan. They include meas ures such as amending legislation, awaren ess raising a nd

education, research, th e strengthening of inter-institutional cooperation and non-

discrimination in the labour market as key areas of activity.

351 Order of the Minister of Social Security and Labour on the adoption of the Action Plan fo r the Promotion of

Non-discrimination 2017-2019, 15 May 2017, available at: https://www.e-

tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/fa5d2b103a3f1 1e7b66ae890e1368363/UBCsaHNOQ f.

352 Decision of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublikos 2015 m. sausio 28 d.

nutarimas Nr. 46 Dl Nediskriminavimo skatinimo tarpinstitucinio veiklos plano patvirtinimo), availab le in

Lithuanian at: https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/fa5d2b103a 3f11e7b66ae890e1368363/UBCsaHNOQf.

353 ‘Equal Opportunities in the Labour Market: Overview of the Situation’ (2019), available in Lithuanian at:

https://lygybe.lt/data/public/uploads/201 9/12/lg-situacijos-apzvalga_sgm-2019.pdf.

354 Lithuanian Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson (2017), Annual Report for 2017, available in Lithuanian at:

https://www.lygybe.lt/lt/veikla/metines-ataskaitos/4 05.

355 Decision of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybs nutarimas

‘Nediskriminavimo skatinimo 2012–2014 met tarpinstitucinio veiklo s plano patvirtinimo’, 2011-11-02)

Valstybs žinios, 10 November 2011, No. 134-6362, available in Lithuanian at:

http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter3/dokpaieska.showdoc_p?p_i d=410523.