YouSaid · the spoken record

Audra Plepytė

lines on the record
10
first
2020-05-27
most recent
2020-05-27
sittings or episodes
1
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “Ending impunity is also essential for protecting civilians. Lithuania is determined to persecute perpetrators of mass atrocities. Our national courts are imposing real sanctions on the perpetrators of war crimes. In conclusion, we must admit that current international efforts to ensure accountability remain insufficient and do not meet the bar set by legally binding international treaties. In that regard, we call on all State and non-State actors to intensify efforts to ensure accountability for violations of international law. We urge the members of the Security Council, the Secretary-General and all the States Members of the United Nations to take determined action to strengthen the protection of civilians and stand up for the norms and laws that are essential for safeguarding civilians in conflict.”

    2020-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/465 (2020) · source

  2. “The Council has a critical role to play in bringing the perpetrators to account by taking a strong and systematic position on ending impunity for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and gross violations of human rights. My delegation reiterates its call to restrain the use of the veto in situations where such crimes are committed. Perpetrators of crimes against civilian populations and those who attack and kill journalists and humanitarian and medical workers must know that there is no escaping justice. National and international justice mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, have an important role to play in that sphere. In that regard, we welcome the international cooperation that led to the arrest and trial of Félicien Kabuga for genocide and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Rwanda in 1994.”

    2020-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/465 (2020) · source

  3. “Lithuania takes the training of peacekeepers extremely seriously. Nearly 300 Lithuanian peacekeepers have received comprehensive predeployment training on their practical and legal commitments with respect to the civilian population on the ground, per United Nations guidelines. The Security Council’s efforts to give practical meaning to the protection agenda would be useless without increased accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. We cannot succeed in protecting civilians when those who commit abuses, crimes and atrocities know they can get away with such crimes.”

    2020-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/465 (2020) · source

  4. “In many ways, it has become the most visible standard by which the performance of United Nations peacekeeping is often judged. Lithuania is a strong supporter of the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping initiative, which includes strengthening the protection provided by peacekeeping operations as one of its priority areas. Predeployment and in-mission training of peacekeepers remains essential. Training in behavioural, social, and attitudinal skills, as well as in other relevant skills and tools such as intelligence and communication, is critical. Those tools, offered by the United Nations or troop- and police-contributing countries, help to ensure that peacekeeping personnel are equipped to interact with vulnerable people and at-risk populations, and that through that interaction they can provide appropriate protection.”

    2020-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/465 (2020) · source

  5. “In April, four Groups of Friends for the Protection of Journalists — at the United Nations in Geneva and New York, UNESCO in Paris and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna — released their first joint statement denouncing attempts by certain States to use the fight against COVID-19 as a pretext for limiting the freedom of expression and persecuting journalists. Let me also underline that Lithuania remains grateful to the Secretary-General for his continuous leadership in the area of the protection of journalists and for his activation of the relevant Focal Points Network within the United Nations system. Allow me to turn now to peacekeeping. Given the increasing complexity of today’s conflicts, the effective implementation of the protection of civilians is as challenging as ever.”

    2020-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/465 (2020) · source

  6. “The Group is working closely with United Nations entities, representatives of media organizations and non-governmental organizations to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including through the appropriate implementation of the resolutions on the protection of journalists and the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, adopted under the auspices of UNESCO. It also seeks to increase international awareness of the severe violations of the human rights of journalists and media workers worldwide.”

    2020-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/465 (2020) · source

  7. “It demonstrates that, despite significant progress in international legal frameworks, the lack of safety for journalists on the ground remains worrisome and requires the attention of the international community. Lithuania co-founded the cross-regional Group of Friends for the Protection of Journalists in 2016, inspired primarily by the goals of resolution 2222 (2015) and in response to the lack of safety for journalists worldwide.”

    2020-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/465 (2020) · source

  8. “The spread of radical extremism and terrorism undeniably adds a highly dangerous dimension to the threats facing journalists and media workers. However, many of the journalists killed in the past decade were local journalists targeted for covering conflict, corruption or gang violence in their own communities. Impunity remains widespread. With more than 1,000 journalists and media workers killed worldwide over the past decade and only one case out of 10 legally prosecuted, the level of impunity for crimes against journalists remains appallingly high. That creates a climate of fear among journalists and has a negative impact on the whole society, as impunity for crimes against journalists is detrimental to the freedom of opinion and expression online and offline, in general.”

    2020-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/465 (2020) · source

  9. “In that context, I would like to mention the three most pertinent aspects related to the protection of civilians for Lithuania: the protection of journalists, peacekeeping and the fight against impunity. Protecting civilians is not possible without protecting journalists during conflict. Today we mark five years since the Council unanimously adopted resolution 2222 (2015), drafted by Lithuania, putting out a call for all Member States to create a safe environment — both in law and in practice — for journalists to carry out their important functions. Attacks against journalists and media workers, like attacks against civilians, constitute crimes against humanity and undermine the ability of the international community to understand and respond effectively to conflicts that threaten international peace and security.”

    2020-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/465 (2020) · source

  10. “Lithuania aligns itself with the statement delivered by the observer of the European Union. The protection of civilians has been systematically addressed in the Security Council for more than 20 years, yet thousands of civilians are still dying as a result of armed conflicts that too often are in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. The international community has indeed taken a number of important steps for the protection of women, children, internally displaced persons, refugees, journalists and media professionals. Nevertheless, we need to keep strengthening the normative framework and its implementation, and continue to examine what more can be done.”

    2020-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/465 (2020) · source