LITHUANIA IN AGREEMENT WITH U.S. PRIORITIES FOR

UNCLAS VILNIUS 000555 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: UN PHUM PREL LH SUBJECT: LITHUANIA IN AGREEMENT WITH U.S. PRIORITIES FOR UNGA THIRD COMMITTEE REF: SECSTATE 109397 ¶1. We delivered reftel points on October 26 to Julius Rakitskis, head of the human-rights division of the MFA. He said that while Lithuania would seek a common EU position on many issues the Third Committee will address, he was pleased that the U.S. and EU positions so often coincided. In particular, he cited the need to address human-rights issues in Iran, Burma and North Korea. ¶2. Rakitskis said Lithuania was very happy to hear that the United States would seek to join consensus on the resolution on the rights of the child, as well as that the United States planned to look again at the possibility of pursuing ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. ¶3. Rakitskis said that Lithuania would "strongly support" an expected resolution affirming the equality of persons regardless of their sexual orientation, similar to a resolution introduced by France last year. (Note: Lithuania has been strongly criticized by European officials and NGOs for a recently passed law that will make it more difficult for minors to obtain unbiased information about homosexuality. End note.) DERSE