Republic of Lithuania

Covers the period from April 2001 to March 2004.

Population: 3.5 million (0.8 million under 18)
Government armed forces: 12,700
Compulsory recruitment age: 19
Voluntary recruitment age: 18
Voting age: 18
Optional Protocol: ratified 20 February 2003
Other treaties ratified (see glossary): CRC, GC AP I and II, ICC, ILO 138, ILO 182

There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces.

Context

There were continuing concerns about ill-treatment of people in police detention. In 2003 the UN Committee against Torture stated that in some instances such ill-treatment may have amounted to torture. It recommended measures to ensure the basic rights of detainees. The committee also urged Lithuania to undertake investigations into reports of brutality against army conscripts.1 On 29 March 2004 Lithuania became a member of NATO.2 Lithuanian troops participated in a number of international operations, including the NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and the Kosovo Force (KFOR), NATO-led and US-led operations in Afghanistan, and US-led operations in Iraq.3

Government

National recruitment legislation and practice

Under the constitution, defence of the state "shall be the right and duty of each citizen. Citizens must perform military or alternative national defence service in accordance with the procedure established by law" (Article 139).4 The Law on the Organization of the National Defence System and Military Service of 1999 and the Law on National Conscription, as amended in 2002, provide the legal basis for conscription.

At the age of 16 boys must register for the draft. Between the ages of 19 and 26 they are liable for conscription. They can volunteer to join the armed forces when they are 18. Military service is for 12 months.5 Exemptions are allowed, and only about 20 per cent of those eligible for conscription are enrolled. Alternative military service of 18 months is available. Women are not eligible for conscription but can serve in the military on a voluntary basis.6

At the time of its ratification of the Optional Protocol in February 2003 Lithuania declared that under national law "citizens ... under the age of 18 years may not serve in the national armed forces".7

Military training and education

There are no specialist secondary schools for the military education of under-18s. One school, supported by the Riflemen's Union (Šaulių sąjunga) provides volunteer pupils between the ages of 15 and 18 with programs in rifle training, military history and fitness for two hours a week and at summer camp. At the age of 18, school students can apply to attend the National Military Academy.8

Under the Law on the Basics of National Security, as amended, the Riflemen's Union is a "voluntary paramilitary organization, functioning in compliance with its own statutes. It shall be a civilian self-defence institution supported by the State".9 Its Combat Riflemen, the active military reserve, are aged between 19 and 45, participate in joint exercises with the armed forces, and assist with border security, policing and preparation for mobilization. The Union accepts Young Riflemen between the ages of 12 and 18, who make up two thirds of its 6,000 youth members, and "prepares them for military service" through military, educational and sporting activities. In the event of war, its members take part in "armed and civil resistance" under the command of the armed forces. The role of Young Riflemen in wartime is not specified but, according to the Union, would not include military duties as soldiers because they are not 18 years old.10

1 Amnesty International Reports 2002 and 2004, http://web.amnesty.org/library/engindex.

2 NATO update, Seven new members join NATO, 29 March 2004, http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2004/03-march/e0329a.htm.

3 Information from Ministry of National Defence, http://www.kam.lt.

4 Constitution, at Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, http://www3.lrs.lt.

5 Law on National Conscription, Chapter 2 (Articles 5, 6 and 17), June 2002, at Seimas, op. cit (Legal Acts).

6 Child Soldiers Coalition interview with Lithuanian mission to NATO, 2 March 2004.

7 Declarations and reservations to the Optional Protocol, http://untreaty.un.org (subscription required).

8 Lithuanian mission to NATO, op. cit.; Correspondence with Riflemen's Union, 5 March 2004.

9 Law on the Basics of National Security, Chapter 24, at Seimas, op. cit (Legal Acts).

10 Riflemen's Union, http://www.sauliusajunga.lt; correspondence with Riflemen's Union, 8 March 2004.

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