UN expert on right to privacy to visit Lithuania

GENEVA (12 December 2022) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy Ana Brian Nougrères will visit Lithuania from 12 to 16 December at the invitation of the Government.

The UN expert will examine privacy issues in relation to data protection - including health data collected during Covid 19, sharing of data across borders, surveillance (physical and digital) and artificial intelligence, privacy and data concerns in the context of migration, freedom of expression and association, private life, autonomy and children in the digital age.

“I hope to learn more about how authorities are managing these issues from a privacy perspective, some which have been impacted by factors such as the pandemic and increased security at the Lithuanian/Belarus border due to the ongoing war in Ukraine,” Nougrères said.

In Vilnius, the Special Rapporteur will meet officials from relevant governmental, legislative and judicial institutions, civil society, academia, business and representatives of the international community.

The expert will present her preliminary findings at a news conference on Friday 16 December. The venue will be confirmed later. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.

ENDS

In July 2021, the Human Rights Council appointed Dr. Ana Brian Nougrères of Uruguay as the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy. A Professor of Law, Privacy and ICT at the School of Engineering, University of Montevideo and a Professor of Law, Data Protection and ICT at the School of Law, University of the Republic, Montevideo. She is also a practicing Attorney-at-law and Consultant on data protection.

Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, Country Page: Lithuania